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19 May 2023
Issue: 8025 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce
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NLJ this week: Pre-nup pressure in hotly fought case

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Pre-nuptial contracts have been challenged in court, and survived, in the recent case of M v A. In this week’s NLJ, Sarah Jane Lenihan and Laura Couves, of Dawson Cornwell, look at the case in depth. 

The judge made some interesting comments on the conduct of parties and on what is required to establish ‘undue pressure’.

Lenihan and Couves write: ‘For practitioners, if you intend to run a conduct argument, it must be pleaded properly; you cannot simply run the argument in the background in the hope that it will add colour to your client’s case.’

The court considered whether pre-nups signed pre-Radmacher, a seminal case in this area, could be considered valid. It also looked at the issue of what is reasonable to meet a divorcing party’s needs.

Lenihan and Couves sum up the key takeaways and messages from the case—read more here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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