Plan ahead for school holidays

Don’t wait until school holiday are here before you think about your parenting arrangements and plans for the summer! School holidays bring a change of routine, and living arrangements that work well in term-time can prove inadequate or problematic in

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Mandatory mediation – Out of Court Options

The Ministry of Justice has carried out an open consultation and supports earlier resolution of private family law arrangements. One of the options considered is mandatory mediation. However, there are organisations such as Resolution that have warned against Government proposals

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Changes in Legal Aid in Special Guardianship cases

There has been a very welcome recent change in eligibility for Legal Aid for those involved in Special Guardianship Order (“SGO”) applications. Legal Aid has been extended, so that from 1st May, all those with parental responsibility are entitled to

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Help for separating parents in the Court Process

Until recently, parents who could not reach agreement on their child or children’s arrangements, and who were involved in the court process, could find themselves referred by CAFCASS onto a SPIP Course – or Separated Parents Information Programme. Recently this

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Ruth Sharon supports Paraguay Protects Families

As a consultant solicitor specialising in care proceedings and all aspects of child protection, I also work internationally to help governments and judiciaries improve their child protection procedures. Most countries have good laws in relation to vulnerable children. The problem

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Separated Parents and going on Holiday

It is that time of year, with Christmas behind us that we start to plan the forthcoming year and the possibilities of going on holiday.  If you are a separated parent, there are a few matters that you need to bear

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Family Mediation Week

Family Mediation Week 16th to 20th January 2023 By Karen Newman and Ruth Hawkins Family Mediation week is taking place from 16th to 20th January 2022.  The objective of Family Mediation week is to raise awareness of mediation and how

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Mental Health Awareness

One in four people will experience a mental health issue at some point during their lifetime.  For most, this will be a short term and usually successfully treated using many techniques from medication to self-help. The most common of all

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Financial Agreement on divorce – What you need to know

How do I get a financial agreement? To obtain a financial agreement, it is recommended that you obtain financial disclosure before entering into negotiations towards a financial settlement. A financial agreement or settlement will include how you are going to

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Marriage Breakdown and the Menopause

Did you know that 7 out of 10 marriage or relationship breakdowns can be attributed to the menopause?  Divorce in the older age group is increasing, with many frequently citing Menopause as the reason, stating that their symptoms affected their

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Helen Bishop to head BH&O matrimonial department

Boardman Hawkins & Osborne LLP are delighted to have appointed Helen Bishop to head their matrimonial department. Helen will lead the team consisting of lawyers Karen Newman, Amanda Stopps and Stuart Webber, all of whom have growing reputations in matrimonial

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BH&O: 4 years and counting!

1st September marks our 4th Birthday. What have we achieved over those four years? When Emily, Irena and I opened four years ago, we had a team of 8, with pa Lois joining us a few weeks in, making us

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World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day (10 Oct) is a day to talk about mental health and show everyone that mental health matters. It is also a day to let people know that it’s okay to ask for help, no matter what

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What is a parenting plan agreement?

A parenting plan agreement, is a written agreement that is negotiated by parents after they separate, setting out the arrangements for their children and setting out the arrangements in relation to practical issues regarding their children with the aim of

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Reflections on National Adoption Week

I am a trustee at Adoption UK and I am a family solicitor. I represent birth families and children in care proceedings, and adopters in adoption proceedings. I think these various roles put me in an ideal position to reflect

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The Somerset case – Part two

In February I wrote an article that summarised the first Judgment in relation to the Somerset cases of non-compliant placement orders. The President of the Family Division has now published the Judgment in relation to the second case and this

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The Somerset case on non-compliant Placement Orders

See also: The Somerset case – Part two In November 2021 a case went to court that has sent shock waves through the professional adoption community. Somerset County Council were seeking a declaration in relation to ten cases where Adoption

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Private FDR’s

In Matrimonial Finances when proceedings are issued, there are typically three potential hearings, the second of which is known as the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing the “FDR”, which is an opportunity for the parties to set out their financial position

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Legal Aid for Family Law Matters

Getting Help to Pay for Legal Costs Irena Osborne UPDATED October 2023 Legal aid is the use of public funds to help to pay for legal advice, family mediation and court representation. The Legal Aid Agency  is in charge of administering legal aid on behalf

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Digital Divorce – The Way forward

Digital divorce portal becomes mandatory on the 13th September 2021. For further information contact Karen Newman or one of the team by  contact BH&O either by telephone or by email 

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No Fault Divorce

On Monday 07th June, in answer to a Parliamentary question, the government committed to the introduction of the new no fault divorce being up and running on  the 6th April 2022.  This is later than anticipated, but it provides a clear committed

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101 Questions Answered When Separating With Children

Boardman Hawkins & Osborne have decided to provide our clients, prospective clients, and anyone accessing our website with access to 101 Questions About Separating with Children. We recognise that so many issues may present themselves to parents in these situations,

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Lockdown being exploited to stop child arrangements

The BBC has reported separated couples have been exploiting the Covid-19 lockdown to stop an ex-partner from seeing their child. The head of the family courts Sir Andrew McFarlane has said such parents could face court action. Sir Andrew McFarlane

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Court rules – financial claims cannot be avoided

A High Court judge has described a family at the centre of a high-profile £450m divorce battle one of the unhappiest ever to have appeared in her courtroom. Mrs Justice Knowles quoted Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: ‘All happy families are

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Applying for a Child Arrangements Order without a lawyer

A Child Arrangements Order is an order that sets out arrangements for a child – that is most commonly where they live (previously called residence or custody) or who they spend time with (previously called contact or access). https://www.gov.uk/looking-after-children-divorce/types-of-court-order Legal

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Co-parenting tips.

Regardless of whether you are married, divorced, or separated, co-parenting is never easy when you and other parent have different ideas and views surrounding parenting. It can become extremely challenging when you have separated, and you may not be on

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International Women’s Day 2021

International women’s day this year must for many working women take on a greater significance? Most of us have spent the last 12 months going through so many different phases and back again! Homeschooling, Lockdown, ‘rule of six’, working from

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Civil legal aid – changes for eligibility

It has been a long time since the Legal Aid Agency made any changes to the way means eligibility for legal aid is calculated. The rates and figures and calculations used for financial eligibility have not changed for many years,

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Family Mediation Week 18th to 22nd January 2021

Family Mediation week is taking place from 18-22 January 2021. The objective of Family Mediation week is to raise awareness of mediation and how it can help separating families manage their issues constructively and non-confrontationally. Mediation can deal with all

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Alternatives to family litigation

As Court delays are here to stay, you could try alternative dispute resolution. It has recently been reported in a leading legal journal, the Gazette Online, that Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service estimates that private law family cases may

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Brexit Alert

Are you are in the process of contemplating a divorce?  Have you issued a divorce petition, and in negotiations over your matrimonial finances and/or the arrangements for your children? If you are, you need to consider whether there is any

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Christmas cheer – especially this year!

The team at BH&O have been working harder than ever throughout this year but still had time to do some charity work for those less fortunate. Throughout November and December, we have been collecting gifts and also acting as a

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Christmas for parents that are separated

Christmas time… Christmas is a difficult time for parents that are separated in a ‘normal’ year. The COVID pandemic has created another level of worry and uncertainty in relation to whether families can be together or not. Whilst this is

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Good Divorce Week is coming

During the week 30th November 2020 to the 4th December 2020, we will be supporting Resolution’s Good Divorce Week. Resolution is a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way.

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Economic abuse has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic

It has been reported that 8.7 million people are experiencing economic abuse in their current or former relationship. 1.6 million reported this as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.The figures are revealed in the report Know Economic Abuse published by Co-operative Bank and Refuge. The Know Economic

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Kinship care: What order do I need?

At BH&O, we know what a great job many grandparents, aunts and uncles and relatives are doing in looking after children who might otherwise be in the care system or placed for adoption.  Almost every week we get a call

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Grandparents Day: 6th October

Grandparents Day approaches this weekend and this year, it must surely take on a greater significance? We are in the middle of a pandemic, and the country is facing stricter restrictions on who we can meet and where we can

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3 Ock Street; the home of BH&O

When we formed this firm just over two years ago, whilst we set out to establish a modern, innovative law firm for the 21st Century, we did so in a very historic building, in Abingdon, which also happens to be

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Completing my apprenticeship

During August, I completed my apprenticeship. I came to Boardman, Hawkins & Osborne LLP in May 2019 to start an apprenticeship in business administration at NVQ level 2. The apprenticeship was through Abingdon & Witney College. My apprenticeship was due

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The New Face of Divorce – The No Fault Divorce

As a family solicitor I have been observing the passage through parliament of “The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill”, and was delighted to see that on Wednesday 17th June, despite the current Covid-19 crisis, the bill successfully concluded its journey

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Covid-19 Update for Child Arrangements 30.03.20

We have now had our first weekend living with the stringent instructions laid upon us by the Government. The strict instructions are made with good reason, and it is imperative we all follow them carefully for the safety of ourselves

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How should I talk to my child about Covid-19?

Top tips to help parents. Much of this is based on an article published last week by UNICEF Australia, but I have also given it my ‘take’ and also sought some input from Lorinda Gamlin, one of our associated counsellors. 

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Coronavirus update

As a firm we are continually monitoring the coronavirus outbreak, and considering what contingency measures we may need to put in place should the situation escalate. We obviously hope that such measures will not prove necessary. However, we are determined

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What is it like giving evidence in court?

Top tips for giving evidence in court. Giving evidence can be a daunting experience – how can we help you? Sometimes clients get frustrated with their lawyers as they expect the lawyer to tell them the questions they will be asked

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Family Mediation Week – Busting some myths!

Family Mediation Week has come around again. But what is family mediation? Put simply, it’s a way of resolving disputes which have arisen upon separation, or of deciding how to organise your lives separately. I believe that it can be

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Co-Parenting at Christmas

Christmas is a very busy period and can be very stressful for all of us, but is particularly stressful for those families who are separated and the children have to share their times between two homes. So how do you

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Kinship care week

5th to 11th October is Kinship Care week.  At BH&O, we know what a great job many grandparents, aunts and uncles and relatives are doing in looking after children who might otherwise be in the care system or placed for

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The Family Law Awards 2019

Yesterday was the first anniversary of opening this firm and I could not be prouder to announce that we have been named as a finalist in the Family Law Awards 2019 in the category of Family Law Firm of the

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A public inquiry into the family justice system?

First published in Family Law “Call for inquiry into abusive parents’ access to children” was the story on the BBC website on Thursday (15 May). It plugged a feature on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme. For early birds the story

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Why bother with a pre-nup?

Prenuptial agreements do not bind the courts in England & Wales. This is because the courts have a wide discretion in deciding what the financial outcome of a couple’s divorce might be. So what is the point of a pre-nup?

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How do you own your Home?

If you purchase your property with your partner there are two ways you can own the property. It is important that you know and understand the differences, as the type of ownership affects what you can do with the property

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Great Legal Bake Off

Boardman Hawkins & Osborne are delighted to be taking part in this year’s Great Legal Bake Off, organised by the Access to Justice Foundation. We are able to nominate our fundraising to go to local advice charities, so anything we

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Can I appeal my child arrangements order?

You’ve been to court about a child arrangements order and it hasn’t gone well. What next? The first thing to say is that if the court has made a child arrangements order, you are bound by the terms of it

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101 Questions Answered About Separating with Children

Ruth Hawkins has contributed to this New Book 101 Questions Answered About Separating with Children With legal aid drastically cut back BH&O LLP are delighted to be supporting a national, not-for-profit social enterprise working to provide accessible support to families through the difficulties

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Family Mediation Week

This week (21st January) is Family Mediation Week. It is designed to highlight and raise awareness of the benefits of using family mediation to resolve family disputes and issues rather than the more traditional, often more conflicting, approaches involving court

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Tips for managing Christmas for separated parents

Co-written by: Ruth Hawkins, Solicitor & Mediator, Partner and Helen Bishop, Consultant Solicitor Christmas is a time of year where all the family try to spend time together. With all the arrangements and preparations it can be stressful for any

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Two months in…

On 3 September 2018 Ruth, Irena and I opened this new firm – Boardman, Hawkins & Osborne LLP. The opening date of a new law firm represents the end of a very long road of preparation in fact, and not

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A crying shame…?

By Ruth Hawkins A report published this week by the Children’s Commissioner for England, suggests there are 15,800 babies under the age of one year considered by local authorities to be vulnerable or highly vulnerable and at risk of harm,

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Civil Partnerships for all!

By Ruth Hawkins As has been reported in the media, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, has announced that the government plan to change the law to allow members of the oppositesex to enter into civil partnerships. Civil partnerships were created

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New guidelines for difficult family disputes: tackling parental alienation.

When parents separate, arrangements for their children, can be hard to agree. It can be particularly hard where a child starts refusing to see their other parent. This autumn, new guidance is being introduced to help with these cases. This will consider the possibility a child has been deliberately turned against one parent, by the other.

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A new family law firm for Oxfordshire

On 3 September 2018 Emily Boardman, Ruth Hawkins and Irena Osborne are opening a new family law firm in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Boardman, Hawkins & Osborne LLP (BH&O LLP) is a niche family practice offering legal advice, representation and mediators who

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