Government to launch a consultation on no-fault divorces
- Posted by admin /
- Family /
- 17 March 2024
In the wake of the recent case of Owens v Owens [2024] UKSC 41, the UK government has taken advice from the Supreme Court and campaigners and has now launched a consultation into reforming the legal requirements of divorce. The consultation proposes to remove the need for couples to allege that the other party is at ‘fault’ if they wish to divorce. Instead, it is proposed that one, or potentially both spouses, can issue the Court with a notification that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. The purpose of the proposed legal reforms by the government is to ensure that the decision to divorce remains a ‘considered one’ and to ensure that couples who wish to divorce do not have to satisfy certain legal requirements which can cause conflict between the parties and their families. The consultation also proposes, that the other spouse will not be able to contest the divorce petition once the court has been notified. In addition, the time frame between the first stage of divorce (decree nisi) and making the application to finalise the divorce (decree absolute) is to be reviewed. It currently stands at six weeks and one day, which some feel is too long The consultation is open for a period of 12 weeks and closes on 10th December 2024 and thereafter the government will assess the response to the reforms. At TootingLaw chambers in the Family Department, we offer a fixed fee initial consultation for you to discuss any potential divorce proceedings and to help you understand all the options available to you..
A Will can still be valid even though the witnesses did not sign
- Posted by admin /
- Wills & Estates /
- 10 March 2024
In the recent case decision of Payne and Another v Payne [2024], the Court of Appeal held that a Will was validly executed, even though the two witnesses had not signed the Will when attesting the Testator’s signature.It is a common belief that for a Will to be valid, two witnesses must see the Testator sign the Will, and then they must sign their names, together with providing details of their name, address and occupation. The decision in Payne has changed this conception and it may be as a result of the Law Commission’s report to reform the law relating to Wills, so as to remove some of the archaic wording, such as “attesting” a Will. ,
The Court decided that the word “signed” should be interpreted as having the same meaning as “subscribe”, so that the provision merely required the witnesses to write their names with the intention that the act of writing should operate as an attestation to the Will. In other words, as a result of the witnesses providing their personal details, it indicated that they intended to witness the Testator’s signature and therefore their signatures were not necessary to make the Will valid. However we would still recommend, that to avoid any doubt about the validity of a Will, the witnesses should still sign their names. If you have any queries about the validity of a Will, or any other probate query, please contact our specialist Contentious Probate Team.
Landlords beware - Deregulation Act 2015 in force from March
- Posted by admin /
- Litigation /
- 3 March 2024
The Deregulation Act 2015 gave many a landlord a headache due to the increased requirements the Act imposes, particularly in relation to the service of Section 21 Notices. The Act also imposes various regulations relating to energy performance and gas safety. As from 1 March 2024 the Deregulation Act now applies to ALL tenancies regardless of whether or not they commenced before the Act came into force.,
The Deregulation Act requires:
The Deposit Protection Certificate and Prescribed Information to be served on the tenant;
A ‘How to Rent’ guide to be served on the tenant(s);
A Gas Safety Certificate to be in place and copies of the relevant documents to be provided to the tenant(s);
Section 21 Notice’s to be in the prescribed form and the above requirements to have been carried out in order to make it possible for landlords to obtain possession under the Section 21 procedure.
Further, landlords are prevented from seeking possession under the Section 21 procedure after an Improvement Notice or an Emergency Remedial Action Notice has been served on them by the Local Authority. It is therefore prudent to obtain advice at commencement of the tenancy and also before taking any steps to seek possession in order to avoid getting to Court and finding that you must restart the entire process or that you are unable to obtain possession using the Section 21 procedure. Please do not hesitate to contact the team at NENEX LAW LTD .
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