Family

• Transfer of property represented reasonable provision under Inheritance Act claim
  The High Court has held that the outright transfer of a property, plus a monetary award to cover outgoings and maintenance, represented reasonable financial provision for an elderly, cohabitant's maintenance under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (Wynford Hodge, Re [2018] EWHC 688 (Ch)).
• Sharing principle cannot be extended to post-separation earnings (Court of Appeal)
  In Waggott v Waggott [2018] EWCA Civ 727 (Fam), the Court of Appeal held that in financial remedy proceedings, a party's earning capacity cannot be a matrimonial asset to which the sharing principle applies and considered how the court should assess whether an award determined by the sharing principle meets a party's needs. It also clarifies how the compensation principle should be applied.
• Public policy requires dismissal of petition and set aside of divorce decrees obtained by deception (High Court)
  In Hermens v Hermens and Another [2017] EWHC 3742 (Fam), the High Court dismissed a petition and set aside decrees nisi and absolute as the decrees were obtained by the petitioner deceiving the court and providing a false address in the petition.