Parents who force their children to marry in England and Wales could be jailed for a maximum penalty of 7 years under the new laws.
From today, forcing someone into marriage will carry a maximum seven-year jail term under the 2014 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act.
It is now a criminal offence to use violence, threats or any other form of coercion for the purpose of causing another person to enter into a forced marriage.
The legislation followed a consultation published in December 2011 which sought views on how the new offence should be framed.
A forced marriage is described as one in which one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage but are coerced into it by physical, psychological, financial, sexual or emotional pressure. This is different from arranged marriages where the parents may have arranged the marriage but both parties have consented to the union but can still refuse to marry if they choose to.
As the new law came into effect, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, said that forced marriage is "a tragedy for each and every victim". She added that forced marriage is an "appalling practice" and that criminalising it would send "a strong message that it will not be tolerated". It is already illegal in Scotland.
Monday, 16 June 2014
Monday, 2 June 2014
Forty-somethings shy away from marriage
It seems that forty-somethings are turning their backs on marriage faster than any other generation, a recent study has shown.
In the last decade the number of people cohabiting rose by a third, except for people in their 40s for whom it rose by a staggering 70%. The Office for National Statistics, who produced the study, point out that this coincides with the peak age group for divorce.
Family lawyers are saying this is the 'once bitten, twice shy' mindset because of the pain of divorce.
Married people are a minority group for the first time, accounting for only 48% of the population, whereas cohabitation has been increasing quickly.
If you'd like to read the original press piece on this report from The Telegraph, please click here
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Top Judge recommends court-free divorce
Sir James Munby, the UK's most senior family law judge, has recently said that couples should be able to get a divorce simply by signing a form at the register office. In a radical move, he said consenting couples should be able to end their marriage without the approval of a judge.
Whilst it is not always necessary to attend court in person, every divorce in the UK currently has to be assessed and approved by a judge. These new proposals would do away with that process, with break-ups simply being recorded by a registrar in the same way as births, marriages and deaths.
Sir James also proposed a law that would see cohabiting couples being treated as though they were married after having lived together for a set number of years.
He said that in some countries divorce which is by consent and where there are no children is treated in a simply administrative manner "and it seems to work". He did not advocate this system where there was no consent or where children were involved.
Any changes to divorce laws would need parliamentary legislation, and Sir James hasn't even run his ideas past ministers as yet, so they're not likely to come into practice any time soon.
Critics of the new 'administrative' divorce have said that the laws would be open to abuse and would mean an end to marriage itself.
For more details on this story from the BBC's news website, please click here
Whilst it is not always necessary to attend court in person, every divorce in the UK currently has to be assessed and approved by a judge. These new proposals would do away with that process, with break-ups simply being recorded by a registrar in the same way as births, marriages and deaths.
Sir James also proposed a law that would see cohabiting couples being treated as though they were married after having lived together for a set number of years.
He said that in some countries divorce which is by consent and where there are no children is treated in a simply administrative manner "and it seems to work". He did not advocate this system where there was no consent or where children were involved.
Any changes to divorce laws would need parliamentary legislation, and Sir James hasn't even run his ideas past ministers as yet, so they're not likely to come into practice any time soon.
Critics of the new 'administrative' divorce have said that the laws would be open to abuse and would mean an end to marriage itself.
For more details on this story from the BBC's news website, please click here
Monday, 12 May 2014
Don't annoy the Judge...
Pauline Chai, the Miss Malaysia wife of Laura Ashley tycoon Khoo Kay Peng, had filed to divorce her husband in a £500m case - yet earlier this month the businessman failed to turn up at the High Court for the second time.
The judge expressed his disgust at Dr Peng's non-attendance and dismissed the tycoon's excuse - that a former Malaysian judge advised him to stay away - as "complete rubbish". Mr Justice Holman concluded Dr Peng was treating the court with contempt and "playing games".
The former beauty queen, 66, and the business tycoon, 74, began the bitter proceedings - which could result in Britain's biggest divorce settlement - after their 43-year marriage broke down last year.
Dr Peng wants the case to be heard in a court in his native Malaysia, where it is believed that his wife would be entitled to less.
Besides having a 40% stake in Laura Ashley, Dr Peng is a director of the Corus Hotel chain and runs a global investment company. Estimates have put his wealth at up to £1bn.
The collapse of the couple's marriage has resulted in a surreal situation at Rossway Park, their estate near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Ms Chai lives in the main 15-bedroom home, while her husband uses the nearby five-bedroom manor house. Each has their own Gurkha protection team who guard their respective portions of the estate, which boasts a menagerie of exotic animals and two artificial lakes.
To read the original full article which appeared in The Independent, please click here
The judge expressed his disgust at Dr Peng's non-attendance and dismissed the tycoon's excuse - that a former Malaysian judge advised him to stay away - as "complete rubbish". Mr Justice Holman concluded Dr Peng was treating the court with contempt and "playing games".
The former beauty queen, 66, and the business tycoon, 74, began the bitter proceedings - which could result in Britain's biggest divorce settlement - after their 43-year marriage broke down last year.
Dr Peng wants the case to be heard in a court in his native Malaysia, where it is believed that his wife would be entitled to less.
Besides having a 40% stake in Laura Ashley, Dr Peng is a director of the Corus Hotel chain and runs a global investment company. Estimates have put his wealth at up to £1bn.
The collapse of the couple's marriage has resulted in a surreal situation at Rossway Park, their estate near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Ms Chai lives in the main 15-bedroom home, while her husband uses the nearby five-bedroom manor house. Each has their own Gurkha protection team who guard their respective portions of the estate, which boasts a menagerie of exotic animals and two artificial lakes.
To read the original full article which appeared in The Independent, please click here
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Poker player wins case not to pay child maintenance from winnings
A professional poker player has won his case to NOT support his children from his winnings because his income is not from 'gainful employment'.
Three judges at the Appeal Court rules that his poker playing did not amount to a trade, business or profession and therefore did not fall within the regulations of child support.
The decision follows a four year dispute after the mother of the children claimed his gambling was a profession, like a professional sportsman, and asked the Child Support Agency to order him to pay maintenance. An earlier hearing had concluded that his winnings DID constitute gainful employment and ruled that he should pay maintenance.
If you'd like to read the full story which originally appeared in the Telegraph, please click here
Three judges at the Appeal Court rules that his poker playing did not amount to a trade, business or profession and therefore did not fall within the regulations of child support.
The decision follows a four year dispute after the mother of the children claimed his gambling was a profession, like a professional sportsman, and asked the Child Support Agency to order him to pay maintenance. An earlier hearing had concluded that his winnings DID constitute gainful employment and ruled that he should pay maintenance.
If you'd like to read the full story which originally appeared in the Telegraph, please click here
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Man kills wife's pet ram in bitter divorce battle
A man who killed his wife's pet ram has found himself in the divorce courts. The marriage had already gone sour, but the killing by the husband was apparently the last straw for the wife. The elderly couple (70 and 68 years old) are enormously wealthy and have houses in London, Austria and the south of France.
The wife, who is claiming £390,000 in annual maintenance (including £70,000 for holidays) is hoping to have the full divorce case heard in England, where wives are perceived to receive more generous settlements. The husband, meanwhile, is arguing that he is not domiciled here, and it is for a Judge to decide where the case will be heard.
It seems that the unfortunate ram lived in the south of France until his death - the couple had bought a house there after the wife said how much she disliked the cold and damp of the UK in the winter.
A Judge will now decide if the full divorce proceedings should go ahead in the UK. In the meantime he has awarded the wife a pared-down sum of £170,000 a year to live on.
If you'd like to see the full story as it originally appeared in The Telegraph, click here
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
A victory for the house-husband
A stay-at-home husband who claims he sacrificed his own career so his wife, an investment banker, could continue hers has triumphed in a crucial round of their impending £11million divorce battle.
House husband, Weng Choy, says he filed for divorce from his "breadwinner" wife, Lena Tan, in January 2012, after a blazing row days earlier on New Year's Eve proved the "final straw" proving, yet again, that January really is the time when most divorces can get started.
Ms Tan cited the fact that she needed to be in Malaysia and that the divorce should be heard there, despite over half the couple's wealth being invested in UK assets, including an unmortgaged £4.5m apartment in Kensington.
Ms Tan claimed that Mr Choy had no right to divorce in England as they had houses in Hong Kong, Malaysia and London. However, three Appeal Court judges settled the debate in Mr Choy's favour, ruling that he had been "habitually resident" in this country for a year before he filed for divorce and therefore was entitled to fight his case before an English family judge. English judges are renowned for their generosity to the partners of rich spouses.
If you would like to read the full story which originally appeared in The Telegraph, please click here
House husband, Weng Choy, says he filed for divorce from his "breadwinner" wife, Lena Tan, in January 2012, after a blazing row days earlier on New Year's Eve proved the "final straw" proving, yet again, that January really is the time when most divorces can get started.
Ms Tan cited the fact that she needed to be in Malaysia and that the divorce should be heard there, despite over half the couple's wealth being invested in UK assets, including an unmortgaged £4.5m apartment in Kensington.
Ms Tan claimed that Mr Choy had no right to divorce in England as they had houses in Hong Kong, Malaysia and London. However, three Appeal Court judges settled the debate in Mr Choy's favour, ruling that he had been "habitually resident" in this country for a year before he filed for divorce and therefore was entitled to fight his case before an English family judge. English judges are renowned for their generosity to the partners of rich spouses.
If you would like to read the full story which originally appeared in The Telegraph, please click here
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