Law Commission Review on Cohabitation and Intestacy Laws
A significant element of the recently-launched consultation by the Law Commission will be whether cohabitants should be included in intestacy laws.  Current intestacy laws do not make any provision for cohabitees so, if an unmarried couple are living together, the surviving partner will not get anything unless they make a claim under the Inheritance Act.  It can also create problems if the surviving partner has children from a previous relationship or marriage who were also living with the deceased partner as a family. 

Calls for Family Law Reform
In a series of lectures at Gresham College in London, Baroness Deech, the Chair of the Bar Standards Board, called for reforms of the current English divorce laws.  She argued that current divorce laws are out of date and were based on the assumption that the husband should work and support the wife and marital assets should be shared equally regardless of the length of the marriage.  Her key suggestions for changing the law are:-  Judicial discretion in respect of financial decisions should end; Maintenance should end if and when a former wife lives with a

Computer Hacking and Financial Disclosure in a Divorce
Failure of a spouse to completely disclose all financial assets, especially complex business assets, is often a concern during a financial settlement during the divorce process.  However, there is a legal duty on both spouses for full and frank disclosure and the court do have powers to order disclosure if there are strong grounds for believing one spouse has not complied. In the case of Imerman v Tchenguiz, Mrs Tchenguiz started divorce proceedings.  Her husband, Mr Imerman, had many commercial interests including some with Mrs Tcheng