Blog
Press Round-Up: Regulatory and Professional Discipline – May 2026
Jack Garden
12 January 2023
Show me the money – key differences between French and English financial order applications in divorce proceedings
The divorce petition has been lodged. The focus can now switch to the two other key components of a separation, of which one is the finances. The process of applying for a financial order, and what order is made at the end, will be an important factor in deciding where to divorce. Many clients assume that processes in England and in France are largely similar. However, this is not the case. In this blog, we summarise the key stages in both French and English financial order applications, including the application, supporting information, hearings, criteria and available orders.
6 April 2021
Compensated surrogacy legalised in New York state
15 February saw the introduction of a new law in New York state which legalises compensated gestational surrogacy arrangements. The Child Parent Security Act (the “Act”) brings in to force a range of provisions which formalise and regulate Surrogacy agreements.
6 January 2021
The legal position of international surrogacy in England and Italy and the recognition of foreign parental orders
Connie Atkinson, Senior Associate at Kingsley Napley, and Veronica Dindo, Solicitor at LawLab studio legale, look at the legal position in England & Wales and Italy and the recognition of foreign orders relating to the birth of children born following a surrogacy arrangement abroad.
31 July 2020
Claiming for maintenance in England when divorcing elsewhere in the EU: Will Brexit close the Villiers loophole?
The Supreme Court recently made clear in Villiers v Villiers [2020] UKSC 30 that divorcing in one EU country does not prevent a party from making a separate claim for maintenance from their spouse in England and Wales. The case therefore demonstrates the possibility of ‘forum shopping’, where a party seeks to bring a financial claim in a jurisdiction (country) that is more convenient or provides a more generous maintenance provision than the jurisdiction in which the divorce is taking place. However, the loophole relies on an application of the EU Maintenance Regulation which will cease to be in force in the UK on 31 December 2020. This blog considers the case of Villiers and how Brexit will affect the current position.
20 April 2020
Moving abroad or returning home with children and the risks of child abduction during the coronavirus crisis
Despite the wonders of modern technology helping to keep people in touch during the coronavirus pandemic, many separated and divorced parents who live far from their children are finding life very difficult at the moment. In this blog, we look at some of these scenarios and the questions arising at this unprecedented time for separated parents who either wish to relocate or stop the other parent from relocating overseas (international relocation) or to another part of the UK (internal relocation).