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Law firms across Scotland have noted in some cases a 125% rise in the number of post-nuptial agreements they are drafting. Most of these agreements are concerning second marriages or late bequests. Clients are using post-nuptial agreements to protect their own assets in the event of marriage breakdown.
Earlier this week the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of passing a bill banning the physical punishment of children.
The bill was lodged by MSP for the Scottish Green Party, John Finnie and supported by the SNP Government. The law is designed to remove ‘justifiable assault’ in Scots law, giving children equal protection from violence. Finnie said that he wants to send a clear message that physical punishment of children is not acceptable.
The new law concerning domestic abuse in Scotland has now come into force, making coercive and controlling behaviour a crime. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2018 has been widely supported and seen as the ‘gold standard’ of domestic abuse law.
A report completed by The Law Society of Scotland has highlighted that the laws regarding cohabitation are ‘problematic and disadvantageous to vulnerable and grieving people’. In 2011, there were 237,000 cohabiting couples in the UK.
A new Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act will come into effect in 2019, creating new protections for domestic abuse victims and recognising the importance of psychological abuse and coercive behaviour.
Campaigners urging for the law in Scotland to be changed to allow for adult adoption have taken their case to MSPs in Holyrood to argue their case. Nathan Sparling, 28, gave evidence in front of the Scottish Parliament’s public petitions committee to fight for his want to be adopted by his step-dad at the age of 27.
The latest civil justice statistics published today by Scotland's Chief Statistician Roger Halliday, shows the number of family law cases heard in the Sheriff's Court and the Court of Session is up slightly by around 3% in 2016-17 compared to that of the previous year. In 2016-17, there were 13,250 family procedure cases initiated, compared to 12,892 in 2015-16.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter identified ten key questions partners should ask each other before getting married, in order to minimise the possibility of future separation.
Newly released data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested that people who are separated, divorced, widowed or single are more likely to report poorer personal wellbeing than those who are married or in civil partnerships.
Newly published provisional figures from National Records of Scotland have revealed that 3,462 marriages took place in Scotland in total in the first quarter of 2018. This is apparently 116 fewer than during the first quarter of 2017 (a fall of 3.2%).
New research from the United States has revealed that family courts are adopting a more gender neutral approach to the payment of financial maintenance in divorce cases.
Many couples are not totally honest with each other about their finances, new research has revealed.
The Scottish Law Commission and the Law Commission of England and Wales have begun their joint review of the laws on surrogacy.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has recently been asked to consider whether rights of access to children should also sometimes include grandparents.
The Scottish Government has announced the expansion across Scotland of an initiative designed to increase the safety of domestic abuse victims by reducing the risk of domestic abusers reoffending.
Earlier this month an interesting story was reported by several media outlets that concerned adoption in Scotland and whether it should be possible for adults to be adopted.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has recently published the findings of research it undertook to try and establish whether child protection in Scotland has become more complex over time, and if so, in what way.
A recent study has revealed that prenuptial agreements for pets are few and far between in Scotland with eight out of ten people thought to not have considered what happens to their pet.
Despite animal care being one of the aspect that is often argued about, a mere 4% of Scottish couples have put in place a prenuptial agreement that states who would get custody of the pet in the event of a relationship breakdown. According to the study, a prenup to just include pets would be more common for young people.
Although only 4% of the couples involved in the survey had a pet prenuptial agreement, 16% of all those surveyed stated that they would care about who got to care for the pet if they separated. Many of those surveyed also stated that they would worry that their pet could be used as a bargaining chip when negotiating any sort of settlement.
Tracey Maloney, Head of Private Family at The Co-operative Legal Services, who conducted the study said: “Pets are increasingly being seen as part of the family, and when relationships break down, it’s only at that point that couples begin to think about who will gain custody of their pet.
"A prenup agreement can help couples make these important decisions in advance, so that if the worst does happen, both parties are clear on who will gain custody of their pet.”
A property tycoon who sits on the board of Formula One team Lotus is facing one of the largest divorce settlements seen in the UK after it was announced that he was splitting from his wife after 18 years.
Andy Ruhan, who is estimated to be worth more than £200 million began divorce proceedings last year ending almost 20 years of marriage. However, according to the Sunday Times a divorce settlement may be delayed due to a disagreement with business partners. Mr Ruhan is being sued by his former business partners for a share of the profits from the sale of 37 Thistle hotels in the mid-2000s, but the case is not due to be heard at the High Court until next year.
