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Keeping the peace at Christmas – top tips for shared parenting over the festive season
Lauren Evans
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.
Going through a divorce can be both emotionally distressing and technically challenging at the best of times. However, in the event of one spouse dying during or shortly after divorce proceedings it can bring an added element of complication. Although this is thankfully a very rare occurrence, there are options to consider depending on the stage divorce proceedings have reached.
Until now the Family Law Arbitration scheme, launched in 2012, has been exclusively for disputes relating to finance and property. The scheme has now been extended to include disputes relating to children, offering parents an out of court alternative.
The experience of attending court can often contribute to an already stressful time for parents. The introduction of the Child Arbitration scheme provides parents with a tried and tested alternative to the court. But why should you choose Arbitration? And is it all good news?
A recent case before the court provides a timely reminder of the pitfalls and difficulties which can arise as a result of informal surrogacy arrangements.
The case of Re Z [2016] EWFC 34 involved a baby boy (Z) born as a result of an informal surrogacy arrangement. The commissioning parents, a male same sex couple made contact with the eventual surrogate, X, via a Facebook forum. The commissioning parents and potential surrogate met only once and it was at this meeting that they presented X with a typed commercial surrogacy agreement they had found on the internet.
I recently attended the conference “Culture, Dispute Resolution and the Modernised Family” organised by the International Centre for Family Law, Policy and Practice (‘the Centre’). The triennial conference was a truly international event, with 31 jurisdictions represented in total.
Lauren Evans
Roberta Draper
Christopher Perrin
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