Dating before a divorce is finalised might harm your financial position...

A High Court Judge has recently ruled that if a woman starts a relationship with another man whilst still sorting out the finances during a divorce, it may affect the settlement she receives.

In a case involving a Swansea couple, the husband’s legal team during their ‘routine investigations’ found out that the wife was dating, although not living with, another man.  Mr Justice Mostyn reasoned that "She says she is not going to live with him, although it is perfectly clear that the relationship is strong. Relationships like this always are a significant fly in the ointment in the assessment of need. One cannot make assumptions, if it is not full-blown cohabitation akin to marriage, that it will grow into that, because if it does not, the wife may be left stranded if the assumption is wrongly made. On the other hand, if one makes a needs assessment on the basis that she is a single woman and she soon cohabits, then the paying party can rightfully feel significantly aggrieved.”

In this case, and believing that the wife might soon live with her new partner, the Judge awarded £250,000.  However, he did say that if she didn’t end up living with him then £250,000 might not be enough.

Unless Judges are going to be equipped with crystal balls, there is no way of knowing how any fledgling relationship is going to turn out.

There’s a lesson to be learnt here - if you’re going through a divorce, be careful about new relationships and, if possible, steer clear until any settlement is finalised.

Catholics to get easier divorce?

It has been reported this week that Pope Francis has ordered a group of theologians and lawyers to come up with ways to help Catholics divorce more easily.

The 11-member commission, announced on Saturday, will seek to "simplify the (annulment) procedure, making it more streamlined, while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage," the Vatican said.

At the present time Catholics can obtain annulments if they can show their marriage was not valid in the first place, perhaps because a partner declined to have children.  However this process, through the church, can be complex and often costly.

If Catholics instead opt for a simpler civil divorce – which is not recognised by the Church – and then remarry, they can be refused communion because the Church considers them to be still married and living in sin.

New protocol launched for tackling stalking and harassment

As stalking-related prosecutions rise, prosecutors and police are being reminded by the Crown Prosecution Service to focus on the devastating impact these crimes have on victims. Prosecutions for all stalking and harassment offences, using both new and older legislation, have increased by more than 20 per cent in 2013-14. In order to maintain this upward trend a new protocol was launched last week to ensure consistency of approach when tackling all forms of stalking.

The new Protocol focuses strongly on the needs of stalking victims and reminds police and prosecutors to:

• ensure that in every case the victim has the opportunity to provide a Victim Personal Statement to court and is able to read this out personally should they wish;
• fully investigate the reasons behind any victim withdrawing a complaint, ensuring it is not the result of pressure from others;
• ensure that victims are consulted on issues such as bail and restraining orders.

Rachel Griffin, Director of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the charity that runs the National Stalking Helpline said:

“Stalking is a highly complex crime that has devastating impacts on a victim and because of this we are pleased that the very real issue of online stalking has been addressed in the protocols. The next steps have to be to ensure that all officers are trained to ensure that the guidance in the protocols become a reality for every victim of stalking."

If you are worried about a stalking or harassment issue, please do get in touch with us - Sally Fitzherbert has experience of womens' issues relating to violence.

To see the original article which appeared in Family Law Week, please click here