Deborah
Gibbins & Co
Office
News
At
Deborah Gibbins & Co we continue to offer publicly funded assistance
i.e. Legal
Aid.
2007 saw a massive restructuring of the
Legal Aid System with the threat of many firms pulling out of publicly
funded work and restricting the public’s assess to justice.
With the introduction of new contracts and fixed fees many firms
have felt the future is uncertain and not financially viable.
However for the foreseeable future we will continue to offer
Legal Aid advice.
To check if you are financially eligible click on this link
Deborah
Gibbins became re-accredited as a member of the Solicitors Regulation
Authority’s Family Law Panel on
1st
January 2004
For
more information click on this link
Deborah
Gibbins also became re-accredited as a specialist member of Resolution
on
30th
July 2006
.
For
more information click on this link
Legal
News
CSA
The
much berated
CSA
is set to become C-MEC (the Child Maintenance and Enforcement
Commission). The Child
Maintenance and Other Payments Bill puts the emphasis on encouraging
parents to make their own maintenance arrangements and benefit claimants
will no longer be forced to use C-MEC.
Perhaps more controversially it is proposed that child support
will be based on the absent parent’s gross income not net although the
percentages will reduce.
Watch
this space to see if C-MEC proves any more popular or successful than
the
CSA
!
Civil
Partnerships
The
Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on
5
December 2005
.
It is early days yet but the courts have seen a number of
dissolution applications already.
Significant
case law on financial issues on dissolution are still awaited
and no doubt when a celebrity civil partnership dissolution takes place
this area of law will hit the headlines.
Cohabitation
Despite
the publication of “Cohabitation The Financial Consequences of
Relationship Breakdown” published
31
July 2007
and Law Commission’s
recommendation for reform in this area the Government has put the
reforms on hold. The present
law provides no protection for cohabiting couples and most cohabiting
couples assume they have rights as “common law spouses” but no such
rights exist. Resolution
continues to campaign for reform in this area.
Pre-nuptial Agreements
Whilst
the case of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills is unlikely to impact on
most average divorcing couples it may have some sway in promoting the
use of pre-nuptial agreements. At
the present time pre-nuptial agreements are not binding upon English
courts and as a consequence few solicitors are prepared to draft such
documents. Will there now be
move to reform the law in this area?
Watch
this space!
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