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01 February 2007 / David Burrows
Issue: 7258 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
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finance on family breakdown

EQUITABLE PRINCIPLES IN FAMILY PROCEEDINGS

In S v S (M Intervening) [2006] EWHC 2892 (Fam), [2006] All ER (D) 229 (Nov) the wife (W) had retained the former matrimonial home (the property) upon the parties’ divorce in 1989. The husband (H) had a charge-back of one-third realisable when the children ceased to be dependent, W remarried or cohabited permanently or she died—standard Mesher terms. H was required to pay periodical payments for W and the children. In 1993, said W, H agreed to remit his charge on the property if W agreed to forego her entitlement to the arrears then due and to any future payments.

 In 1995 W’s mother (M) moved to and then bought a half-share in the property; but on the assumption of both W and M that H no longer had any charge on, nor other interest in, the property. M said she and H had had separate discussions on the subject. H had not registered his charge with Land Registry. W and M’s agreement was not formalised in

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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