Arising from that potentially devastating news, inevitably there will be people who think they are legally divorced but in fact are still married. Worse than that, they may be relying on fictitious orders for financial provision or even have remarried bigamously. That second marriage will be invalid.
How did this happen?
Section 3(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 prohibits the issue of a divorce petition to the court within 12 months of the date of the marriage (believe it or not, some people are watching the calendar!). Some petitions were actually accepted, processed by the court administration and did proceed to Decree Absolute in breach of this provision. Those petitions and decrees are null, and void, i.e. treated as if they never existed and so anything dependent on them also falls away.
Sir James has issued guidance about what to do if you believe this may apply to you. Firstly, contact a solicitor who will advise further about referring the matter to a judge to resolve the matter. It may require a new divorce petition and the court will generously waive the fee!
Fortunately, the numbers affected are likely to be quite small. Certainly, our office has not issued any, but if you are concerned, do get in touch with Elizabeth Wyatt. Alternatively, join us on twitter @ACSPrivateCL for our live question and answer session on 18 May at 13:00-14:00.
We now know what the short-term holds for public procurement at the end of the Brexit transitional period.
Daniel Brewer from Resonance talks about his journey into investing in enterprise with a social purpose, and discusses what the landscape looks like for social businesses post Covid-19.
On 1 December 2020 the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Pimlett v Curo Places Limited EWCA Civ 1621 where prior judgments in the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal were overturned.
For part 3 in this series of short podcasts, Chris Lloyd-Smith interviews senior associate Madhur Sharma on how she has been coping during these unprecedented times.
On 26 November 2020 further changes to the 'Building Regulations: Fire safety - Approved Document B' will take effect.
Last week, the NHF published its final version of its new Code of Governance and made some important changes from the previous draft that will impact on those housing associations looking to adopt it.
As the end of 2020 beckons, we take a look at what progress the Sterling market has made in its preparations for the end of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) on 31 December 2021.
Finally, there is a glimmer of hope that perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic could be reaching its end.
For part 2 in this series of short podcasts, Chris Lloyd-Smith interviews senior associate Lisa Whitehouse on how she has been coping during these unprecedented times.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.