A girl appeared to have escaped an attempted forced marriage abroad. It was unclear which public body should take the lead in securing her return to the UK, where country X would only agree to her return if UK officials collected her. Cusworth J provides important observations and guidance on the roles of public bodies …
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HMRC has finally issued new simplified IHT forms for the formal reporting of chargeable events where IHT is payable on a trust or gift, replacing earlier forms. It has also issued related guidance. No longer does IHT100 need to be completed, along with additional forms and schedules for each chargeable event as before. Now, submission …
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The family judge failed to identify the perpetrator/s of serious traumatic injuries to a baby (B) in a fact-finding hearing – a failing that the CA ruled was wrong in law. B was one of three children who were in M’s care. This was a difficult case involving the injured nine-month-old who presented at hospital …
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The SC has handed down a judgment concerning the interpretation of a force majeure clause in a shipping contract. It is fair to say that this context will not be of relevance to many practitioners, but what the SC had to say about a ‘reasonable endeavours’ proviso is of wider interest. The case summary includes …
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Family practitioners should note the new Reporting Pilot Guidance issued by the President of the Family Division, replacing the January 2023 version. The guidance is intended to be authoritative for those taking part in the pilot, and sets out the basis of the now significantly expanded pilot. Source: www.judiciary.uk.
Law firms should be aware of changes to Companies House procedures regarding identification – they have produced a useful blog on authorised corporate service providers, which states: ‘Identity verification is an important part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Under the act, Companies House will be required to verify the identity of anyone …
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Unsupervised contact should not have been granted to F before a fact-finding hearing. The marriage, punctuated by two separations, ended in 2022. Proceedings started when F applied under s8 CA for a CAO and other orders, including a PSO. He later applied for a female genital mutilation protection order (FGMP) on the basis that if …
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As the practising certificate renewal deadline looms, it seems an appropriate moment to remind SRA-regulated practitioners of the continuing competence requirements which apply to: solicitors, registered European lawyers or registered foreign lawyers who have a practising certificate or registration; in-house solicitors who have a practising certificate; a solicitor who is exempt from holding a practising …
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The courts in England and Wales continue to step up their encouragement towards mediation and NCDR between the parties. To that end, an updated guide on family mediation (particularly MIAMs) has been published by the Family Justice Council and Family Mediation Council. The refreshed guidance takes into account the strengthened MIAM requirements under the FPR …
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Property practitioners may feel that advising on climate risk should be outside the scope of the average conveyancing retainer and that there is little more to be said on the subject. But the Law Society has announced a consultation on ‘Climate risk and conveyancing’. The Law Society issued its guidance on client change in April …
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