DON’T PANIC. Everything seems scary and confusing, but there is very little that has to happen quickly and, apart from those few things, everything else can wait until you feel up to dealing with business. Register the death The first thing you have to do, and do within five days, is register the death. This…
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Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place from Monday 1st to Sunday 7th February 2021. The aim is to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health. This year’s theme is “Express Yourself”. Place2Be, the charity behind Children’s Mental Health Week, are encouraging children to explore the different ways that…
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If you and your former partner are thinking of separating and/or getting a divorce, it is likely that you will need to make arrangements and agreements for the future. Family mediation can assist with this by ensuring that any issues that arise on separation are resolved in an amicable and constructive manner, avoiding the need…
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Family Mediation Week will be taking place from 18 to 22 January 2021 in order to raise awareness of family mediation and how it can help separating families to manage their issues both collaboratively and productively. The campaign is organised by the Family Mediation Council, which is a not-for-profit organisation that maintains a professional register…
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If the seller dies between exchange of contracts and completion of the transaction, the contract remains valid and the benefit and burden will pass to the seller’s Personal Representatives (Executors if the seller made a Will or Administrators if the seller died intestate i.e. without a Will). The practical situation for dealing with completion varies…
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Yes, stalking is increasingly being recognised as a form of domestic abuse within the criminal justice system and most stalking offences are committed by former partners. In 2019 to 2020, 2,288 charges were brought for stalking, more than double the number of charges brought five years ago. This is because stalking is increasingly recognised as…
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What is child maintenance? Child maintenance payments meet a child’s day-to-day living expenses, one-off expenses and housing costs following parental separation. Child maintenance is regular payments made by the parent with whom the child does not live (commonly referred to as the non-resident parent) to the person or parent with care (often referred to as…
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If you are too ill, mentally, or physically, to manage your finances or make key decisions, the tool that lets your family step in and help is the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This doesn’t mean they can take over your life – they can make decisions for you only when you can’t do that…
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You may be tempted to use an online Will template and save the cost of going to a solicitor. The problem with that is, that there is a good chance you will cost your family much, much more than you save in solicitor’s fees. A recent survey shows that 38,000 families a year suffer because…
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What is parental alienation? While there is no single definition, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) recognise parental alienation as “when a child’s resistance or hostility towards one parent is not justified and is the result of psychological manipulation by the other parent”. It is one of a number of reasons…
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