Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
27 May 2016
Do recent cases signal an end to ‘divorce tourism’ in England & Wales?
Four years ago, a headline in the Times read “Divorce tourists take over the courts”. In contrast, last month’s headline in the Guardian, “Court takes stand against divorce tourism” suggests that divorce tourism is being curtailed by family Judges.
5 May 2016
Parenting after separation – co-parenting, parallel parenting and ways to make it work
If you have recently separated and are considering how you and your former partner will raise your children, you will no doubt have looked online and come across a wealth of information on the benefits of “co-parenting”. Co-parenting is, in its simplest definition, sharing the duties of raising a child. In reality, this usually means that the following dynamics exist between the parents: co-operation, communication, compromise and consistency, along with a strong ethos that the child’s needs should be placed before the parents’. Effective co-parenting is usually not immediate and it can take many years of hard work to create. However, many are willing to put in this effort as co-parenting is clearly portrayed as the “gold standard” of post-separation parenting.
But is co-parenting achievable in every situation?
23 March 2016
The challenges with family law agreements for international couples
Increasingly, I find myself asked by one member of an international couple to draft an agreement which I have to advise them will be difficult to uphold, especially across international borders.
The vast majority of my clients have international connections, whether by nationality, residence, or substantial assets outside England. While there is a substantial amount of international family law to help such couples, there are huge gaps. Many of the gaps involve significant issues which clients want advice on every day.
This article was first published in WealthBriefing in March 2016.
4 March 2016
Getting divorced - what the non-dom changes mean for you
In the 2015 Budget, George Osborne announced that, from 6 April 2017, certain new categories of non-UK-domiciled individuals will be deemed to be UK-domiciled for tax purposes. This will result in the loss of a significant tax planning opportunity for some couples who have non UK assets; are separating or contemplating divorce; and wish to make an offshore transfer between each other in a tax efficient fashion after the new rules take effect.
24 February 2016
Doughnut or double - bankers’ bonuses and spousal maintenance
Bonuses are a significant but unpredictable part of most bankers’ salaries. Under the current EU cap, bankers can receive bonuses equal to 100% of their basic salary and with shareholder approval bonuses of 200% can be awarded. However, a banker may receive no bonus at all. Emolument.com, a site that provides bonus statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals, predicted that 2016 would see more ‘doughnuts’ (zero bonuses) at one end of the spectrum and very large strategic pay outs at the other. And, according to a recent article in The Independent online referring to the lack of transparency in the making of bonus awards, a banker may have little insight into what they will receive until it is awarded.
Against this background of uncertainty, how can you work out your finances on separation or divorce if a large part of your income, or your spouse’s income, is a discretionary and difficult to predict bonus?
