Case Studies

Relocation

The parties met on a dating website. They formed a relationship and began living together and had a child. The father took the child from the mother’s care and initially refused to let the mother see her only child.

Broadway solicitors represented the mother and made various applications to the court not only for her to see the child on an interim basis but for the child to be returned to her care. The mother was from Taiwan and sought to return there to live with her child. The father opposed this. We made an application under the Children Act on behalf of the mother and represented her at the High Court in respect of her application to take her son permanently out of the UK to go and live with her in Taiwan. We prepared her statements and advised her throughout the proceedings with the assistance of an interpreter. Her case was put forward on the basis that it was in the best interests of the child to be able to relocate with the mother to Taiwan where she could provide a better level of care for her son with the support of a family network and friends which she did not have in the UK. After a contested hearing, the High Court made an Order allowing her to leave the UK with her child to go back to her home country.

Cases which we have had reported are:
Re S (A Child) 2012 EWCA CIV 1031
Re B (Child)(Relocation) Sweden 2015 EWCA CIV 286

Divorce and Financial settlement

The parties were married with two young children. They had entered into a prenuptial agreement in Poland during the course of the marriage where both parties were from allowing each of them to retain their own assets in the event of a divorce. The husband had committed adultery and the wife sought advice from us in respect of a divorce and financial settlement.

The issues in the case were whether the prenuptial agreement should be upheld, how the properties acquired during the marriage which were in 3 different jurisdictions should be divided (some of them had been inherited by the husband) and how would the wife afford to pay legal fees. Additionally, the husband placed one of the properties on the market to sell.

On behalf of the Wife:

1. We successfully made an application to the Court to freeze the Husband’s assets to stop him from dissipating them.
2. We obtained a Court Order that one of the properties was to be sold and the proceeds divided between the parties to enable the wife to meet her legal fees.
3. The prenuptial agreement was found to have no weight or relevance which was a good result as the wife had no assets in her name.
4. We succeeded in persuading the Court that the Husband’s properties were not business assets and should therefore be included in the pot for distribution between the parties.
5. In total we achieved 60% of the assets in the wife’s favour.

Domestic Violence

The parties were married and had two children. The wife instructed us that she has been subject to emotional abuse for some time. The violence escalated resulting in her being assaulted. The wife feared for her safety and did not want her husband to return home.

Broadway solicitors advised and represented the wife in making an application for a non-molestation order and occupation order which would prevent her husband from using or threatening violence against her, or from pestering or harassing her and prevent her husband from returning back to the family home or from going near it. The husband opposed both applications. We represented the wife throughout proceedings and obtained both Orders which gave her protection she sought for two years.

Child Arrangements Order

The parties were married with two young girls. The marriage had ended following an incident of domestic violence. The husband instructed us seeking protection from his wife by way of a court Order and he sought an Order that the girls live with him.

Broadway solicitors represented the husband at court on both the applications. The court was persuaded to make Orders to protect the husband from the wife and to give the full-time care of the children to him.

Unmarried Couple disputes

The parties had entered into a relationship and purchased a property. Broadway solicitors were approached by the partner who instructed that he had made the bigger financial contribution to the property and wanted to remain in it. His ex-partner sought a sale of the property and an equal division of the sale proceeds. Mediation had failed. We advised the client with the assistance of a barrister and set out his position. We entered into robust negotiations and maintained a firm stance from the outset. This resulted in the outcome our client desired.