Ex-husband refuses to be vaccinated

Susi Gillespie, Head of the Family law department, has featured in the FT Money with advice to a parent who wants to ban her ex-husband, a frontline worker, from visiting the children because he refuses to be vaccinated. The reader is worried that he might spread the virus to her vulnerable parents and herself through […]

Divorce – Why It’s Okay To Change Your Mind

Everyone knows that divorce is a huge step to take. It usually follows an intensely difficult period in two people’s lives. They haven’t been getting along. Perhaps there’s been infidelity. They may simply have fallen out of love. Whatever the reason for beginning the divorce process, it’s always entered into with a view to drawing […]

Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ divorce?

Everyone’s experience of divorce is different but what is certain is that no one sets out to get a bad divorce.   Most people have been through a lot by the time they instruct a solicitor. Divorce is often the culmination of months or years of disharmony. Divorce is a process, it involves conversations, negotiations, and […]

A Step Closer To ‘No-Fault’ Divorce

A new law that should make divorce less acrimonious has cleared its latest hurdle. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill was backed by MPs during its second reading in the House of Commons last week. There are a few stages to go before it will become law, but its progress is being welcomed by those […]

Family Proceedings and Accusations

With COVID-19 dominating the news and everyone’s thoughts in recent weeks, some may have missed the story of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed and the publication of a damning  judgment about his treatment of family members. Allegations against him, which included abduction, intimidation and torture, emerged during Family Law proceedings. Given the potential influence that that type […]

The Post-Summer Divorce Phenomenon

If there’s one thing I can be certain of, it’s that my phone will ring more often in September than in August. The weeks following the school summer holidays are always a busy period for Family lawyers like me. It’s a time when people want to start the divorce process. And, just as the beginning […]

Collaborative Law – In It Together

The divorce process has evolved quite significantly in recent years. No longer purely court-based, it now offers couples a range of options when it comes to reaching agreement about the terms on which they’ll separate and move on from one another. Decisions about the division of assets, for example, used to be something that a […]

Interview On The Julia George Show

Please click on the link to listen to Susi Gillespie’s interview on the Julia George show in Radio Kent on 9th April following the Justice Minister David Gauke’s announcement that divorce law would be reformed resulting in ‘no fault divorce’ law.  This move is welcomed by Susi who has been campaigning with Resolution to bring […]

Did Divorce Day Live Up To The Hype?

January 7th. The first working Monday of 2019, dubbed ‘Divorce Day’. The media played on the likely onslaught of divorce petitions filed by warring couples that had reached the end of their tether after a tense festive period. Emotional and financial strains exacerbated by Christmas would tip people over the edge. Divorce Day would be […]

The Enduring Marriage of Mr and Mrs Owens

This time last year we wrote about the beginning of Mr and Mrs Owens’ journey to the highest court in the UK. Mrs Owens was hoping to be granted a divorce from her husband; something that she had been denied because of a failure to meet the necessary threshold. The Supreme Court has now spoken, […]

Online divorce – a step in the right direction?

The long-awaited online divorce procedure is here. Introduced the Ministry of Justice and trialled in selected areas, the option to file your divorce application, pay the fee and submit supporting documentation online is no open to everyone in England and Wales. How does online divorce work? The new online divorce service doesn’t offer an end […]

The real life of The Split

Are you watching ‘The Split’? It’s the latest in a line of glossy legal dramas that we’re all familiar with. From the days of Ally McBeal and North Square, to Silk and now The Split, there seems to be an endless appetite for legal drama. Divorce is one of those areas that lends itself to […]

Avoid the worry of an invalid divorce

If you and your partner have gone through the heartbreak of realising that your relationship isn’t going to work, dealt with all the paper work relating to divorce, made the decisions about who gets what, and sorted out arrangements for your children, the last thing you want to discover is that for some reason or […]

5 Things to consider before turning to Divorce

Separating from a partner is a significant decision that is most definitely not to be made lightly. There are many factors to consider before making the final decision to go ahead with a split. Below is a list of 5 considerations to make before going down the legal route and filing for divorce. 1. Communication […]