Articles by ‘Clizia Motterle’

The Italian Supreme Court recently determined that children do not have to see their grandparents if they do not wish to do so. The decision came despite Italian law being clear that a child…

The Government has announced that it intends to give divorcing couples and those dissolving a civil partnership a capital gains tax (CGT) lifeline, allowing them to transfer assets without incurring an immediate CGT liability…

The Office for Tax Simplification has published a report proposing an overhaul to the Capital Gains Tax regime to bring it more in line with income tax.

As social distancing and self-isolation rapidly become the new normal, we are very mindful that not everybody is able to retreat to the safety of their home. Adjusting to confinement is proving challenging for all of us but lockdown can have dramatic consequences for individuals in abusive relationships, who suddenly find themselves confined with their abuser, often without respite.

Despite a general reduction in maintenance awards in recent years, the law of England & Wales remains favourable to ‘stay-at-home mums’. When it comes to the division of matrimonial assets, the contributions of the financially weaker spouse are still seen as equal to those of the main breadwinner.

Recent statistics have been published confirming that cohabiting couple families have been the fastest growing family type over the last 20 years. There are now 3.3 million cohabiting families in the UK – states the Office of National Statistics – twice as many as there were 20 years ago. More and more couples are choosing to interlink their finances and bring up children together without marrying.

A couple of years ago, Mostyn J stated that an attempt to create a formula to calculate spousal maintenance “may prove to be an impossible task, given the scale and scope of the individual variables.”

Many people are choosing to remarry later in life. And why shouldn’t they, when we are living longer and with a better quality of life in our later years?

It is however important to stop and think about the financial consequences of walking down the aisle once again, especially when there are children from a previous marriage whose inheritance you want to protect.

There’s a lot to be said about agreeing a financial settlement on divorce, as well as avoiding lengthy and expensive Court proceedings. Just look at the recent case of Mr David Mann. A former millionaire who made his fortune in the mining industry, Mann was left homeless and with £5 in his bank account after a 17-year legal battle with his former wife.

January is typically the coldest month of the year, and it seems many couples’ frosty relationships come to a head this month as we see a peak in divorce enquiries.