Legal age of marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales rises to 18 The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 comes into force today (27 February 2023) (see LNB News 31/01/2023 2). From this date, 16 and 17-year-olds in England and Wales cannot marry or enter into a civil partnership, even if

The provisions of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) come into effect on 6 April 2022 heralding significant changes to the procedure for applications for matrimonial and civil partnership orders, removing the need to prove fault or separation.  When divorcing, the Applicant now has to state that the marriage has broken down

This Act takes effect from 1/10/21. It expands the definition of “domestic abuse” and introduces further protective powers for victims and children. Also r S80 of the act prohibits charges being made for medical evidence of domestic abuse.

It has been announced that as from 30th September 2021 court fees will be increased. The increased fees are set out in The Court Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2021 (legislation.gov.uk).

Ministers have today announced that the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which will allow married couples to divorce without assigning blame, will come into force on 6th April 2022.

At the beginning of April, the government announced that the new victims code came into force. The code offers more support than previously to victims. The code will help inform the Victims Law which is due to be consulted on.

The Domestic Abuse Bill has been passed. The bill will create a statutory definition of domestic abuse, provide for new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Orders, prohibit perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims, create a presumption that victims of domestic abuse are eligible for special measures in court.

For family lawyers, there are a number of implications and practical considerations arising after Brexit. The two main EU regulations likely to be encountered by practitioners on a day-to-day basis are Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters