Living together legally speaking
This week the Supreme Court published it’s long awaited decision in the landmark case Jones v Kernott. Ms Jones and Mr Kernott bought a house together, lived together but did not marry. Like many people who choose to buy property jointly, they did not enter into any formal agreement as to who owned what proportion of the property. The relationship broke down and Mr Kernott moved out. Ms Jones continued to maintain the property and to pay the mortgage as well as caring for the children. Many years later, Mr Kernott sought his share of the property. Ms ...
Lawyers are people too
Just when you think you’ve cracked it someone always comes along and complicates things. There I was, looking forward to an early retirement after more years than I would care to admit to shuffling paper for one of our well known High Street Banks. Then along came an old friend and said, “Could you spare a few hours a week to lend me a hand”. Without hesitation or indeed having any idea what would be involved I agreed and found myself working in a law firm. Not doing anything clever, just trying to keep things running smoothly and the staff content. ...
In which your intrepid blogger ventures out
Last week I braved not only the M25 but the M11. Thankfully I wasn’t on the M25 on a day when it turns into a car park and I think there was a nice man in a bright yellow and black van on a bridge taking pictures of cars on the M11. I went up (or down if you are in the North or over if you are in the Midlands) to Norwich. It’s a very long way there. Come to think of it, it is a very long way from anywhere. It is also very flat. There are big ...
What is a dog?
Or a cat or a hamster or even a komodo dragon- should you be fortunate enough to find one in your kitchen one morning. Fido or Fifi are our fur children we love them, feed them, take them to the doctor (I don’t like to say V E T in front of D O G) tell them our troubles and care for them like a child. They have human names, Mr Smooth has a cat called Dave (vicious little darling – the cat not Mr Smooth). In many ways a pet takes more attention and is as a great a responsibility as a child. ...
What I did on my holiday
Well not actually my holiday but this past weekend. I would have been watching the rugby, walking the dogs, perhaps cooking up a storm. Instead, I spent the weekend in the company of some of the most eminent family lawyers, including 4 silks, a retired High Court Judge, a couple of District Judges, a selection of charming barristers, some pretty impressive solicitors and a Lord. So what were the likes of Sir Hugh Bennet, Tim Scott QC, Valentine Le Grice QC, David Hodson, James Pirrie, Fiona Read, and Melanie Wilson among others doing in Bloomsbury Square on a sunny autumn weekend? Twenty ...
New London Office – Opening soon
On this glorious autumn day Frances Lindsay & Co is, in the common parlance of the time, winning. The Practice Director tells me that in advance of the official opening of our London office at the end of October, the office space itself is available and we can arrange to see clients starting from now. The opening of the much awaited office in the Big Smoke will enable us to enhance the already excellent service we offer to all our London-based clients, past, present and future. It is within striking distance of the Royal Courts of Justice, The Principal Registry ...
On Christmas #1
Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. So am I. The lengthening autumn evenings give me the perfect excuse for leaving my running shoes gathering dust and spiders in the corner. A weekend walk with the dogs through the fallen leaves in the winter sunshine becomes my only exercise followed by a good lunch and a snooze in front of the fire. Well actually, Christmas is still three months away; it is just that I completed the Adidas 5 K Women’s challenge in Hyde Park last Sunday and am feeling smug enough to think about putting my running shoes ...
Heard in the Office. Warning: moral debate
Hot debate in the office this morning about the morality or otherwise of pre-nuptial (or antenuptial) agreements. I am not saying who said what but here's how it went For A fantastic way of insuring and protecting yourself should your marriage break down. No one wants a marriage to end but the statistics show that nearly half of them end in divorce. Why run the risk of losing pre-acquired marital wealth when you could give the court a clear indication that both you and your spouse had agreed what was to happen in the event of divorce? You wouldn’t drive your car without ...
On single parents
Much has been said and written about single parents in the past few weeks and months. Sadly not much of it is positive. Rarely is there any acknowledgement of the excellent job the majority of single parents do in difficult circumstances. Which set me thinking about my gang: The Boy, Mr Cool, The Short One, Curly and Thin. During some parts of their lives they have had to survive the rigours of having me as a single parent. They seem to have turned out okay. Last time I looked none of them had been rioting or looting and they seem ...
The ostrich, the vet and the CSA
The Child Support Agency has just released its list of the ten worst excuses used by parents for not paying child support. I have been trying to decide which one is my favourite. The ostrich and the vet come close. On the other hand the man who changed his name and claimed he didn’t have to pay because he wasn’t the person on the birth certificate must get a prize for ingenuity. This is the current top ten: 1. "I'm not paying another penny. I've already bought my child a pick-and-mix this week", complained one. 2. Another said he could not pay ...
On grandchildren
I have a lot of children. I lose count sometimes but including step children, partners and grandchildren we make about 16 for Sunday lunch. The eldest curly haired daughter, aka The Short One, is pregnant. We have ordered a curly haired child, although Drummer Boy (Short One’s husband) is not assisting in that department. The Short One and I have weathered the storms of the tantrums, the teenage years, the coming home late at night after the odd gin and tonic (and that was only me), and now we rub along pretty well. Sometimes I irritate her, she patronises me, but ...
