16 May 2022
A Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) is a legal document which allows you to choose who should help you make decisions or make decisions on your behalf when you lose mental capacity and are no longer able to do so yourself. The person making the LPA is called the ‘donor’ and the person or persons given authority under the LPA are called ‘attorneys’. There are two types of LPA: one for ‘Financial Decisions’, for example paying bills or dealing with properties; and one for ‘Health and Care Decisions’ which can cover decisions from what type of care you receive to whether life sustaining treatment is given or not.
9 May 2022
Family proceedings are generally conducted in private due to the personal and intimate nature of those proceedings. There have been increasing concerns that the lack of transparency regarding family proceedings reduces accountability and confidence in the court system. Despite repeated pushes towards more openness over the last two decades, the reality is that very little has changed.
6 May 2022
On 6 April 2022 family lawyers celebrated the long awaited arrival of no-fault divorce. Couples looking to bring their marriage to an end now no longer face a choice between apportioning blame, with a fault based petition, or facing a delay of two or five years to avoid the need to play the “blame game”.
13 April 2022
The Children Act 1989 (the “Act”) is a significant piece of legislation in the history of family law. It brought together existing legislation and strengthened protections for children, placing a greater emphasis on their needs and interests. Parents, guardians and those with parental responsibility can apply to the court for a child arrangements order, a prohibited steps order or a specific issue order under section 8 of the Act, without permission from the court.
7 April 2022
The long awaited “no fault divorce” has finally become a reality in England and Wales following the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (2020) coming in to force on 6 April. This brings with it significant changes to the way in which married couples separate in this jurisdiction, all with the aim of reducing the opportunity for conflict.