Problem Question, Divorce& FInancial Provision
Question Sakina and Raj, now aged 52 and48, met 17 years ago and have been living together. They had two children, Tuscan and Umbria, now aged 15 and 12. However, after Raj discovered that Umbria was not his daughter but George’s instead, he and Sakina split up after 7 years of cohabitation. George was a very wealthy business man. She marries George, who dies a year later. Sakina inherited George’s estate worth £10 million. Two years ago, she and Raj met again. Raj proposed marriage; Sakina accepted on condition that Raj formally agreed that, were their marriage to end within five years, he would agree to a lump sum of £100000 “full settlement”. Raj was at that time unemployed. He agreed to her condition. After the marriage they lived together in the house Sakina had inherited. Raj started a business, using Sakina’s capital. She also provided valuable working experience, whist continuing to bring up the children. The business prospered. A year ago Raj suspected that Sakina was having an affair with Vince. Rather than confront her directly, Raj had her followed by a private detective. She became convinced that she was being stalked by a stranger, suffered a nervous breakdown and is now incapable of looking after the children or assisting with the business. She admits adultery with Vince, but Raj does not want a divorce. She wishes to divorce Raj and marry
Family law.
As Lynn Wardle states in "Fundamental Principles of Family Law in the U.S", 'Family law is that branch of law consisting of the substantive and procedural rules that regulate the creation, ongoing relations, termination and post-termination consequence of family relationships'1. Her definition of family law is germane to the overall procedural aspect of this branch of law, but as society has progressed it is actually the basic term 'family' that has come to require further analysis as to its proper definition. In the following investigation, I will explore the definition of family that is most appropriate for the law to adopt and elaborate on whether it is possible to embrace a definition of family that commands support in today's society. What constitutes a family in contemporary society is sometimes regarded as a 'vague or trick question'2 due to the ever expanding array of de facto familial forms that have been accepted as constituting family life. Whether it is a marital relationship or a cohabiting couple, such diversity in family definition has in some opinions raised questions 'about the types of relationships that Scottish law should recognise as family relationships that are worthy of protection and promotion'3. In Peter Duckworth's article he compares the family to a 'proverbial elephant', 'easy to recognise but difficult to define'4 and this idea is
Child law
Discuss the current position of the access of children to the court in family proceedings. Evaluate the ways in which the views of children are considered in proceedings. How efficient do you think out current system is in ensuring that children are represented adequately in family proceedings and has the Human Rights Act 1998 made any difference? Evidence your answer with statute, case law and other commentary. There are three ways in which a child may have direct involvement in the access to court in family proceedings. These include the child bringing proceedings through a solicitor through their own right, the child's 'next friend' normally one of their parents, who can bring the proceedings on the child's behalf, and the child's interests can be represented by a Guardian ad Litem.1 The current position of the access of children to the court characteristically via the Children's Guardian, usually an officer of CAFCASS (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service). The Children's Guardian has a number of important functions in carrying out investigations as well as advising and influentially reporting to the court about incidents involving the child as a means of communication or access between the court and the child. Within the influential report written by the Children's Guardian, there are a set of results, which outline what is best for the child.
ADR-Mediation and Arbitration
Name: Nicole Gaudet Degree Title and University: GDL/University of Westminster Coursework Title: Final Project/ADR and Mediation/Arbitration Date: 13 April 2009 Student Number: 12028429 Tutor and Course Director: Ms. Patricia Bearcroft Lord Wolfe's 1986 report, "Access to Justice" identified the need for a fair, speedy and proportionate need to resolve legal disputes. These principles which are at the core of the Civil Procedure Rules laid the foundation for the implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the United Kingdom in April 1999. The CPR introduced references to ADR in rules of court and introduced pre-action means of settlement before court proceedings were issued. 1 Lord Wolfe quoted "The results show that the opposing sides do have a common interest in the creation of an accessible and affordable civil justice system. Tactical delays and the withholding of information benefit no-one - they are not in the interests of justice. I am particularly concerned about the level of public expenditure on litigation, especially in medical negligence and housing. Substantial amounts of public money which are now absorbed in legal costs could be better spent on enhanced medical care and on improving standards of public housing." The purpose of the inquiry was to improve access to justice and reduce the cost of litigation; reduce the complexity of the rules
With the very nature and fluidity of Family Law, many attempts at definitive meanings are met with a high degree of confusion even by the most learned minds.
With the very nature and fluidity of Family Law, many attempts at definitive meanings are met with a high degree of confusion even by the most learned minds. Parental responsibility is one such example where s.3 (1) of The Children Act 1989 provides that, "...all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property." Indeed Ashley is one of the many who observe that this definition is far from helpful and adds that [even] "lawyers struggle to give clients a clear expression of what it actually means."1 The Law Commission did consider this issue and concluded that it was not possible to include a list of all matters concerning PR, as this would continually change.2 John Eekelaar did try to conceptualise the meaning in his article 'Parental Responsibility: state of nature or nature of the state' by stating that PR performs two distinct but interrelated functions. "It describes the power of the parent in terms of responsibility not rights, and locates the obligation to care for children with the parents not with the state."3 However, a much easier task is to look at who has PR in relation to Dean, Eva and Grant as the situation presently stands. As Herring identifies this issue is a much more important one than 'who is the parent?' However, and he is quick to add, that due to the CA 1989, "'who
Surrogacy in New Zealand
Introduction Advances in biotechnology in the last 20 years have greatly enhanced the opportunities for infertile couples to have their own child. Sperm or egg donation and IVF treatments are now routinely used. Less common is the practice of using a surrogate mother to carry a child for the infertile couple. Section 5 of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 (the HART Act) defines a 'surrogacy arrangement' as an arrangement under which a woman agrees to become pregnant for the purpose of surrendering custody of a child as a result of the pregnancy. Where such an arrangement is made with a couple, the couple is commonly described as the "commissioning parents" and the woman as the "surrogate mother". Traditional or partial surrogacy is where the surrogate mother's egg is used in conception. She is the child's genetic and gestational mother. Gestational or full surrogacy refers to the situation where a fertilised embryo is implanted into the surrogate mothers uterus. She carries and delivers a child that she has no genetic relationship to. Surrogacy is fraught with legal and ethical issues that have been canvassed widely in both New Zealand and overseas literature. Broadly speaking, the proponents of surrogacy point to the pain of infertility, and argue in favour of the reproductive autonomy of women. In New Zealand there is the additional argument that
Compare the use of surrogacy with the institution of adoption. How well is adoption suited to present society?
Compare the use of surrogacy with the institution of adoption. How well is adoption suited to present society? Legal parenthood is not a 'static' concept; it may be transferred from one person to another where required; there exist methods for the acquisition or transfer of parental status from one individual/set of individuals to another. Adoption is a familiar example; it is the legal process whereby a court irrevocably extinguishes the legal ties between a child and the natural parents or guardians and creates analogous ties between the child and the adopters who then acquire parental responsibility of the child to the exclusion of all others. As Cooke, notes Surrogacy is another 'strategy.' Broadly speaking, surrogacy involves an undertaking by a woman (the surrogate mother) to bear a child for another person or couple, the latter proposing to undertake care of the child following birth. Two types of surrogacy may be differentiated. On the one hand, there is 'full' surrogacy in which the surrogate mother has no genetic relationship with the child; in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer allow the surrogate mother to carry a child which is derived from the sperm and egg of the commissioning parents. In the case of 'partial' surrogacy, on the other hand, the surrogate mother is genetically related to the child; she usually conceives following insemination of the
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'Over the last 50 years, the way that the courts have defined family has changed dramatically. Following the criteria that the House of Lords set out in Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association [2001] 1 A.C. 27, Polyamorous units and "families of choice
'Over the last 50 years, the way that the courts have defined family has changed dramatically. Following the criteria that the House of Lords set out in Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association [2001] 1 A.C. 27, Polyamorous units and "families of choice" should now be legally recognised Critically discuss. In the last fifty years the courts definition of family has changed significantly. This process has been slow and progressive in nature, evolving from a restrictive narrow definition of family, to recognition of diversity within the family arena. Thus Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association 1 was herald a successful expansion to the definitional boundary of family membership, by formulating a 'functional judicial interpretation'2 for the purposes of the Rent Act 1977. Through this the courts took into consideration the position of a same sex couple and reasonably constituted them as family. However, if now we were to apply the criteria set by the House of Lords in the above case to consider whether "families of choice" i.e. self identified network grouping of friends and lovers3, 'polyamorous units' 'all forms of multi- partner relationships'4 should now be legally recognised, undoubtedly it would prove to be a contentious issue for the courts, since they are still embedded on the notion of the traditional 'Nuclear' family5 and have only recently legally recognised
Infidelity is a complex phenomenon, which may or may not be related to divorce. Discuss.
"I certify that all material in this assignment which is not my own work has been identified and properly attributed." Signed.................................. Infidelity is a complex phenomenon, which may or may not be related to divorce. Discuss. The relationship between infidelity and divorce is undeniable, with nearly a quarter of all divorces directly related to it (Fincham 2003). However, the extent to which infidelity contributes to the origins of marital breakdown that finalise in divorce is a much more complex notion to address. There is no single factor that has been identified that results in divorce- only an amalgamation of reasons that contribute to an overall sense of marital breakdown failure (Clarke and Berrington 1999; Glezer 1994; Kurdek 1993; Karney and Bradbury 1995; Ono 1998; Olson and Larson 1989; White 1990). Therefore infidelity alone cannot be singled out as a reason that consistently leads to divorce. There are as many complex reasons for infidelity as there are for divorce but they do not necessarily mirror one another. Monogamy is something most people say they believe in and want for themselves. Every survey ever done on this question shows a high percentage of people think monogamy is important to marriage and that affairs are wrong. But a belief in monogamy as an ideal doesn't prevent large numbers of people from having extramarital affairs.
Discuss, with reference to statutory provision and relevant case law, the extent to which, if at all, the courts achieve an effective balance between the right of the child to enjoy contact and the concerns (legitimate or otherwise) of the carer parent.
(a) Discuss, with reference to statutory provision and relevant case law, the extent to which, if at all, the courts achieve an effective balance between the right of the child to enjoy contact and the concerns (legitimate or otherwise) of the carer parent. An integral aspect of children's rights is their right of enjoyment of contact. Contact encompasses many forms but predominantly employed in practice by the court are direct contact and indirect contact, the former means children spend time with their non-resident parent, whilst the latter allows the non resident parent or carer to be able to send letters and receive response from their children, but no face to face meetings take place. Whilst the courts are supportive of a child's right to contact they tend to experience difficulties in contact disputes to balance this with the concerns of the carer parent. The concerns of the carer parent vary, but primarily are based upon the welfare of their child as parents are concerned that if contact is allowed their child may suffer psychical or mental harm and thus that contact would have a detrimental effect on their child's development and upbringing. This difficulty is due to the fact that courts feel that contact is in favour of children in order to fully promote their development, but they also are apprehensive with regards to parental concerns. To some extent the courts