Sun, Sea and Separation; avoiding holiday headaches
School holidays are approaching and with that comes the hope and expectation of many families that they will be able to take a holiday; but…
Family Law
Keeping Up With the Blended Family
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker have recently tied the knot for the third time and the Kardashian clan has seen itself welcome not…
'No Fault' Divorce Laws
You may have read that new divorce laws came into force this month, which make it easier to get a divorce and allows couple to end their…
Marriage v. Cohabitation in Scotland
There is a sometimes a belief in Scotland that common law marriage exists and gives cohabiting couples the same legal rights as married…
UK Says No More
From 7 – 13 March 2022 the national campaign ‘UK Says No More’, will take place. The campaign aims to raise awareness to end domestic abuse…
Pre-Nups: A Proposal of Growing Popularity
Celebrities' relationships are known to end as quickly as they begin, which explains why many lawyers advise that they enter into an iron-…
Virtual Courts for Domestic Abuse Cases
Figures recently published by the Scottish Police Authority’s Quarterly Policing Performance Report indicate that in the last year there…
The Age of Criminal Responsibility in Scotland
The age of criminal responsibility in Scotland has faced a lot of controversy over the years. In theory, a legislative change from 2019,…
Another Thorntons family law specialist accredited by Law Society
Leading Scottish law firm Thorntons has increased its breadth of expertise in family law after another one of its lawyers was recognised as…
Challenge Economic Abuse | Challenge Poverty Week
Sadly for many, physical separation from an abusive partner does not always mean an end to the abuse. It can take enormous resolve to end…
Is 16 too young to get married?
Historically, young people from England and Wales ran away to Gretna Green to get married because, in contrast to England and Wales, 16 and…
Would you choose a Civil Partnership?
For the first time in Scotland, mixed sex couples will have the opportunity to enter civil partnerships. The Civil Partnership Act 2004,…
Review of Scottish Cohabitation Laws
The number of couples cohabiting in the United Kingdom has seen a marked increase in the last decade.
In Scotland, the legal framework…
Vaccines and Children
It was recently announced that over half the Scottish population have received their first dose of a Covid 19 vaccine. This is an…
New Opt-out Scheme of Organ Donation comes into force today
The law around organ and tissue donation in Scotland changes on 26 March 2021 to an opt-out system, which is hoped will lead to an increase…
The Reality of Surrogacy in Scotland
Surrogacy in the UK is steadily becoming more and more common. In 2011 only 121 parental orders were made compared with 368 in 2018. The…
Child Contact Centres & Covid19
The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted lives across the nation in a myriad of ways. For many, a silver lining of repetitive lockdowns is…
What does the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 mean for grandparents?
My colleague Eildh Conacher recently provided an overview of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, but what does it mean in practice?
The…
Children (Scotland) Act 2020; what will the new legislation mean for children in Scotland.
Recently, MSPs unanimously passed the Children (Scotland) Bill. The bill, which aims to encourage the expression and inclusion of children…
Scotland’s smacking ban comes into force
Last year, the Scottish Government confirmed that the smacking of children was to be banned in Scotland, following evidence which showed…
Knowing Who You Are: Why establishing paternity is important
It has recently been reported that a Ms Delphine Boel has taken a case to the Belgian Appeal Court to determine whether she should…