The Family Procedure Rules have been updated to allow all family courts to issue transparency orders.

Delay does not necessarily defeat proceedings for contempt of court.

Breaking news for London's family law practitioners: His Honour Judge Hess has announced major changes to the case management process for the capital's courts. Read more...

The Purchase of land guide now includes new Stamp duty land tax questionnaire. This questionnaire can be used at the start of the matter to gather relevant information for the tax return.

The Private Child Arrangements guide has been extensively reviewed and updated to ensure that the commentaries and precedents are in line with current law and practice. Read more...

The By Lawyers Financial Remedies Guide has been reviewed and updated to ensure that the commentaries and precedents are in line with current law and practice. Read more...

Most of the requirements for possession claims set out in Practice Direction 55C are no longer in force, and our commentaries have been amended accordingly.

To complement the new ‘Your Finances’ app for gathering financial information from clients, two new letters have been added to the Financial Remedy guide. The first, Letter to client instructed to commence proceedings with financial remedy – Form E shared via LawConnect, contains step-by-step instructions for using LawConnect which clients can follow. The second, Letter to client with financial statement for signing – eSignature, contains guidance for clients on signing the Financial Statement using DocuSign. We invite you to explore these new letters. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

As practitioners may be aware, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme increased the length of time that temporary high balances were protected in bank accounts from 6 months to 12 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. This protection has been reduced to 6 months again from 1 February 2021. The Practice Management guide has been amended accordingly.

Discussion of trust of land claims has been added to the Financial Remedy guide, enabling family law practitioners to gain an appreciation of the case law and process in this area. Covering an overview of trust law, a number of key cases and practical points to consider when dealing with disputes and making applications to court, this section of the guide will help practitioners when encountering this complex area. More informaiton is also available in the Freehold Property Disputes guide.

The rush of applications to avoid the coming fee rise sees probate registries accepting applications noting that inheritance tax forms will follow. This is but a brief respite and will end once the new fees are introduced.

The recent ruling condemns marriage value as unearned profit and dismisses ground rent as money for nothing.

We have removed the link to Dealing with Brexit legal issues from the top of the matter plans as the changes are no longer urgent. The publication remains in the Reference Materials folder of the Practice Management guide for reference.

The By Lawyers Criminal Law Guide has been reviewed and updated to ensure that the commentaries and precedents are in line with current law and practice. The extensive review takes a practical approach, drawing on our considerable experience to cover all aspects of procedure, with a focus on practical tips that will help practitioners to run a criminal matter to completion confidently. Commentary and new precedents dealing with the following areas have been included: The victim surcharge and Cuthbertson, R. v [2020] EWCA Crim 1883; The professional users access scheme; Family proceedings disclosure; The effects of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Rules 2021; Cautions, community resolutions and triage; and Perjury. We invite you to explore this updated publication and to consider the wealth of assistance the Criminal Law Guide offers.

The Estates guide has been enhanced with the addition of some clarification of the operation of the Insolvency Act 1986 when assets pass by survivorship out of insolvent estates. Beneficiaries could be asked to make a payment to the estate within five years of the death if an insolvency administration order is made.