Raleys Solicitors

Changes to the law which allow same sex couples to be named jointly as parents on the birth certificates of babies born through surrogacy or donor sperm have come into effect and the first same sex couple has jointly signed a birth certificate.

The changes to the law which were welcomed by gay rights groups have allowed Natalie Woods who gave birth to a daughter last month to jointly sign the register with her lesbian partner Elizabeth Knowles. Ms Knowles is now named on the birth certificate as a second parent in the place of a father.

Previously, same sex couples wishing to appear jointly on a birth certificate had to apply to the courts and Ms Woods said the new simplified process was a great improvement.

Now, when a woman in a civil partnership has a baby using donor sperm, her lesbian civil partner will be automatically included on the birth certificate, unless objecting in writing. Also, women who give birth using IVF but aren’t in a civil partnership will be able to name another woman as a second parent, providing the other woman gives written consent.

A team of solicitors from Raleys have completed the Sheffield Great Fun Run, raising £400 for a special care baby unit at the Royal Hallamshire Hosptial.

The team of Rebecca Baker, Abbie Churchill, Jenni Bates and Tasmin White had been training together for the event, which was a first for them all. The ladies said it was daunting at first, especially when they found themselves starting at the very back! But they soon got into their rhythm and had a great time.

The Special Care Baby Unit cares for babies who have been born prematurely, who are very small or have life-threatening conditions, those born to diabetic mothers, babies who have had a difficult delivery or those with jaundice and babies awaiting or recovering from complex surgery.

English divorce law is renowned for favouring the poorer party, which is usually the woman, in divorce proceedings and as such often overrules clauses in pre-nuptial agreements if they look unfair. This is particularly prevalent in cases of wealthy foreigners whose wives start divorce proceedings in England.

Foreign pre-nuptial agreements are often overruled in English courts because of the emphasis they place on independent legal advice. Before either party signs a pre-nuptial agreement, English courts would expect both partners to have had their own independent legal advice, whereas in many other countries this is not necessarily the case. Furthermore, English courts tend to view marriage as an institution and will consider fairness and the needs of either spouse as a priority. Hence many rich husbands find themselves paying a good deal to support an ex-wife, particularly if she has care of the children. English courts are also inclined to view homemaking activities as having boosted a man’s earning power and rule that the ex-wife is entitled to a lifelong share in his earnings. For these reasons any pre-nuptial agreement that totally disregards these factors is likely to carry little or no weight in England.

One case, currently passing through the Supreme Court looks set to be a landmark ruling in terms of foreign pre-nuptial agreements and their importance and weight in divorces in England. Divorce lawyers are watching with interest to see the outcome of a case involving a wealthy German heiress whose pre-nuptial agreement with her French former husband stated that in the event of divorce he would be entitled to nothing from her. When they divorced in England in 2007 an English court disregarded the pre-nuptial agreement and awarded him almost £6m. However, the heiress went on to appeal, citing the agreement and had his payment reduced to £1m. Now the settlement is once again being challenged by the former husband, who argues he didn’t receive the proper legal advice and wasn’t aware of exactly how rich she was before signing.

There is little doubt that pre-nuptial agreements are going to take on more importance in the coming years, but the doubt remains over how much importance they should receive. Factors such as legal advice and financial disclosure are considered vital by the English courts in order to make sure an agreement will stand up in court, but there will still be the potential for agreements considered unfair to be disregarded.

The doors look set to open for same sex couples to hold their civil partnership ceremonies in religious buildings following a vote by the House of Lords to lift the ban on religious premises holding civil partnerships.

At present, UK law forbids religious venues from holding civil partnerships. Still, some liberal denominations of Christianity and Judaism have been happy to bless gay unions once the civil partnership has taken place elsewhere.

The lifting of the ban, which must still be approved by the House of Commons, has been declared a victory for equal rights by Gay rights activists but has caused controversy amongst religious figures who fear they may find themselves fighting legal battles not to hold same sex unions in their buildings.

However, Lord Ali underlined that the changes in the law will give religious venues the option of holding civil partnerships but will not oblige them to do so. As he pointed out, “there are many gay and lesbian couples who want to share their civil partnership with congregation they worship with and there are a number of religious organisations which want them to do just that.”

The vote has been welcomed as a major victory by some religious groups who have no theological problems with the idea of gay marriage such as the Religious Society of Friends, Liberal Judaism and the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, who have already said that they wish to hold legally recognised same sex partnerships.

No changes to the law will happen immediately because the amendment must yet be approved by the House of Commons.

At Raleys we’re (obviously) interested in law, and we’re always interested in keeping our fingers on the pulse, so to speak. So we’ve been following the situation regarding the Hague convention and Japan with interest.

One factor governed by the Hague Conventions states that any child from a failed marriage with parents of two difference nationalities can be returned to their country of residence should they be taken to one parent’s country without the permission of the other parent. This agreement does not cover all countries however, since only signatory countries must comply.

As far as Japan is concerned, the Hague Convention has been rather a bone of contention. The prevailing trend and the current legal precedent in Japan is that children of divorced couples live with just one parent, losing contact with the other. It is almost always the mother who is awarded sole custody. Therefore the Hague Convention’s rules on international child custody contradict Japanese law and the country’s ‘norms.’

Japan is currently the eye in the centre of a storm of publicity over the Hague Convention and the country’s leaders have been under pressure from many G8 countries to sign. The consequences of signing the convention could be huge for Japan because the population has a high number of international marriages, with almost 20,000 marriages made up of one Japanese and one international partner ending in divorce in 2008.

At Raley’s we have been watching with interest as the prevailing public opinion in Japan has appeared to shift. It was first argued that the convention would endanger children of domestic violence victims by putting them back in contact with violent parents. But recently, the tide of public opinion has changed direction and seems to stand more in support of signing the convention.

This is perhaps due to the high profile case of one mother who is unable to see her child as a result of Japan not having signed the convention. The Japanese lady is in her country following a divorce from her Czech partner. The father has the child in his own country and has told courts he has no intention of taking the child to Japan. Whilst the Czech Republic is a signatory of the Hague Convention, Japan still isn’t so the mother as yet has no right to insist her child be brought back to Japan.

It’s turning into quite an interesting debate and we’ll be keeping our eyes on the news to let you know what happens and our thoughts and opinions. We’d love to hear yours too.

At Raleys Solicitors we understand that sometimes the law can seem a little bit confusing and that making big legal decisions about the future can be daunting. We also understand that walking into a solicitors’ office can be scary and that many people fear their solicitor will baffle them with long, complicated monologues about the law and its intricacies. This is why we make ongoing efforts to make our legal advice as accessible as possible to everyone.

A recent example of our commitment to making law comprehensible for everyone was our Property, Wills and Probate Advice Day at Barnsley Age Concern Day Centre on February 15th.

The event was headed by Raleys’ Angela Gavin, who is head of Property, Wills and Probate department here. People of all ages were invited to attend to receive legal advice relating to all aspects of this area of law, including writing wills, protecting assets and granting somebody lasting power of attorney.

The reason Raleys hold such events is that we understand that having to think about a time in the future when a person will no longer be able to manage their own legal affairs can be incredibly distressing, so we know that it is important to plan properly for such a time so that difficulties and problems can be avoided in the future.

Angela has previously given advice to pensioners at the National Pensioners Forum in Barnsley and also offered advice to staff at a local hospice. As part of our ongoing commitment to our clients and to making law more accessible we will be holding similar events in the future, so look back soon to find out more.

Family law is a major part of most people’s lives although they might not always recognise it. Divorce, marriage, your family home, wills and probate, custody and cohabitation are all covered under the broad umbrella of family law and here at Raleys Solicitors, we can help you with any of your legal needs.