Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
26 January 2017
Surrogacy and separation – when relationships break down during the surrogacy journey
Starting a family can be a wonderful and emotional time for any family, but when parents have experienced fertility issues and their journey to parenthood has been longer and more difficult, this can leave people feeling sensitive and fragile. Many couples are turning to surrogacy to create their family and in some cases this follows years of trying to become pregnant. The decision to embark on surrogacy is a huge and important one and the surrogacy journey itself can also be stressful. Parents feel hopeful and anxious at many points, from starting a relationship with the surrogate to when embryos are created and transferred, when pregnancy tests are undertaken and when it comes to the birth and getting used to being parents. Having children brings fundamental changes to family life, which can at times put a strain on the relationship.
13 December 2016
Regulating Relations – parenthood through assisted reproduction in Australia and abroad
Whilst travelling in Sydney, I met Isabel Karpin and Michaela Stockey-Bridge of the University of Technology Sydney who, through Regulating Relations, are conducting the largest Australian research project of its kind: "Forming Families Inside and Outside of the Law".
23 September 2016
Mediating megastars – keeping it private and solution focused
News of megastars Brad Pitt’s and Angelina Jolie’s divorce has dominated newspapers and social media worldwide this week and is a timely reminder of how people in the public eye have to deal with intense media interest in the difficulties they face in their private lives.
One of the best ways to ensure that the terms of any divorce, whether high profile or not, are kept out of the press is to conduct proceedings in an entirely private forum such as mediation, using a private judge or arbitration. As practising mediators, we assist clients in resolving issues outside of court and regularly advise them about the benefits of mediation.
14 September 2016
Divorce and summertime blues in the UAE
The idea that spending time with family at Christmas triggers marriage breakdown has always been overshadowed by the tensions for many of the long summer holidays. In the UAE, the summer has been very long indeed this year, starting with Ramadan in early June followed by the annual “migration” during the hottest summer months and now the holidays associated with Eid. Coupled with the economic pressures and uncertainties that have marched in time with the fall in oil prices, many ex-patriot families are thinking of heading home for good and some about divorce.
31 August 2016
Options in the English courts for ‘illegitimate’ children living in the UAE
It comes as a surprise to many that it is not possible to bring any action or present any agreement to a court in the UAE in respect of a child born out of marriage (sometimes rather unkindly referred to as ‘illegitimate children’). This fact was established in the proceedings leading to the recent Court of Appeal decision in Re B (Children) [2015] EWCA Civ 1302, which was a case involving the relocation of two children to the UAE from England.