One of the most often asked questions about equitable distribution of marital assets is how a retirement asset is divided between spouses. The answer depends largely on the type of retirement account being divided and what rules are associated with the retirement account. All retirement accounts are not alike. The first question that must be asked is what type of retirement account are you dealing with? Generally, retirement plans are one of two types: a defined contribution plan or a defined benefit plan. A defined contribution plan is a retirement plan in which the employee, or in the case of […]

The government is facing growing anger after voting against putting serial stalkers and domestic abusers on a national register, despite briefing they were likely to support the measures following the death of Sarah Everard. Conservative MPs voted against amendments to the domestic abuse bill on Thursday that would have placed serial domestic abusers and stalkers on the current Violent and Sex Offender Register (Visor). MPs also voted down House of Lords-supported amendments that would have given family court judges training on sexual abuse and provided greater protection to migrant victims of domestic violence. The stalking amendment gained overwhelming support in […]

What a year. I mean, really, where to begin? I’ve separated from my husband, for starters, plus I no longer wear heels higher than 0.5cm (the two are unrelated, I believe). I’ve been dying my grey roots using a weird mix of reds and gingers purchased at Superdrug throughout lockdown. Newly separated with badly dyed hair? Not exactly what I had in mind for my 47th birthday… It wasn’t always this way. I worked at Elle magazine in the Noughties, prior to which I was just plain naughty (see the whole of the 1990s for details). I’ve travelled the world, interviewing countless celebrities and […]

A woman says she divorced her husband after she claims he told “the most ridiculous lie I’ve ever heard” when she confronted him with a photo from a nightclub photographer. TikTok user Tylar Paige uploaded a series of videos, which have racked up more than 2.2 million views, as she explained that she spotted her partner in photos “with a bunch of girls” on the venue’s Facebook page. The man posed for the picture holding a shot in one hand and a bottle in the other – but it’s what was missing from his hand that was spotted by his […]

More than half of the prospective clients who call me are women.  Women tend to initiate divorce proceedings–including filing for divorce, more than men. Women, however, may not be completely prepared for the divorce process. During the first consultation(s) I have with a woman considering filing for divorce, there are certain things that I always want to share and explore.  This is especially important for women who may have stayed at home raising a family or for women who are not well-aware of their household finances. Here are five important things I share with women who are considering filing for […]

 “Did I do the right thing?” is probably a question that many newly separated and divorced men and women ask themselves. Even though in your heart you knew separating was the best thing, time starts to bring loneliness, emptiness and fear into the mix, and it’s easy to have second thoughts about divorce.   “Maybe it could work if we both…Maybe we could try counseling again and make it work this time….Maybe if I changed…Maybe if he changed…Maybe he’d be different if I went back…I don’t want to be alone!…I can’t handle life on my own, it’s just too scary…” […]

During lockdown divorce has boomed, hitting its highest point since 2014. But while recent circumstances have pushed many to breaking point, some splits will inevitably spark regret. This week, Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that she had not wanted to divorce her ex-husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin. “I never wanted to not be married to the father of my kids, theoretically,” she explained. Singer Louise Redknapp also recently admitted that she’d been hasty in divorcing ex-footballer Jamie. “I just ran, as fast as the wind would take me,” she said. “I should have paused for a minute.” Whether or not the marriage […]

KELLY Clarkson admitted she can “NEVER imagine getting married again” after her nasty divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. She also recently admitted that she can’t stop crying over her failed marriage. 11 Kelly Clarkson revealed she can’t fathom going through another marriageCredit: The Kelly Clarkson Show 11 She asked Gwyneth Paltrow how she was able to get into a second marriageCredit: The Kelly Clarkson Show During Wednesday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show where she talked to Gwyneth Paltrow, the mom of two congratulated the actress on getting married two years ago and having Steven Spielberg be her unofficial wedding […]

The Irish High Court has recently held that an Accident Investigation Report Form completed by an employer following a workplace accident is protected by litigation privilege. Mr Ladislav Kunzo suffered a workplace injury in Kepak Meat Processors on 14 September 2016. Four weeks later, he consulted with his solicitor who then wrote an initial letter of claim to Kepak. Mr Kunzo’s solicitor then made an Application to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and Court proceedings were subsequently issued on his behalf. Kepak served a full Defence. Mr Kunzo’s solicitors sought discovery of various documents including the Accident Report From and […]

By Adrian Leppard CBE, former Commissioner of the City of London Police Investigations relating to commercial litigation and money laundering primarily focus on evidence that is both publicly available and easily retrievable. It can, nevertheless, be challenging to find evidence of the truth, especially when those who are motivated to hide the evidence have taken extensive measures to ensure that the paper trail goes cold. The records, signatures and witness evidence that is readily available to investigators often proves to be insufficient when trying to establish the full facts behind each event, or the true ownership of certain assets.  Human […]

Brad Pitt is saddened it was leaked that Angelina Jolie is now ‘prepared to provide proof’ of domestic abuse in the couple’s contentious custody battle.  An alleged altercation between son Maddox, 19, and Brad, 57, in 2016 was said to have been the final straw for Jolie, 45, who filed paperwork indicating that both she and her children are willing to offer testimony and ‘proof and authority’ in support of her allegations, according to documents obtained by The Blast. Now Pitt is ‘heartbroken that Angelina has gone that route. There’s a lot of emotion left after their marriage,’ a source close to […]

A new study published in the journal Individual and Personality Differences indicates that divorce is not a consistent predictor of personality change. “We were interested in testing the folk wisdom that experiencing a divorce changes you,” said study author Sascha Spikic, a researcher-lector at the PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Belgium. The researchers examined data from three large longitudinal studies: the Understanding Society survey in the United Kingdom, the Socio-Economic Panel Study in Germany, and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. There were 37,199 observations in total. Although some people did experience changes in […]

Johnny Depp will find out tomorrow whether he can bring an appeal against a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard and left her in ‘fear for her life’.  Following a three-week trial in July last year, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood star’s libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, finding that an April 2018 column calling Mr Depp a ‘wife beater’ was ‘substantially true’. The judge ruled Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in ‘fear for her life’ three times. The actor has asked the Court […]

WARRING parents will be given cash to stop them taking their bitter ‘tug of love’ child custody battles to court. Divorcing couples will be given £500 vouchers to spend on mediation to stop them dragging their kids through distressing court disputes. 2 Separating couples will be offered mediation vouchers to avoid court custody battlesCredit: Alamy The Ministry of Justice, which is rolling out the scheme, said 70 per cent of couples who used the service settled their rows out of court.  Courts Minister, Lord Wolfson QC, said: “Mediation is often a quicker, cheaper and less stressful way of resolving disputes, […]

When the dust of a divorce or break-up has settled you can draw important lessons from the the experience. Photo: Shutterstock Every romantic experience – no matter how good or bad – is important to personal development. More often than not, we come out of a relationship as an evolved version of ourselves. A break-up or divorce is an earth-shattering experience that would make anyone feel like their world has come to an end, but we need to face all the ups and downs that come with these critical junctures before truly moving on to the next phase. Get the […]

Up to 10,000 vulnerable victims facing long delays for trials should be allowed to give evidence by video in an attempt to stop them falling out of the system, according to the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales. Dame Vera Baird warned of a collapse in confidence in the criminal justice system and an exodus of complainants if unprecedented trial delays were not urgently addressed. She accused the government of not being sufficiently ambitious in its efforts to tackle a backlog of more than 50,000 criminal cases at crown courts in England and Wales. The government has promised to open […]

Campaigners have welcomed news that ministers will make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment. The government confirmed on Monday that it would introduce the legislation as an amendment to the domestic abuse bill being debated in parliament. Legislation will also be strengthened against controlling or coercive behaviour, making it no longer a requirement for abusers and victims to cohabit. Laws to target revenge porn will also be expanded to include threats to disclose intimate images. Nogah Ofer, a lawyer at the Centre for Women’s Justice, which has campaigned for tougher laws on non-fatal strangulation, said […]

The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Phones 4U v EE Limited could have profound implications for companies whose employees use personal devices for professional purposes.   The Court of Appeal recently upheld a decision of the High Court that a party, as part of its disclosure obligations, should request that employees and former employees hand over their personal devices to be searched by independent IT consultants for documents relevant to the issues in dispute.  In Phones 4U Limited v EE Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 116, the High Court determined that it had jurisdiction to make such an order where the […]

The miscarriage of justice watchdog has suffered the “biggest cut” of any part of the criminal justice system since 2010 and its caseload has more than doubled over the same period, according to a parliamentary investigation. Two years ago the all-party parliamentary group on miscarriages of justice commissioned an inquiry into the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after the number of cases of people claiming to be wrongly convicted sent to the court of appeal crashed – from an average of 33 referrals a year to just a dozen in 2017 or less than 1% of the people who applied […]

Over the last years, more people have been getting a divorce in Europe. The 2020 pandemic seemed to have accentuated this trend as many couples were forced into lockdown together and were forced to face old relationship wounds or problems in isolation. Eurostat points out that Ireland is one of the EU states to have recorded the lowest divorce rates in recent years, however, the situation is not the same across all Member States. Pandemic divorces Italy is one of the EU countries that have reported an increase in divorces and at the same time a decrease in marriages. Official […]