Christmas may seem a long way away but if you have not yet made the arrangments with your ex partner for contact with your children you should start to discuss the arrangements now.

Many separated couples are able to agree the arrangements for the absent parent to have contact with their children on a regular basis throughout the year and the specific arrangements for contact over the Christmas and New Year period.

Unfortunately some separated parents are unable to agree the pattern of contact and if you are one who has yet to firm up the arrangements over Christmas you must start thinking about it now.  Leaving it to December can be too late especially if court proceedings are necessary.

If you want contact with your children over Christmas and your ex partner says no or is offering less contact than you would like you should seek legal advice.

The first step is always

Following its 2012 consultation on marital property agreements (“pre nups”) The Law Commission has launched a supplementary consultation paper examining the different aspects of law relating to the financial consequences of divorce and of the dissolution of a civil partnership.

The consultation will consider the law relating to what extent one spouse should be required to meet the other’s financial needs, and what exactly is meant by needs; and what happens to property that one of the partners owned before the relationship or acquired during the course of it.

The recent reforms to legal aid will inevitably mean that there will be more litigants in person and therefore the Law Commission is looking at ways to simplify the process of dividing a couples assets and income.

The consultation paper also asks  “whether financial support should continue to be determined by the court, at the judge’s discretion, or whether it should be calculated by reference to a formula,

There is an interesting article in The Telegraph that I thought I’d share with you.  A ‘lifestyle guru’ to celebrities is being sued by his ex partner who claimed to be his ‘common law wife’ for a payout following the breakdown of their relationship.

Their relationship lasted 15 years and they had a son together.  The guru Mr Brown owned the home they shared in his sole name and he also had a collection of Jaguar cars and earned royalties from two of his books.  They never married but Ms Brown his ex partner claims to be his ‘common law wife’.  She said Mr Brown told her that she need not worry as she was protected as a common law wife and that they both owned 50 per cent of the property and other assets they went on to purchase.  Mr Brown claims he never referred to Ms Brown as his common law wife and