No-Fault Divorce: A Step Forward for the LGBTQ Community

On 2 July 2025 the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment in the case of Standish v Standish. Practitioners have been particularly interested to see if, and how, the Court would develop the judicially created principles of ‘needs’, ‘compensation’, and ‘sharing’ which apply to the division of finances on divorce. In particular, what would the Court say in relation to ‘the sharing principle’: should all assets be shared, or only those generated by the parties’ common endeavour during their marriage?

This Pride Month, Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network spoke with Carla Ecola (they/them), Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Outside Project. The Outside Project was first established in 2017 to support those within the LGBTIQ+ community who are homeless, “hidden” homeless, or feel endangered or unable to access key services, such as housing.

In honour of Pride Month, we are discussing (and celebrating) the diverse paths to parenthood within the LGBTQ+ community. For couples or individuals looking to start a family, there are a number of options available, each with important factors and implications to consider. This short blog touches on some of those considerations.

Last week marked the second annual Trans+ History Week, founded by QueerAF in 2024. 

Trans Day of Visibility (sometimes referred to as ‘TDOV’) is an annual celebration of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people, marked every year on 31 March 2025.

London has long been a popular city for French expats, and despite the reported drop post- Brexit, is still home to a reported 100,000 French nationals many of whom applied for settled status. There are 9 bilingual French schools in London and with the Eurotunnel celebrating 30 years of operation, London remains an attractive residence for French professionals.

It is some 15 years since the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 changed the law on prenuptial agreements.

For those who have current or future wealth to protect or who are marrying for the second or third time perhaps, arranging a prenuptial agreement could be an essential part of the “wedmin” leading up to the big day. 

I am regularly asked to advise French and international couples on the protective agreements available to them before they marry.  They are often surprised to learn that it isn’t possible to draft a global prenuptial agreement which would be enforceable throughout the world, wherever the couple move to in the future.  

Grandparents have become increasingly involved in their grandchildren’s day to day lives over the last few decades, providing love, support, child care and a sounding board for frazzled parents. A number of studies have highlighted the benefit to children of having positive relationships with their grandparents and the importance of these connections is celebrated each year on Grandparents’ Day. However, as family dynamics shift over time, particularly following a divorce or bereavement, grandparent/grandchild relationships are often impacted. 

Due to the nature of family law disputes, hearings in the family court often contain information which is “private”, intimate, personal, and/or sensitive. While press attendance of family court hearings has been a possibility for many years, in reality the press have tended not to take up this opportunity given the restrictive rules around publication (unless, of course, it is a high-profile person or something particularly salacious). 

How you approach resolving a dispute with your ex-partner, whether regarding finances or your children, is an important first step in your case and can set the tone moving forward. Whilst previously, alternative ways of resolving disputes outside of court proceedings (now defined as non-court dispute resolution or ‘NCDR’)were always available options, under new procedure rules that have recently come intof force there is now a far greater expectation that parties should actively engage in NCDR throughout the entirety of proceedings with possible financial consequences if they do not.

Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is a day for joy and celebration. It is an opportunity for trans and non-binary people to feel seen, heard and loved, and for allies to visibly show their solidarity.

Today, 11 April 2024, is National Pet Day.  Most of my clients and the lawyers and experts with whom I work know far too much about my beautiful dog, Charlie and since I last wrote about him, my husband and I have added Norman to our pack. Charlie joined our family 7 years ago this month, and when we made the decision to adopt him we thought carefully, not only about how we could care for him together, but what should happen if we should both pass away or if we should separate.  We had a similar chat before we brought Norman home just over two months ago.

With over 800,000 businesses incorporated in the UK every year, it is no surprise that business assets and in particular the disposal of business interests are often a significant issue when dividing assets between separating spouses in financial remedy proceedings. The landmark case of White v White [2000] introduced the starting point of an equal division of capital, as Lord Nicholls held: “There should be no bias in favour of the money-earner and against the home-maker and the child-carer”. However, the concept of matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets is vital in cases involving businesses, as the non-business owning spouse may have a weaker claim against the value of the business, in circumstances where the value was generated prior to the marriage or following the parties’ separation.

The question of whether to seek a divorce is one over which many people agonise. However, for divorcing couples with international connections, the associated questions of when and in which country to get divorced are also extremely important considerations, and ones which can have serious repercussions for the outcome.

When ChatGPT is asked “Does the future of a fair financial remedies system lie in AI?”, the response is: “the future of a fair financial remedies system may involve the integration of AI technologies, but it's important to recognise both the potential benefits and challenges associated with this approach.” A strikingly typical lawyer’s answer, for a machine. Will AI revolutionise and provide certainty and cost-efficiency for the family legal system, or is it a treacherous commodity here to replace jobs and create unfairness?

The Kingsley Napley Junior Debate is taking place this week and we’re going to be discussing the impact of artificial intelligence on the way in which we help clients reach financial settlements. As someone who doesn’t know much at all about how AI works and the extent of its potential, I have spent some time trying to familiarise myself with what it can offer and the potential pitfalls.

In a long-overdue announcement by the Home Office, women who were in the past unjustly convicted of same-sex consensual sexual activity will be able to apply for their convictions to be disregarded or pardoned for the first time. This is a significant step forward for queer rights in the UK.

Kingsley Napley’s LGBTQ+ & Allies network  is a large, loud and proud group