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27 March 2015 / Hazel Wright
Issue: 7646 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
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Mind the gap

Spousal maintenance in a time of change outlined by Hazel Wright

In its research note “Counting the Cost of Family Failure—2015 Update” the Relationships Foundation put the cost to the taxpayer of family breakdown at £47bn, ie £1,546 each year to every taxpayer. The implication is that this is too much and that steps should be taken to reduce the financial impact on those who pay their taxes but do not claim state support.

This article takes a look at how we got to where we are in terms of expecting self-sufficiency of adults whose personal relationships beak down, and what is changing about that.

Swinging sixties

After the swinging sixties, a raft of reforming legislation was passed aimed at addressing how people behave towards each other, both at work and in their relationships with each other and with strangers. Since its roots in 1970 (and see other reforming legislation at the same time such as the Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976),

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Megan Bradbury

Clarke Willmott—Megan Bradbury

Corporate team welcomes paralegal in Southampton

Howard Kennedy—Paul Moran

Howard Kennedy—Paul Moran

London firm strengthens real estate team with partner appointment

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

NEWS
Pathfinder courts—renamed ‘Child focused courts’—are to be rolled out nationally, following a successful pilot where backlogs halved and cases were resolved up to seven and a half months faster
The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a £385,000 costs order against a father, in a case that centred on what is required to meet the threshold of ‘reprehensible or unreasonable’ behaviour
Centuries-old burial laws would be overhauled, under Law Commission proposals to address the burgeoning problem of shortage of cemetery space
The government has committed an extra £32m to women’s charities and services tackling addiction, trauma, abuse and homelessness
The Financial Ombudsman is poised for major reform to return it to a simple, impartial dispute resolution service
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