When you’re staring down the barrel of a divorce or separation, it’s tough to know how to tell your children that the two of you are splitting up.

But it is possible to go through separation and divorce and come out of the other side with your children feeling confident, loved and ready for what the future brings. Here’s how:

Tell them together

During a separation, it’s easy for one of the parents to come out of the process worse than the other. That’s why it’s important to present a united front when telling them about the change affecting there. This way you’ll prevent your children being dragged into your conflict, if there is one.

If it’s not possible for you and your partner to be together when you tell your children about divorce then the two of you should try and agree what you’re going to say. More...

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employers must include commission in holiday pay.

The case of Locke v British Gas involved a sales consultant for the energy company who earned an average of 60% of his salary from commission payments. When he took annual leave in December 2011, Mr Locke was only paid his basic salary as part of his annual leave and so made a claim to the Employment Tribunal for the outstanding holiday pay he believed he was owed.

Commission should be included in holiday pay

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice ruled that commission should be included in holiday pay. He deemed that the proper levels of holiday pay were required under the Working Time Directive in order for workers to enjoy their leave and not face the prospect of financial hardship. More...

Sir James Munby, the President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales has recently reiterated the importance of families and local authorities adhering to court orders.

After Bristol City Council took too long to respond to orders made by the court in an adoption appeals process, Sir Munby said that non-compliance with official orders would lead to a “consequence”.

He said: “The court is entitled to expect – and from now on family courts will demand – strict compliance with all such orders. Non-compliance with orders should be expected to have and will usually have a consequence.”

“An order that something is to be done by 4 pm on Friday, is an order to do that thing by 4 pm on Friday, not by 4.21 pm on Friday let alone by 3.01 pm the following Monday or sometime later the following week. A person who finds himself unable to comply timeously with his obligations under an order should apply for an extension of time before the time for compliance has expired. It is simply not acceptable to put forward as an explanation for non-compliance with an order the burden of other work.”More...

Over recent years, the development industry has witnessed a significant increase in the number of challenges to planning permissions granted by a local planning authority or by the Secretary of State on appeal.

Even when unsuccessful, such challenges have caused significant delays, due to the time taken for the courts to deal with them. Development is delayed for, at best, many months and at worst several years.

The industry should therefore welcome the opening of a specialist Planning Court

The new court should ensure that cases are dealt with more quickly. Another advantage is that its judges will be planning law specialists, which should also lead to better and more consistent decisions.  It is also hoped that more specialist judges will be more inclined to refuse permission for weak challenges to proceed to a full hearing.

Cases will not automatically be heard by the Planning Court however, which will only hear cases that concern planning and environmental issues if they are significant. More...

Nearly half (42%) of all UK marriages end in divorce. And perhaps the most stressful part of the divorce process involves the family home. 

What happens to a mortgage in a divorce?

What are your options?

1 – Keep paying the mortgage together

Even if you divorce, it’s possible to both remain named on the mortgage and keep making payments as you did when you were married.

Using this approach it’s best to agree to a set plan, to avoid any misunderstandings and disagreements further down the line. For instance, you could agree to sell the property on a set date in five years time when it has built up more equity. 

Many younger divorcees choose to opt for this if they’re committed to a fixed-rate mortgage or would face substantial early repayment charges.

2 – Selling up

This is often the most emotional step, and is less ideal for future divorcees with children, but selling a house after divorce is also one of the best ways to get a ‘clean break’ and allow both partners to move on. More...