The Department for Work and Pensions has published the results of a survey conducted among separated parents who had made contact with its Child Maintenance Options Service. Child Maintenance Options provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. It very much promotes the use of family-based child…
When parents separate or divorce it is usually in the best interests of their children if the parents can agree to some form of co-parenting arrangement, where both parents continue to play an active role in their children’s lives. However, in the UK there is no real requirement for parents to work together to put…
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) recently issued a reminder of the ongoing issue of international parental child abduction and the support than can be available to those affected. International child abduction is when one parent takes or keeps their child outside the country in which the child usually lives, without the permission of the…
Scotland’s most expensive street is once again to be found in St Andrews, new research has revealed. According to Bank of Scotland, Golf Place, which is a short walk from the famous Old Course, has an average house price of £2,179,000. However, Edinburgh still has the highest number of expensive streets in Scotland. Aberdeen now…
Australia has become the most recent country to allow same sex marriage, after its Senate and then House of Representatives passed the enabling legislation, reports the Daily Mail. Interestingly, however, in addition to allowing thousands of same sex couples to start planning their weddings, the new legislation also means that one couple who were already…
Many studies have been carried out to investigate the impact of marriage and divorce on health. One of the latest studies has looked at links between dementia and marriage, reports the British Medical Journal, and concluded that married people have a lower risk of developing the disease. The research, which was published online in the…
Seasons greetings! As the holiday approaches we would like to take this opportunity to inform valued clients and potential new customers of our opening hours and Christmas activities. Christmas and New Year Opening Hours Please note that our offices will close as of 22nd December and will re-open on 3rd January. During this time, our…
New data from UK Finance has given an interesting insight into mortgage activity in Scotland. The data shows that in the third quarter of 2017 in Scotland: Home buyers borrowed £2.55 billion, up 1% quarter-on-quarter and 15% year-on-year. They took out 18,900 loans, the same as in the previous quarter but 11% more than in…
A recent decision by the High Court in Australia has cast doubt over the future of prenuptial agreements in that country, reports news.com.au. The case involved a couple, given the pseudonyms Mr Kennedy and Ms Thorne, who met online and subsequently married. At the time, Mr Kennedy was 67-years-old and a successful property developer in…
Mental health issues are making matters significantly worse for families going through divorce, new research has found. Divorce can already be one of the most difficult life experiences families can go through, but according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), mental health issues of spouses and their children are increasingly making the process…
