The case against a mother suspected of abusing her child must be held in person, the President of the Family Division has declared. Re P (A Child: Remote Hearing) [2020] EWFC 32 concerned a mother suspected by her local authority of fabricating or inducing illness in the child, a practice known as ‘Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy’ or more formally, ‘Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another’. She disputes the allegations. The local authority launched proceedings against the mother in April last year, following lengthy previous disputes with other members of the child’s family. The seven year-old was sent to live with a friend…
Vulnerable groups face even greater risks under the current coronavirus ‘lockdown’, recent claims suggest. Speaking after a recent meeting of the COVID-19 emergency committee in Manchester, the city’s deputy mayor said the police had already seen incidents related to the continuing restrictions and expected a surge in serious cases. Lady Beverley Hughes declared: “I think we are beginning to see a rise in domestic abuse incidents. We anticipated this might happen in the very stressful circumstances for many families.” One contributory factor was the economic strains many families face as hours are cut and jobs are lost. She explained: “The…
The two children of an orthodox Jewish mother should live with their father part of the time, a family court judge ruled in a recently published judgement. ‘A’ and ‘B’, aged nine and seven, have been the subject of multiple family court judgements as a result of their parents’ contentious divorce after the father chose to leave the family’s strictly orthodox Haredi community in London. His decision was described in a subsequent ruling as having had a “cataclysmic impact on each member of the family”. After leaving the father became involved with the more moderate Modern Orthodox community and the…
If you are separate from, or divorce, your partner, you may receive spousal maintenance from them: ‘alimony’; as it’s termed in the United States. Then again, you may not: it’s all down to personal circumstances. Whether you do or do not will depend on your individual circumstances, but if you have children, and they live with you following the separation, then the situation becomes much clearer: there will be no questions about you right to receive child maintenance payments from your ex. The provision of financial support is a legal obligation placed on all biological and adoptive parents. But the…
