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For the majority of us sharing personal information on social media is now part of everyday life, but there are boundaries that should never be crossed, especially in a court of law. In a recent case M A-G v Hartley (contempt) [2021] EWHC 2473 (FAM), the repercussions of his online actions were considerable for Mr Hartley.

Whilst most of us would apply common sense and choose not to share personal information about our court proceedings, one father chose to take to Facebook and post a number of videos regarding his case. The content, which was highly abusive towards the judge and officers of the family court, also revealed confidential information about the case. The sharing of confidential information which could be accessed by thousands of people on social media was described as a “flagrant contravention of a court order and defiance of an Act of Parliament, to repeatedly publish information about the case on the internet”.

The predominant rule in private Children Act proceedings is that that the proceedings are entirely confidential in order to protect the people involved in the case, particularly the children. “Cases in the family court involving children are heard in private. Nothing may be publicly reported without the leave of a judge. This is all made entirely clear by the Children Act 1989. It is a contempt of court to publish anything relating to such proceedings. That too is made entirely clear by section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960.”

Despite being ordered to remove the posts from Facebook, Mr Hartley refused and subsequently ignored all court orders requiring his presence at court. This left the court with two questions: 1) whether the father was guilty of contempt; and 2) if so, what was the penalty?

Mr Hartley was found guilty and sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of £22,423 which was entirely due to the number of hearings required because of his obstructive conduct. Upon sentencing, the Judge said: “It must be made very clear by the courts that to deliberately, and brazenly, flout the law prohibiting publication of family proceedings involving children will result in substantial punishment.”

This recent judgement serves as a stark reminder to all parties involved in Children Act proceedings of the possible penalties attached to the illegal sharing of information. You are not even allowed to discuss your case or show any documentation to your family and friends so if you are soon to be involved in a case and are unsure about whether or not you can share information or discuss it with anyone, please do check with your legal representation first.

Here at Sheryl Perry Solicitors, we frequently represent clients in private Children Act proceedings and we are here to give you the best legal advice and representation to support you. With professional expertise in family law, you can be assured of our commitment to your case. If you would like to book a 30-minute free and confidential discussion to find out how we can help you, please contact us today.

As we approach summer, we explore this common scenario in a little more detail and hope to offer some clarity.

Going on holiday should be a fun and exciting time – not just for children but for the grown ups too! After all, we work hard and need a break to recharge our batteries, especially if a recent separation or divorce has been a stressful one; time to unwind and spend quality time with your child is very much needed.

Now that holiday season is fast approaching and countries around the world are opening up to us once more, I am often asked ‘can a mother stop a father taking the child on holiday?’ and vice versa. This is the legal world, so it’s never quite as simple as a yes or no!

Here are some things to consider and let’s use an ‘absent’ father as the example in this instance:

• Does the father have a  child arrangements order?
• Does any existing court order state what the father is allowed to do in relation to holidays with the child?
• Does the father plan to take the child on holiday abroad and for how long?
• Does the father plan to take the child on holiday in the UK and for how long?
• If appropriate, will anyone else be going on holiday with the child – often a new partner doesn’t go down too well with the other parent?
• Will the proposed holiday eat into any arranged contact time with the child and has an alternative arrangement been offered?
• Does the mother have concerns about possible child abduction if going abroad?
• Will the trip impact on school attendance and will the child miss any time in education?
• Does the child actually want to go on the holiday?

In children law, if a father has a court order saying he is a primary or shared carer of the child (such as a child arrangements order) then he should be allowed to take the child on holiday for a period of up to 4 weeks without first having to get the permission of the mother or anyone else who shares parental responsibility. However, 4 weeks is a long time and may impact heavily on the child’s normal routine and this should be considered.

If the mother has a genuine objection to the father taking their child on holiday abroad she could apply to the court for a Specific Issue Order and take prohibited steps to try and stop the holiday from going ahead. The court would then make a decision based on the best interests of the child.

Communication and agreement around such arrangements are so important in situations like this. Just bear in mind that if a father takes his child abroad on holiday without the mother’s agreement or appropriate court order in place, then there is a potential risk that he might be found guilty of Child Abduction in court. And again – vice versa!

Often most separated parents don’t have a a child arrangements order and one is not necessary unless they absolutely cannot agree on care and contact for the child.  Basically, if either parent wants to take the child abroad on holiday, they need the other parent’s agreement or a court order. We strongly recommend you get this in writing so everyone knows what has been agreed. 

If the parent has a different name to the child they may well require a Consent form signed by the other parent allowing the holiday to take place, without such form the airline may refuse the child entry.

If you have a question about where you stand on foreign or UK holidays or you can’t reach an agreement over custody and contact, Sheryl Perry Solicitors can help. We have the expertise and legal knowledge behind us to support you and your child in such situations. 

Hope for many caught in a painful and often secretive form of domestic abuse that can be hard to evidence.

Coercive control is a term that appears all too frequently in children act cases and as a family lawyer, I am particularly happy to welcome the new judgment of Justice Hayden in the case of F v M [2021] EWFC 4. This will hopefully offer guidance to victims in understanding what is happening to them, how they and the authorities can identify it, prove it and reach a potentially positive and life-changing outcome.

This 2017 case is built around the father’s application to spend time with his two young children and proceedings began earlier that year; it was a complex case indeed with Justice Hayden being the 16th Judge to preside over the case.

Here is a brief chronological timeline of the relationship between the mother and father of the children history:

July 2014: The mother (M) and father (F) met whilst students at university, but the mother was ‘persuaded’ by the father to ‘drop out’ of tertiary education. They were later wed without the knowledge of her family and the birth of their two children followed.

Sept 2017: They separated and the mother was supported fully by her parents who were grateful for the split and had been deeply worried about their daughter for a long period of time.

July 2018: The father remarried and gained two step-children. Similar behaviours were demonstrated in this second marriage and family unit and were identified by his first wife.

Throughout proceedings, the mother maintained she had always been a victim of cohesive and controlling behaviour at the hand of the father during their relationship. She wanted to introduce to the court evidence of abuse suffered by the father’s new wife that mirrored her own ordeal but unfortunately, the Judge at first instance disallowed the introduction of any evidence pertaining to the father’s new wife. This was successfully appealed in the Court of Appeal, and the case was transferred to the High Court. The new wife remained adamantly loyal and refused to acknowledge or accept she was a victim of abuse, despite compelling evidence. She paid the price for this loyalty by her children being removed from her and given over to the care of their biological father.

Justice Hayden concluded that:

“The consideration of both “cases” together served to illuminate the sinister, domineering and, frequently, tyrannising complexion of F’s behaviour, to a degree which would not have been fully appreciated had the cases been severed. It is the chilling repetition of identical behaviours, with two very different women of different age and background, which casts evidential light and does so in each individual case.”

The Judge went on to describe the father as:

“A profoundly dangerous young man, dangerous to women who he identifies as vulnerable and dangerous to children. The risks he presents to women are not only to their emotional and physical well-being but also, in the light of my findings, to their sexual safety. It is clear that he has the capacity to cause much harm and distress to those who cross him more generally, particularly those within the sphere of the women he controls. It has been a disturbing case to hear.”

Whilst he stated there is no hard and fast legal definition of coercive and controlling behaviour, it is of little surprise that legal system has, in the past, failed to deal with cases of coercive control appropriately; he called for greater awareness and more focused training for the relevant professionals and summarised these abusive behaviours as follows:

Coercive behaviour:

A pattern of acts;
Such acts will be characterised by assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation but are not confined to this and may appear in other guises;
The objective of these acts is to harm, punish or frighten the victim.

Controlling behaviour:

A pattern of acts;
Designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent;
Achieved by isolating them from support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of their means of independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday activities.

Justice Hayden also referred to Home Office Guidance published pursuant to Section 77 (1) of the Serious Crime Act 2015, which sets out examples of behaviour which could be coercive and controlling, including:

Isolating a person from their friends and family
Monitoring their time
Monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware
Taking control over aspects of their everyday life, such as where they can go, who they can see, what they can eat, what they wear and when they can sleep
Depriving them access to support services, such as specialist support or medical services
Repeatedly putting them down such as telling them they are worthless
Enforcing rules and activity which humiliate, degrade or dehumanise the victim
Forcing the victim to take part in criminal activity such as shoplifting, neglect or abuse of children to encourage self-blame and prevent disclosure to authorities
Financial abuse including control of finances, such as only allowing a person a punitive allowance
Control ability to go to school or place of study
Threats to hurt or kill
Threats to harm a child
Threats to reveal or publish private information (e.g. threatening to ‘out’ someone)
Preventing a person from having access to transport or from working
Disclosure of HIV status or other medical condition without consent

He reinforced that this type of abuse is often tailored to individual circumstances and this list should be used as a guidance checklist only. He also highlighted the need for professionals to be more aware of the current and future issues coercive control abuse causes. Hopefully now, cases that are brought to court will be guided by this latest judgment and can go some way to ending the misery of many victims and their families.

If you find yourself, or someone you care for, in a relationship involving coercive and controlling behaviours, Sheryl Perry Solicitors is here to help and support you. With professional legal representation in this area of expertise, you can be assured you will be in the safest of hands.

For a free and confidential discussion, please contact us today.

After years of campaigning this divorce reform is, at long last, on its way for married couples in England and Wales. It is generally accepted that no-fault divorces better reflect today’s modern relationships.

Back in June 2020 The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill gained Royal assent putting an end to the many years of campaigning that have gone before to finally remove the need to blame one of the parties when seeking to divorce, putting an end to the damage that blame causes for separating couples. This is the biggest reform in divorce law for 50 years.

Aidan Jones OBE, Chief Executive at relationship support charity, Relate said:

“This much-needed change to the law is good news for divorcing couples and particularly for any children involved. The outdated fault-based divorce system led parting couples to apportion blame, often resulting in increased animosity and making it harder for ex-partners to develop positive relationships as co-parents.”

So what does this mean for couples who are currently considering divorce now and who may go through the new no-fault divorce process? Sheryl Perry Solicitors would like add a little clarity on things that could affect you and your family:

DOES NO-FAULT AFFECT MY FINANCES? 

It is a common misconception that being at ‘fault’ in divorce proceedings will impact any financial award. This is simply not true and any ‘bad behaviour’ is rarely taken into consideration when a financial settlement is being calculated. Unfortunately, the wronged party will often try to secure a larger financial settlement as recompense for the wrong-doing they have suffered but this is simply a natural human reaction, not something that is legally upheld. In the eyes of the court, needing or wanting to blame the other person creates an unnecessary distraction for many and the focus should be on finding a quick and painless resolution.

CAN I PROTECT MY CHILDREN? 

Unfortunately and rather heartbreakingly, some parents do use their children as pawns against the other parent as the resentment spills over. Whether it be deliberately restricting access or making negative comments thinking it will help them in a court hearing, the new ‘no-fault divorce’ will hopefully minimise any possibility of playing the blame game and using kids as collateral with the other parent and put a positive focus on moving forward rather than dwelling on the past. 

CAN WE BOTH APPLY? 

In a far more civilised fashion, the new divorce reform means that both of you can apply jointly to divorce – it no longer has to be one person filing a petition against the other citing adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion.

DOES THIS MEAN MORE DIVORCES? 

Other countries such as Malta, China, Canada and Australia have already gone through this reform and whilst it showed a small increase initially, there has been a reduction in divorce cases as couples were prepared to wait for the new ‘no-fault divorce’ rather than lay blame, opting for a more amicable way forward.

CAN I GET A QUICK &EASY DIVORCE? 

Just because you no longer have to cite a reason for divorce or lay blame at the feet of your spouse, this doesn’t mean that the divorce process has been made conveniently quicker. However, it does mean that if you are both agreeable, and can demonstrate an irretrievable breakdown of your marriage, you would no longer need to wait 2-5 years as before, and could get your final divorce order within 6 months. 

IS IT CHEAPER TO DIVORCE? 

This reform will not make divorce any less painful or contentious. Hopefully, clients will see a reduction in legal fees with the absence of any backwards and forwards mud-slinging and more constructive discussions in its place. With any luck, faster resolution will lead to reduced fees, but it isn’t guaranteed.

SHOULD I WAIT FOR THE REFORM?

 If you are considering divorce now then waiting for the reform to kick in will eradicate the need to attribute blame for your marriage breakdown. Each case is completely individual, but it could reduce animosity and make arrangements for any dependent children and financial settlements easier to agree on.

We hope that this may have answered any questions you have if you are considering divorce or just starting proceedings. We are always here to help make difficult situations as painless as possible and you are welcome to arrange a FREE informal consultation with Sheryl Perry, our divorce expert.

Contact us today and make an appointment on 01245463243 or email sheryl.perry@sherylperrysolicitors.uk

Yes. By setting up a Declaration of Trust at the outset of any joint ownership benefits everyone involved and provides clarity on each parties’ intentions which can avoid any financial disputes in the future.

Buying a property is one of the biggest financial commitments we will make in our lifetime and it is something that you need to get right from the get-go and do everything possible to protect your investment – and the investment of any other parties financially involved. There are two categories of people that a Declaration of Trust is especially important for: those jointly buying a property with an unequal deposit, and those who are buying property and getting financial assistance from someone else, like their family.

If you’re just starting your research into a Declaration of Trust, you may well come across the term ‘Trust Deed’, but don’t worry – it’s usually the same thing!

By setting up a Declaration of Trust you can legally outline the financial arrangements of each parties’ ownership. This prevents any financial uncertainty around your investment in years to come if there was ever a separation.

When would I need a Declaration of Trust?

A common situation where you would need a Declaration of Trust is when one or more persons own a property but they need to legally set out their initial financial contributions. This could apply to couples just starting out and buying their first home together or a group of friends who have purchased a property jointly. 

Often, Bank of Mum and Dad get financially involved when their children fly the nest and a chunk of the deposit money may well come from them. To protect their share in the joint financial investment, there contribution should be cited in any Declaration of Trust also. 

So how does this work?

In this example 3 friends have purchased a property together but they have contributed uneven sums of money to the deposit/fees – Friend A contributed 70% and Friend B contributed 30% and Friend C had no money for a deposit – the mortgage payments and bills are split equally every month. We would highly recommend that a Declaration of Trust be drawn up showing these contributions and set out their respective shares of ownership. When it comes to the sale of the property for whatever reason (possibly and commonly a breakdown in friendship) the deposit/fees investment percentage is protected rather than the property be sold and the profit split three ways. Without a Declaration of Trust, this could happen and Friends A & B would be very short changed with Friend C benefiting more from the sale.

What else do I need to know about a Declaration of Trust?

• No more than 4 people can legally own a property at the land Registry therefore a Declaration of Trust can set out who really owns the property and in what shares with 4 or less names. 
• A Declaration of Trust is legally binding and can be enforced in court and goes above what is recorded in the Title Deed on the Land Registry. 
• You can craft your Declaration of Trust to suit your needs and there are many things that you could include, such as: 

• Breakdown of who paid how much towards the deposit, stamp duty and conveyancing fees.
• The percentage share of who owns what and how this will later translate if the property is sold.
• If someone else has contributed to help you out, what they expect to get back.
• The amount each party is expected to pay towards any mortgage repayments, utility bills and council tax. 
• How much deposit percentage was paid and what they will get back.
• Who will receive any rental income should you let out the property, rather than sell.
• Who owns the furniture.
• …and lots more.

Relationships change. If you think you can agree on the share of the money each person will get when the property is sold, then great! However, if there is a disagreement, the courts can get involved which will be an uncertain, very expensive and stressful process. 

It’s always a good idea to use an experienced solicitor to draw your Declaration of Trust as they will have extensive knowledge of the law in this area. Here at Sheryl Perry Solicitors, we work closely with you to ensure that your document reflects your purpose and interests in the property and will protect you for years to come.

If you would like to book a 30-minute FREE consultation to discover more about how a Declaration of Trust can protect your financial investment in property, please do get in touch. We are always on hand to offer the very best in legal advice.

Encouragingly, perceptions around prenuptial agreements are changing for the better and they are a good idea if you have assets that you need to protect before you get married. 

After all, you take out an endless list of insurances including car, home, life, medical, holiday, appliance and pet insurance…so why not take out marriage insurance?  It could prove to be one of the most important decisions you make. Around 1/3 of UK marriages in England and Wales end in divorce and by having a prenup in place means that nothing is left to chance when it comes to protecting yourself and your (other) loved ones in the divorce courts.

You may feel that you don’t have a significant amount of wealth that you need to ringfence right now, but that doesn’t necessary mean that a prenup agreement isn’t something that you should consider; in most cases, you’d be surprised by what you do, or could, have. Similarly, if you do have considerable assets, it is well worth drawing up a prenup to protect your current and future wealth. 

So what is a ‘prenuptial agreement’?

It’s a contract (more commonly shortened these days to ‘prenup’). You and your partner enter into this contract before you get married and it outlines ownership of assets respectively and if the marriage breaks down and you end up divorcing, it then helps the court to distribute your assets as you intended, as long as you adhere to the prenup criteria!

Here are a few things to think about to safeguard your wealth before you tie the knot:

One partner has more than the other

If there is existing disparity in wealth this is a key driver for entering into a prenup contract. If one partner is significantly wealthier than the other and the marriage fails, they stand to lose a lot more than the other if there is to be an equal split in the settlement. By having a prenup in place, you can protect wealth that has been accumulated over a period of time, long before any talk of marriage. It can also go a long way to safeguarding any expected future wealth from career success, business venture or financial growth from investments and associated future earnings. 

Are there prenup conditions which need to be met?

Yes, there are certain criteria that you need to meet before your prenup can be validated which protects both parties, and in a nutshell, here they are:

• Each party must provide full disclosure of all assets, liabilities and any debts in the agreement.
• The agreement must be voluntary.
• It must be unbiased, written up correctly, signed and witnessed and, above all, must be fair. This means a qualifying prenuptial agreement cannot be used to get out of providing for a party’s needs at the point of divorce; any attempt to do so could render the agreement invalid.  

To protect your assets from a potential 50/50 split, you need to consider each one of your assets in your agreement and here are some common examples:

Your family home: Determine how the family home will be divided should you get divorced.

Money: Agree the division of money held by one person, both parties, in joint or separate accounts which includes day to day accounts, savings and investments.

Debt: Limit any debt liability should one spouse accumulate any debt.

Children: Protect your children from a previous relationship in terms of their future right to any of your property or assets.

Property: Protect any pre-existing property that either partyhas brought into the relationship. This can include second homes, holiday homes and business premises.

Inheritance/Trusts: Safeguard any assets gifted to one of the parties or inherited before the marriage, as well as any assets gained from a Trust.

Is a prenup legally binding?

Not quite, as they are not enforceable in UK law. HOWEVER, judges in the UK generally give prenups significant weight during divorce court proceedings and will usually uphold them providing the prenup has been drawn up properly, signed and all considerations have been met. By having a prenup in place you can often avoid uncertainty when it comes to a judge’s ruling.

There has been some positive movement around this by The Law Commission who, in October 2009, began examining the status and enforceability of prenuptial agreements (as well as post-nuptial agreements and separation agreements). In 2011, it published a consultation paper discussing whether all three of these agreements should be legally binding subject to certain safeguards. Further papers were published in 2012 and then the final report was published in 2014, recommending the introduction of qualifying nuptial agreements that will limit the court’s powers to make financial orders on divorce or dissolution. This means the court would be prevented from making orders inconsistent with the terms of a qualifying nuptial agreement except to meet either party’s needs or in the interests of a child of the family. So, whilst not completely legally binding, a prenup will still stand you in good stead.

Broaching the subject

Historically, broaching the subject of a prenup has caused unease in a relationship, particularly if one party wants one and the other does not. In 2021, where equality in modern day relationships plays its part, most couples see the sense and value in drawing up a prenup as a marriage insurance, especially when they already have children and assets beforehand. Married life is a wonderful and positive experience for many couples and arranging a prenup shouldn’t change this.

If you are thinking of drawing up a prenuptial agreement you must seek professional legal advice. Sheryl Perry is a prenuptial agreement expert who can offer you no-obligation 30-minute consultation, completely free of charge. Getting your prenup right to ensure its validity is crucial in protecting your assets, so contact her today and set your affairs in order and protect your future.

The short answer to this question is no. Sheryl Perry of Sheryl Perry Solicitors explains, why when it comes to divorce, this isn’t as cut and dried as it seems.

For most married ‘husband and wife’ couples the term ‘adultery’ means that one person has cheated or been cheated on by their spouse and this is more than enough reason on its own to petition for divorce. In English law, we have 5 main grounds for divorce which are:

• Unreasonable behaviour
• Desertion
• Separation for more than 2 years – with both parties in agreement
• Separation for more than 5 years – without any agreement
• And of course, adultery!

Proof has to be provided of at least one these grounds before a divorce petition will be granted and in order to prove ‘adultery’ has been committed, we really need to understand exactly what this term means under English law.

What does ‘adultery’ mean?

“Voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other but one of whom is married to someone else”. Straightforward enough for opposite sex couples, but what does this mean for same-sex couples? It means the ‘adultery’ definition cannot apply due to the physiological ‘mechanics’ of having sex with a same-sex partner, so the term ‘adultery’ at this moment in time, isn’t physically, thus legally, possible.

Whilst the current legal definition of ‘adultery’ potentially implies that same-sex infidelity isn’t as serious as opposite sex unfaithfulness, it is a massive grey area, full of blurred lines, confusion and double standards. Same-sex infidelity can be used as grounds for divorce but only under the provision of ‘unreasonable behaviour’, not ‘adultery’. 

Why is it different for same-sex infidelity?

We have to remember that today’s divorce law was established by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, that’s almost half a century ago and back then, sexual relations between two men had only just been legalised. Did you know that same-sex relations between two women have never been criminalised? There were certainly no plans to allow same-sex unions like the civil partnership we have today, let alone a legal marriage. 

Even with the progression we have seen since 1973, as we begin 2021, we must accept that legally same-sex infidelity is not the same as adultery, it is classed as ‘unreasonable behaviour’. 

Change is coming

The government’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 which was passed in June, will remove the concept of ‘fault’, making citing a reason for divorce redundant as it just won’t be required anymore. The 5 grounds for divorce listed at the top of this blog will be replaced by a new requirement to submit a statement of irretrievable breakdown. Further changes will include provision for a joint application; we will also see the old Latin-isms go as ‘decree nisi’ and ‘decree absolute’ will be replaced with ‘conditional order’ and ‘final order’. All of these changes apply fairly to the dissolution of civil partnerships as well as marriages.

The government is still working on the changes that need to be implemented and the new ‘no fault divorce’ is planned to come into effect in the autumn of 2021. So, whilst current rules around adultery are not ideal or deemed equal, we only have to wait a little longer for the changes to ring in.

Right now, the reality is that it makes very little difference in obtaining a divorce in the unfortunate event of same-sex infidelity; it just means a different box has to be ticked when filling out the divorce petition. When citing ‘unreasonable behaviour’ as the reason for a marriage breakdown, the petition will  be assessed by the judge who will make the decision on whether or not a spouse’s behaviour is serious enough to merit divorce. In cases of same-sex infidelity, this can be quite a simple judgement.

Need professional help?

If you find yourself in a similar situation and are unsure of where you stand and what your next steps should be, please contact Sheryl Perry today for a free 30-minute consultation to gain legal clarity and peace of mind.