News

"Dealing with separations overseas" by Tony Roe.
27 May 2010 :: Business Review (Reading Chronicle, Bracknell News & Slough Observer).

There are growing international aspects to divorce and family law. One is the increasing number of ex-pat clients who might as easily be in Oman as Oxfordshire but have matrimonial property disputes in this country. The trouble comes when a volcanic cloud descends, preventing the client travelling to their court date. Court time is at a premium: adjourning a hearing adds weeks or months to the timetable, not to mention cost.

As well as the no-fly directive hitting our clients, one staff member had an enforced week in the Canaries. We were beginning to explore the idea of a branch office there when the ban was suddenly lifted.

Child abduction is a worrying element within international family law. The number of abduction cases reported to Reunite, the charity specialising in international parental child abduction, doubled between 1995 and 2009. In 2009, Spain and USA were jointly the most frequent destinations for children abducted out of the UK, followed by Ireland and Poland.

Moving abroad with one’s child can involve criminal sanctions if not done lawfully. Specialist advice is required whether the move is to be permanent or simply for a holiday.

We see more and more clients who may be able to divorce in more than one country. “Forum shopping” involves applying for divorce in the jurisdiction where one might get the best matrimonial settlement. The issue is highly complex, requires family law expert opinion in all the relevant states and swift, decisive action.

The Supreme Court, in the case of Agbaje, has recently made financial provision for a wife where the divorce, and indeed a modest financial provision order, had occurred in a foreign country, Nigeria, some seven years before. To date, such cases have not been common but the publicity that the case attracted is likely to generate more enquiries.

News Index