A Canadian study has shown that married couples are more economically successful than their unmarried counterparts. The study, which was completed by The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, included familes from different age groups. The researchers found that a large majority of higher income families were married. 82 percent of higher income families were married,…
New figures show that more married couples are surviving the seven year itch. The figures from the Office of National Statistics show that divorce rates in the early years of marriage are at their lowest since the 1970s. The number of couples that end their marriage after seven years, famously termed “the seven year itch”,…
The Law Commission has released a long-awaited report which suggests that pre-nuptial agreements should be legally binding in the event of a divorce. The report follows three years of consultation, during which the Law Commission received 150 responses from members of the public, lawyers and other professionals and organisations. The full report includes a draft…
A Scientologist couple who won a challenge in the high court have finally married in the church of their choice, the Church of Scientology Chapel in London. Louisa Hodkin and her new husband Alessandro Calcioli took legal action after officials refused to register the Church of Scientology as a place of marriage. The chapel had…
Should parenting be policed? A recent amendment to the Children and Families Bill will allow the government to make it a criminal offence for drivers to fail to prevent smoking in their vehicle if children are present. By Chereece Mark The government has described the amendment as “protecting children” and will allow them to empower,…
A new study has shown that two-fifths of parents would risk getting a fine to take their children out of school for a term-time holiday. New rules were brought in last summer, making it much harder for parents to get permission to take their children out of school for holidays. New sanctions accompanied the rules….
A mother has been reunited with her child after a judge ruled that the family courts and social workers had been colluding during the case. This case has drawn attention to the way in which the family courts have, to some extent, been following the instructions of social workers who are involved with families going…
The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has finalised his divorce from Veronica Lario after 24 years of marriage. It is rumoured that the 77 year old former politician now plans to marry Francesca Pascale, 28. Berlusconi’s long marriage turned sour in May 2009 when his former wife announced their separation by writing an open…
A Mother has lost custody of her two sons after a judge took issue with her ‘permissive parenting’ style. Judge Laura Harris heard how the boys, who had been living with their mother after their parents split up, were allowed to play computer games and Xbox late into the night. Their mother spent large amounts of…
Lord Wilson of Culworth, a senior judge , has said that the breakdown of the nuclear family ‘may not be a bad thing’. Lord Wilson, who has been sitting in the Supreme Court since 2011, made the controversial comments during a speech to the Medico-Legal Society in Belfast. He lamented the high divorce rate, but said…