Family Law

The High Court has held that children who were wrongfully abducted by their mother must be returned to their father in England. In reaching this decision, the court held that the mother had provided insufficient evidence to establish a grave risk to the children or to conclude that they would be in

The High Court has criticised the Child and Family Agency for a “litany of failings” in the management of a foster care placement for a child and refused to grant an order for adoption. The application was brought by the CFA as the child had been in foster care for nearly 18 years. Howev

Northern Ireland's High Court has upheld the refusal of a parental order for a "vindictive" father who called police on the mother of his 11-year-old son under false pretences. The court found that a County Court judge was right to refuse the application for a parental responsibility order and a dir

Divorcing couples in England will be provided with £500 mediation vouchers to help them resolve disputes away from court. The scheme was originally launched on a trial basis last March and has already seen 8,400 vouchers issued to divorcing couples. An additional £5.4 million in funding

Parental alienation is being "increasingly cited in the Irish courts" despite the lack of a clear agreed definition, justice minister Helen McEntee said as she launched a new consultation on the issue. The Department of Justice last year commissioned research into parental alienation which is still

Family lawyer Aidan Reynolds has been appointed as a partner at Keith Walsh Solicitors in Dublin. Mr Reynolds was the longest-serving partner at family law firm Gallagher Shatter, which dissolved on Saturday. He joined the firm in September 1988 and became a partner in October 1991.

The long-awaited Family Court Bill is one of 34 pieces of draft legislation which will be published this summer as a matter of priority, the government has said. The bill, which will establish a District Family Court, a Circuit Family Court and a Family High Court as divisions within the current cou

Northern Ireland’s High Court has found that a health and social care trust's decision to deny visitation between a breastfeeding mother and her child was correct given the risk of Covid-19 infection. The court noted that the trust had responded proportionately, and had taken steps to ensure t

Northern Ireland’s High Court has criticised lower courts for delaying their ruling for an Irish father seeking a contact order for his 10-year-old son in Northern Ireland. The High Court noted that these courts had clear jurisdiction but were reluctant to rule on this "simple case" for over a

Claire Edgar, family law partner at Belfast-based Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, comments on major changes to divorce in England and Wales. This week saw the introduction of no-fault divorce in England and Wales.

The High Court has quashed a decision of the Circuit Court to dismiss an appeal brought by a lay litigant after the trial judge failed to let the man make submissions. The applicant had appealed a decision of the District Court which increased maintenance payments for his child from €60 to &eur

Northern Ireland's High Court has rejected a father's bid to prevent his estranged wife from vaccinating their five children, having determined that the administration of vaccines for common illnesses, including Covid-19, is in the best interests of the child. The court found that the father's objec

Lawyers expect to see a surge in divorce applications tomorrow as no-fault divorce rules come into effect in England and Wales. Couples will no longer have to allocate blame to end their marriage, nor separate for at least two years.

The government has broken a commitment made just days ago for the long-awaited Family Court Bill to be published by the end of March 2022. Justice Plan 2022, launched by justice minister Helen McEntee on Monday, gave "Q1 2022" as the date for the publication of the bill, which will establish a Distr

Family law "remains the poor relation" in the Department of Justice's latest annual plan, a prominent Dublin solicitor has said, with little indication of what resources have been committed to reform. Justice Plan 2022, which was launched by justice minister Helen McEntee yesterday, sets out 159 act