United Kingdom: Family and Matrimonial

Inheritance disputes in England and Wales are rising sharply, and two converging trends explain why. The first is the sustained increase in residential property values: according to HM Land Registry data, the average UK house price now stands at just under £268,000, compared with around £153,000 twenty years ago, a rise of more than 75 per cent. What was once a modest family home has become, in many cases, a significant asset, and one that can transform even a straightforward-looking estate into something worth contesting.

A recently reported judgment from the High Court, Kirishani v George Major, provides another example of the different way the law operates in England and Wales for cohabiting couples...

Hybrid mediation transforms the role of lawyers in family disputes from gatekeepers to active problem solvers.