Monday May 30, 2011 at 10:00am
Stress in the workplace is a major headache for employers and employees in this day and age. It is not necessarily that things didn’t get stressful in the past but it just seems that the demands of an increasingly fast-paced life, coupled with economic (and domestic) pressures, combine to create more of a crucible than ever before. As to which profession is most stressful – what do you think? Politician? Journalist? Premier League footballer with a superinjunction? Surely the legal p....
Thursday May 26, 2011 at 10:00am
A recurring issue in these musings from me is the need for a rethink on some of the intricacies of family law. Whether it is perhaps another look at mediation, a no fault divorce or pre-nuptial and living together agreements getting full legal status, there are things I see in our daily dealings that I think could be better served by the law. So it was nice to see a High Court judge coming out and articulating why our “outdated” divorce rules had fuelled the rise in marriage breakdow....
Monday May 23, 2011 at 10:00am
Divorce and EastEnders. What a dreadful union. I am not an avid viewer of soaps and my limited knowledge of EastEnders suggests it is regarded as having a fairly depressing outlook on life with sensationalist storylines. I did then fear the worst when I heard that a divorce storyline was central to episodes last week (w/c May 16). After watching Tuesday’s episode when Ian and Jane “fight it out” at the divorce court, I had my head in my hands, not simply because of the rather d....
Thursday May 19, 2011 at 10:00am
Divorce is rarely funny, so I think it is a real testament to our British sense of humour that we can find things to laugh about in separation. These days, you are as likely to hear a comedian joke about pre-nups or division of assets as tell tales about the mother in law. Listening to The Unbelievable Truth on Radio 4 the other day really brought this home to me. The popular show, chaired by David Mitchell, sees panellists competing against each other, talking on a specific subject and trying t....
Monday May 16, 2011 at 10:00am
Twitter has been causing a bit of a kerfuffle over the last week. Some mischief maker has taken it upon themselves to publish what they claim to be accurate details of the celebrities involved in the super-injunctions we have been hearing so much about. Effectively, this is where those in the spotlight have used European law to protect their privacy, preventing newspapers from publishing stories about alleged infidelities and other details in their personal life. There has been increasing discon....
Thursday May 12, 2011 at 10:00am
With nearly 90 per cent of couples now choosing to live together before marriage – or instead of marriage altogether – the question of how they can safeguard their assets in the event of a break-up is more relevant than ever. Knowledge of prenuptial agreements is spreading. This is where a document can be drawn up after both parties have received informed legal advice, setting out how they will divide assets and settle other issues if they divorce further down the line. However, livi....
Monday May 9, 2011 at 10:09am
How do you keep a relationship exciting and fulfilling? If I could answer that question, I would be very comfortably off indeed and probably writing this on my own island, sipping a glass of wine from my own French vineyard. I don’t know how many times I have spoken to a man or woman going through a divorce who can’t really put their finger on what is wrong, just that they don’t want to be with their other half any more. They struggle to come up with issues to include in the di....
Thursday May 5, 2011 at 10:00am
A month on from April 6 and I’m sure you all felt the disturbance in The Force as the new Family Procedure Rules came into effect. No? These are the guidelines that it is hoped will see thousands more divorcing couples trying the mediation route to reach a settlement rather than simply assuming they will see each other in court to thrash out the details of their split. Still a bit vague? You won’t be the only one. There is a suggestion that, though well intentioned, the changes may h....
Monday May 2, 2011 at 10:00am
It is no secret that fewer people are getting married. In 2009, the latest (provisional) figures available (again statisticians, why the delay?) 231, 490 couples said “I do”, the lowest since 1895. To put it another way, 8.4 people per 1,000 in 2009 compared to 8.7 in 2008. Neither is it a secret that the divorce rate is high in the UK – but falling. There were 113,949 divorces in 2009 (again, the latest stats they have) with 10.5 people per 1,000 of the married population fili....