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16 June 2011 / Charlotte Posnansky
Issue: 7470 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
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Together forever?

Are Kate & William out of step with the majority of today’s couples? Charlotte Posnansky reports

Though the infectious romantic atmosphere created by the recent Royal Wedding may have given a brief boost to the institution of marriage, an increasing number of people are now choosing not to marry. Indeed, marriage is at its lowest rates since records began in 1862 as more and more people choose to cohabit instead.

Cynics often cite the headline grabbing figures in divorce cases and London’s reputation as being “the divorce capital of the world” as part of the reason for this decline as wealthy would-be-spouses seek to jealously guard their financial resources. However, that cannot be the full picture as a recent survey carried out by the matrimonial department at Charles Russell LLP showed that 56% of adults in England and Wales believed that the concept of a “common law” husband or wife has legal recognition and so gives right to a formal claim for financial support from the other in the event of subsequent separation.

There

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Slater Heelis—Charlotte Beck

Partner and Manchester office lead appointed head of family

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

Civil Justice Council—Nigel Teasdale

DWF insurance services director appointed to Civil Justice Council

R3—Jodie Wildridge

R3—Jodie Wildridge

Kings Chambers barrister appointed chair of R3 Yorkshire

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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