We are delighted to announce that Alex Gray has become a partner with effect from 1st October 2022.

HMRC have announced plans that will produce welcome changes to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) treatment of assets transferred between spouses and civil partners who are in the process of separating.  Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2022/23 that will give separating couples more time to transfer assets between themselves without incurring a possible charge of CGT.

In June 2020, following a public consultation and call for evidence, the Ministry of Justice published a panel report “Assessing the Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases” (also known as “the Harm Report”). The report was commissioned following widespread concern about the ability of the family law justice system to properly serve and protect the interests of victims of abuse, including both parents and children.

There has been much discussion of late regarding greater transparency and openness in the family courts, and particularly in financial remedy proceedings. The current practice is that family court hearings are not open to the public and judgments should be anonymised but this is at the discretion of the Judge hearing the case.

At the end of last month, the government set out its “Living with Covid” plan effectively taking away all the restrictions that have been imposed by Covid-19 over the past two years.

On 6 April 2022 the new law on no-fault divorce in the UK will bring long-awaited reforms to an area of law that has not changed since 1973.

At the time of publishing this article there has been no guidance sent out from HMCTS so family lawyers are still awaiting news of how the new process for divorce will work. 

Dominic Raab has this month said “I want to see children and their parents spared the stress and conflict of the courtroom as much as possible”.  It is thought that these comments are in response to the pandemic causing a severe backlog in court listings in the family courts and drastic action being required in order to ease the pressure on the court system.

Ending a relationship is never easy, particularly when the relationship has been characterised by emotional, physical or financial abuse. Perpetrators of domestic violence work on isolating, controlling and psychologically wearing down their victims, making them feel guilty and often inflicting physical violence, and so it can be difficult to find the strength to leave.

Cryptocurrency is becoming an increasingly popular choice of investment and we are seeing this crop up more frequently in Financial Remedy cases. Accordingly, Family lawyers will need to develop an understanding of cryptocurrency as society makes a shift towards ownership of digital assets. 

The Family Division of the High Court has handed down a severe (if reluctant) judgment providing a salutary lesson to those who may be tempted by ‘McDonalds’ divorce options. The court realised that individuals who had been advised by a company called iDivorces, had submitted 28 identical divorce applications. Mr Justice Moor presiding, provided a careful summary of the relevant law before moving to dismiss the individuals’ divorce applications and inviting them all to submit fresh paperwork using a bit more thought.

We are delighted to have once again been awarded the highest ranking in the Legal 500 guide to the best family teams in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

The researchers noted the firm's expertise at dealing with  “all aspects of divorce and its financial consequences”. We were particularly pleased that all five partners have been individually recommended.

Jones Nickolds are a niche family law firm based in Beckenham and Chislehurst. All of our partners have previously worked in central London practises and are experts in family law.

We currently have a vacancy for a full time court clerk .

The Government has recently announced that the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 is coming into force on 6 April 2022. This long awaited reform (originally scheduled to be brought into effect from late Summer 2021) will allow married couples to divorce without assigning blame to their spouse. If a married couple have been separated for less than two years and wish to divorce, under the current legislation, the only facts to rely upon within the divorce petition are either one spouse’s adultery or their unreasonable behaviour. In both scenarios, this means that one party essentially has to blame the other for the marital breakdown.

Many separated families continue to encounter confusion, difficulties and acrimony surrounding the lockdown rules and whether children can travel between their parents’ homes and other practical day to day issues.  The government published a briefing paper yesterday which may provide helpful guidance if you are struggling to know what to do. 

The firm has once again been ranked at Band 1 by Chambers and Partners 2021.

We are delighted that for the third year running we have been listed in The Times Best Law Firms.

We are delighted to announce that for the first time our mediation practice, headed by Rachel Woodd, has been ranked by the Legal 500.

We are delighted to have once again been awarded the highest ranking in the Legal 500 guide to the best family teams in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

For many couples a divorce involves the sale of their family home. Recent changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) rules mean divorcing or separating couples in the UK now have a shorter period of time in which to sell their interest in the family home without being hit by a CGT charge.

Jones Nickolds are a niche family law firm based in Beckenham and Chislehurst. All of our partners have previously worked in central London practises and are experts in family law.