Our Family Law Pod is created by our Family and Divorce team, and provides news, tips and insights around current family law topics, and discusses the implications of key cases and guidance. Useful for anyone involved in the family court, in particular busy solicitors.

Episode 14: Case law update #3 – pFDR privilege and adverse inferences

Welcome back for another episode in our Case Law Update series! In this episode, Chelsea and Sophie, of our Family Law team, discuss two recent Financial Remedy cases which consider the importance of FDR/pFDR privilege, and the need to sufficiently evidence an asserted change in financial circumstances and the risk of the Court drawing adverse inferences if a party is unable to do so.

The full citations for the cases discussed are:

Our Family Law Pod is created by our Family and Divorce team, and provides news, tips and insights around current family law topics, and discusses the implications of key cases and guidance. Useful for anyone involved in the family court, in particular busy solicitors.

In this episode, which follows on from their earlier podcast, Covert Recordings in Family Proceedings: Part 1, Vivien Croly is joined again by Katie Hanson, Senior Associate Solicitor from VWV where they review the updated FJC Guidance on Covert Recording, which was released in May 2025.

Our Family Law Pod is created by our Family and Divorce team, and provides news, tips and insights around current family law topics, and discusses the implications of key cases and guidance. Useful for anyone involved in the family court, in particular busy solicitors.

Episode 13: Case Law Update #2 – private law children – return orders and costs

This is the second episode in our Case Law Update series and today Chelsea and Vivien are delving into two recent Children Law judgments. The cases highlighted in this episode concern the treatment of a child’s wishes and feeling in an application for a Return Order, and a reminder of the risk of costs consequences in children proceedings.

The full citations for the cases discussed are:

Chelsea also refers to a previous reported decision in the Re G case in relation to habitual residence – Re G (A Child) (Jurisdiction: Habitual Residence Following Lawful Relocation) [2025] EWHC 911 (Fam).

Vivien additionally refers to the decisions in Re J (Costs of Fact-Finding Hearing) [2009] EWCA Civ 1350, [2010] 1 FLR 1893 (Ward and Wilson LJJ) and Re T (Children) (Costs: Care Proceedings: Serious Allegation Not Proved) [2012] UKSC 36, [2013] 1 FLR 133 as discussed in E (Children: Costs) [2025] EWCA Civ 183.

Welcome to the first episode in our new Case Law Update series. In this episode, Chelsea and Vivien, of our Family and Divorce team, discuss two recent Financial Remedy cases which consider an extreme example of litigation misconduct, and the difficulties encountered when one party in proceedings lacks capacity to litigate.

The full citations for the cases discussed are:

TA v SB [2025] EWFC 61 (B)

Mary-Jane Grace and Ian Douglas Grace [2025] EWFC 37 (B)

Part 1 was recorded prior to the publication of the FJC Guidance. Part 2, which will consider the new guidance, is coming soon!

In this episode, Vivien Croly is joined by Katie Hanson, Senior Associate Solicitor at VWV to discuss covert recordings in family law proceedings. They consider the issues faced by practitioners when dealing with different types of covert recordings as well as looking at case law where covert recordings have, and have not been relied upon.

Zoë Saunders and Lucy Reed KC discuss the recently published guidance from the Family Justice Council: Responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour (https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/advisory-bodies/family-justice-council/resources-and-guidance/parental-alienation/). Zoë and Lucy summarise and explain the approach mandated by the guidance, and consider what practical difference it may make, for parents accused of alienating behaviours for those who wish to raise it as an issue, and for those representing the parties or the children in such cases. Discussion points include the co-occurrence of allegations of domestic abuse with allegations of alienating behaviour, the voice of the child and the role of experts.

In this episode, Georgina Swinglehurst and Glen Pritchard discuss all things to do with instructing counsel – ideally when should solicitors get counsel involved? Who should they instruct on each case? What makes a great brief? Having both previously worked in solicitors’ firms, they also share their top tips on how to build the best relationships between counsel and instructing solicitors.

Bethany Scarsbrook and Georgina Swinglehurst of St John's Chambers Family & Divorce team grapple with the topical issue of when an asset is deemed to have become matrimonialised. They consider the case law leading up to Standish v Standish [2024] EWCA Civ 567, before analysing whether the Court of Appeal decision fell into error, and considering the extent of the potential ramifications, particularly in light of the pending appeal to the UKSC.

In this episode Sophie Smith-Holland and Chelsea Bartlett will discuss the implications of the case N v J [2024] EWFC 184, in respect of if and how to run domestic abuse allegations as ‘conduct’ in financial remedy proceedings.

In this episode, Sarah Phillimore and Asha Groves take a look at the recent shift away from the label of parental alienation and towards a definition of alienating behaviours in case law and guidance. They consider how to approach these cases in practice both now and in the future with particular consideration of the use of unregulated experts in this area.