Family Law Inverness Latest News

The Scottish Government recently published a review of Scots family law. The study considered the way the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 has worked in practice in the ten years since it was introduced.

The Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 is one of the major pieces of family law legislation. It introduced rights for cohabitants and reformed the rights of unmarried fathers in Scotland. When the act was passed into law it was commended for modernising Scots family law and recognising the way the family dynamics have changed over time. However, many solicitors and stakeholder groups have criticised the Act for being unclear, poorly drafted and not going far enough to reflect the realities of modern family life.

The review was led by the Convener of the Justice Committee, Christine Grahame MSP, and heard evidence from a broad range of interested parties, including members of the legal profession, politicians and pressure groups such as Families Need Fathers.

Lord Uist has granted a decree of reduction for properties that an elderly woman disposed to her sons on the grounds of “undue influence” and “facility and circumvention”.

The court heard how Mrs Audrey Matossian died at the age of 83 in 2010. She had been divorced and her previous husband had died in 2003. Mrs Matossian had three sons, Berj, 60, Richard, 57, and Alexander, 55. Alexander did not have a good relationship with the elder brothers.

Mrs Matossian had been the owner of three properties in Glasgow: the adjoining houses at 99 and 101 Drumover Drive and a flat at 592 Tollcross Road.

The Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative Care has pledged that all patients in Scotland will be offered high quality end of life palliative care, regardless of their age, socio-economic status, diagnosis or where they live.

The framework is backed by £3.5 million of Scottish Government funds and aims to create a more open discussion of death, bereavement and end of life care. It addresses the need for patients to have the chance to discuss their end of life care before their condition deteriorates. Health professionals who work closely with patients and families will be offered improved training to help them give better palliative care.

The proposals have been met with support from various charities and health campaigners.

Researchers have recently published the results of a study that followed the marriages of around 1,600 people over a 20-year period to uncover the effects of marital happiness on physical health.

According to co-author Cody Hollist, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, there is a recognised link between health and the happiness of marriage, but it is not clear whether a happy marriage creates good health, or whether a bad marriage leads to poor health.

“There is no way to tease out what caused what,” he said. “But it is clear that marital quality and health run in tandem.”