Peter Vassila

Senior family court Judge for the south-west HHJ Stephen Wildblood has commented on how the family courts are being filled up by private law cases that should not require court involvement He noted examples of these types of cases which he has...

The London Legal Support Trust is an independent charity that raises funds for free legal services in London & the South East. Last year a record breaking 15,000 people took part and raised over £870,000! Due to Covid-19 and following government...

We are facing an unprecedented situation which the Lord Chief Justice has described as the biggest public health emergency in a century. It goes without saying that this is a very concerning and unsettling time for not just this country but the whole world. ...

The Central Family Court has approved a financial settlement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler. This is Johnson’s second divorce with the parties separating in 2018 after 25 years of marriage. They have 4 children together....

The government has announced that the law will be changed to allow opposite-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships, thereby providing an alternative to marriage. Currently, the choice of entering into either a marriage or a civil partnership is...

From the 1st October, certain “legal bloggers” will be allowed to attend family court hearings to report on family proceedings. The pilot scheme will be led by the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary and will run for 9 months....

Last Saturday (18th August 2018) was officially the most popular day to get married. Despite this, fewer couples are deciding to tie the knot. In fact, there has been an increase in the number of cohabiting families with the figure rising from 1.5 million in...

A recent ruling by the High Court may have established a precedent that could lead to the courts taking a less generous approach when dealing with spousal maintenance in divorce settlements. The ruling was made in the case of Waggott v Waggott. Mrs....

Ant McPartlin of Ant and Dec fame is getting divorced from his wife Lisa after an 11-year marriage. As one half of the nation’s favorite double act the news has unsurprisingly been a hot topic in the tabloids with speculation as to just how much his...

A 28 year old woman in Egypt referred to as Samar M has filed for divorce because her husband of 2 weeks does all the housework - cooking, cleaning, sweeping and the laundry. Speaking to Egyptian news website Masrawy, Samar M said that her husband “is...

Following on from Marion Foley’s recent blog post on Sologamy – the growing trend of people marrying themselves – it seems that being true to oneself is not without its temptations!!! Sophie Turner decided to marry herself back in May 2015...

Hot off the press is the landmark case of Brewster v McMullan which may have paved the way for unmarried couples to benefit from the pension of their deceased partner. The case concerned Denise Brewster who had been in a relationship with her partner for 10...

According to a team of American and Swedish researchers, your risk of divorcing could have a genetic link. Research has shown that divorces tend to run in families, with children of divorced parents more likely to end up divorced in comparison to...

A newly married couple in Oxford are on a city wide hunt for their marriage certificate which has been lost in the back of a taxi! The scout leaders - Rebecca Lord and Richard Butler – found themselves desperately contacting every taxi firm in the...

A landmark case has departed from the long standing position in divorce cases whereby a 50:50 split of assets is taken as the default starting point for settlement. Julie Sharp took her case to the Court of Appeal where a previous ruling...

Chinese citizens can pay an agency to sabotage their spouse’s extra-marital affair. The agency, known as Weiqing employs agents known as “mistress hunters” to target people who are seeing someone who is already married and gain their...

A High Court Judge has called for a change in the law that currently allows alleged domestic abusers to cross-examine their victims during civil proceedings. Justice Hayden said that he would refuse to hear any future cases where this is allowed to...

A recent survey of 2,000 British people found that 57% thought that civil partnerships should be made available to all couples - both mixed-sex and same-sex. Currently civil partnerships are only available for same-sex couples which would appear to...

Divorce can be an acrimonious and destabilising time for spouses and is often cited as one of the most stressful experiences a person may go through during their lifetime. Whilst those who have been through a difficult divorce will attest to this,...