Case Study Archives - Edinburgh Family Law

Navigating infidelity in Scotland: Can cheating be forgiven?

cmathison2024-04-15T13:05:13+00:00April 12th, 2024|Case Study Divorce, Case Study Separation Agreements, Divorce|

Discovering that your partner has been unfaithful often involves a whirlwind of emotions – from anger to sadness and self-doubt. The reasons behind infidelity are complex, and blaming yourself is not going to help you to move forward.

For some couples, rebuilding a relationship after infidelity is achievable with significant time and effort however, for other couples, infidelity ultimately leads to separation or divorce.

Defining Infidelity in Scottish Law

To divorce in Scotland, you need to establish that your marriage has broken down irretrievably. This can be established in four ways:

1. A period of one year separation with your spouse’s consent
2. A period […]

Case Study: Securing the largest award of damages ever in Scotland

Lorna2020-07-10T08:40:06+00:00July 10th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Award of Damages|

Problem

Our clients’ young son was catastrophically injured in a car crash leaving him tetraplegic and ventilator dependent. The accident was caused by a foreign driver being on the wrong side of the road. The family lived in a historic property on the coast which was incapable of adaptation for their son’s needs.

Advice

Our Fiona Mundy represented the family in proceedings in the Court of Session. The whole process of recovering damages lasted over 8 years and involved the instruction of numerous professionals to obtain very specialist advice. Our clients were awarded interim damages which enabled them to purchase land to […]

Case Study: Securing a fair financial settlement

Lorna2020-07-10T08:30:32+00:00July 10th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Children and Parenting Issues, Case Study Divorce|

Problem

Our client was involved in a protracted action of divorce over a period of almost 3 years due to the complication of alleged assault by one of the couple’s children.

During the course of the marriage, our client, the father of two children had been persuaded to give up his well paid job to look after the children, enabling his wife to pursue her career which involved spending significant time away from the family home. The eldest daughter was very close to her mother and resented her being away; she didn’t have a good relationship with her father whom she […]

Case Study: Securing appropriate aliment

Lorna2020-07-08T14:32:16+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Divorce, Case Study Separation Agreements|

Problem

A marriage had ended between a wealthy businessman and his wife (our client). The husband had provided significant financial support during the marriage to his wife and her teenage child. During happier times, the husband and wife had changed the child’s surname to be the same as their married name. Under Scottish law, spouses are required to provide financial maintenance to each other and also to any child accepted as a child of the family. This is called aliment.

The husband argued that the sum sought by the wife for herself was not fair and reasonable. He also argued that he […]

Case study: Successfully protecting the most vulnerable

Lorna2020-06-08T19:17:10+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Protection From Domestic Abuse|

Problem

Our client contacted us urgently to seek a court order to protect himself and his family from his wife. His wife had assaulted one of their teenage children. She was excluded from the house when on bail but intended to return home when the bail conditions were lifted.

Advice

Our client and the children were at risk to their health because of the wife’s behaviour. We were required to raise immediate court proceedings supported by written, sworn statements to prove this to the court. The wife was due to return to the property in 48 hours and that therefore extreme urgency was […]

Case Study: Helping you insure your future

Lorna2020-06-29T12:38:48+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Cohabitation, Case Study Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements|

Problem

Our client wanted his partner to move into his house. Both parties had been divorced and were considering marriage. Our client had a good financial position from his divorce settlement which included his home. His partner had her own assets including a business. The parties wanted a written agreement which would protect them both.

Advice

We advised our client that a Cohabitation Agreement could protect them both by setting out what they wanted to agree. This agreement would protect them both if they separated even if they had decided to get married. We ensured both parties knew that they were required to […]

Case Study: Putting the child’s best interest first, always

Lorna2020-06-08T19:03:06+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Children and Parenting Issues, Case Study Divorce, Case Study Separation Agreements|

Problem

Our client, the father, had a very difficult relationship with the mother of their two young children. The mother refused to allow our client to have overnight care of the children. The mother would only allow any contact to happen when a court order was made. The children knew that their mother strongly disliked their father.

Advice

We argued that the children had a good relationship with their father and that this was being inhibited by the mother’s view of the father. The father had a beautiful and happy home the children enjoyed visiting. The children wanted to spend more time with […]

Case Study: Helping you reach a good out of court settlement

Lorna2020-07-08T14:30:47+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Cohabitation|

Problem

Our client had cohabited with his partner for over ten years. They had a child together. During their relationship, his partner did not work. Our client had enjoyed a very successful career before and during their relationship and had amassed assets in his name worth over £7 million. The parties separated and our client’s ex-partner wanted to claim a share of the value of his assets.

Advice

A cohabitant can only make a restricted claim in court, which is to seek payment of a sum of money if certain criteria are met. The majority of our client’s assets were rental properties. We […]

Case Study: Achieving the right financial outcome for the whole family

Lorna2020-06-08T18:58:58+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Divorce, Case Study Separation Agreements|

Problem

Our client had separated from her husband. She wanted to retain the family home but could not afford the mortgage repayments on her income. Their two children were happy and settled at a local private school. Her husband had a valuable pension he wanted to keep.

Advice

We carefully identified then valued all the assets and debts that the parties had on the date that they separated. The wife needed financial support from her husband to adjust to the parties’ separation. We proposed that he agreed to pay this as a lump sum that would allow her to pay off the mortgage. […]

Case Study: Resolving the complex issue of international relocation

Lorna2020-06-08T19:18:19+00:00June 8th, 2020|Case Study, Case Study Children and Parenting Issues, Case Study Divorce, Case Study Separation Agreements|

Problem

Our client, the father, did not want the mother to relocate from Scotland to the Far East with the couple’s five year old child. The mother was from the Far East. She had been offered a better paid job and would have access to family support. The father was British. The parties had lived in the UK most of the child’s life. The child had regular overnight contact with his father. The child had a close and loving relationship with both parents.

Advice

The legal test for the court to decide was if the proposed move would be in the child’s best […]