News & Guides
Expert commentary, case analysis, and practical guides on divorce, children's arrangements, financial remedy, and more.
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Family LawSKB NewsParental Responsibility
Parental Responsibility Parental Responsibility is derived from the Children’s Act 1989. It refers to: “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authorities which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.” The emphasis is on a parents’ responsibilities over the child, rather than the parents’ rights of the child. Parental Responsibility is a right given automatically to the mother and the married father. However, it is not an automatic right given to an unmarried father, step-parent or grandparent. An unmarried father can acquire Parental Responsibility in two ways: i) If the child was born after 1 December 2003, an unmarried father can acquire Parental Responsibility by having his name on the child’s birth certificate. ii) enter into a written Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother or by order of the court. Travelling Abroad Would you like to take your child abroad? Before you book your tickets, read the following. If you do not have parental responsibility towards the child, you will need to gain permission from everyone that has parental responsibility over the child. You can do this through a document signed by the parents of the child. Remember, Immigration Authorities in […]
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DivorceFamily LawSKB NewsWomen & Divorce: Minreet Kaur
“I’m divorced, so Sikh men don’t want me” Minreet Kaur is a henna artist and a freelance journalist who works for the BBC. Her story originally appeared on BBC News. SKB Law: Women &Divorce Series. At 27, Minreet Kaur married a man she had met through a Sikh temple in west London. It turned out to be a disaster, and within a year she was back home with her parents. For 10 years now she has been hoping to find another husband, but has reached a bitter conclusion: most Sikh men don’t want to marry a divorcee. “If you divorce me, you will never marry again,” my husband shouted at me before I left him. He said it to hurt me, but he knew it could turn out to be true. And so did I. Divorce is shameful in the Sikh community, especially for women. To begin with I was ashamed myself. I felt dirty and used. How could I look at another man when I knew he would regard me as used goods? Other people reinforced this feeling. My grandma in London told me I should have worked at my marriage, even though she knew what I had […]
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Family LawSKB NewsSay Hello to SKB Law
We’ve got some exciting news! From March 2019, the firm’s name will change from Shire Solicitors to SKB Law. It’s still us, but over the next few months, you’ll notice some changes. A fresh new logo. New colours. New contact details. The new identity will reflect our three key areas of work: Family Law Specialists The Academy – developing future leaders. Legal Clinics + Training – increasing access to legal advice + strengthening women’s rights. The changes don’t stop there. We’re working on ways to improve how we communicate with our clients, deliver our services and incorporate online payment systems. Our new website will help us share more stories, events and updates. We hope you like the changes.
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DivorceFamily LawSKB NewsDivorce, Islam and Me: Saima Mir
Women & Divorce: Saima Mir Our Women&Divorce series features stories from women in their own words. In this piece, we’re sharing an article written by Saima Mir, a freelance journalist. The below article and image originally appeared in the Guardian on Saturday 16 February 2019. Divorce, Islam and me: ‘I will for ever be the woman who left two husbands’ When my arranged marriage ended, my parents decided to set me up again. But finding love isn’t that easy… I was 19 the first time marriage was mentioned. My mother told me about a young man whose family had expressed an interest in me, and then she promptly left the house. The realisation that I was of marriageable age was clearly as difficult for her as it was surprising to me. I was a geeky young woman who had never even shaken hands with a man, let alone had a boyfriend. I’d attended an all-girls Catholic school before opting to study science at university. My life was Malcolm X and Maya Angelou, X-Men and Spider-Man; summers were spent at my nani’s house in Karachi, and winters trudging through Yorkshire snow. Bespectacled before it was cool, I was short-sighted in more […]
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