Profile description
Child Arrangements Orders
Helen represents clients at all stages of private law children disputes. She regularly represents parents and rule 16.4 guardians in disputes about the living arrangements for children, disputes about contact arrangements, and disputes about the exercise of parental responsibility.
- Child Arrangement Orders (CAOs) - contact and residence orders, parental responsibility, specific issue orders
- Fact-finding hearings: allegations of rape, sexual abuse of children, domestic violence, controlling and coercive behaviour and economic abuse
- Domestic and international relocation - including within Europe (Brussels II) and also non-Hague countries
- Interim application hearings (for example, expert witnesses, disclosure, costs)
- Grandparents and other family members applying for contact contact with the child(ren)
- Injunctive remedies in the family court - contested applications for non-molestation orders, occupations orders, undertakings and enforcement
- Prohibited steps orders (PSOs)
- Mental health and substance abuse issues impacting on child arrangements
- Applications for wasted costs orders re parties' conduct
Divorce & Financial Settlement
Helen advises and represents clients at all stages of financial remedies proceedings (FDA, FDR and Final Hearings). She has experience of cases that involve complex issues e.g. fraud, frittering away of matrimonial assets and assets held in business and property. Helen specialises in overseas property valuations, joint expert and family businesses e.g. involving a portfolio of ‘buy to let’ properties, identification and division of matrimonial assets and negotiating settlements.
- Financial remedy hearings – matrimonial assets and non-matrimonial assets, overseas property valuation, joint experts on tax and family businesses, sale and transfer of property
- ToLATA and cohabitation disputes in Section 7 applications – beneficial interest, resulting trust and a declaration of trust for the transfer of property
- Spousal maintenance – periodical payments, lump sum and pension sharing – clean break
- Enforcement and cost orders
- Schedule 1 Children Act – child maintenance and financial support for children
Children in Care Proceedings
Helen represents clients at all stages of care proceedings. She regularly acts for parents, guardians and extended family members such as grandparents.
- Parents in Part V1 Family Law Care Cases
- Grandparents and other family members (Special Guardianship Orders) in Part V1 Family Law Care Cases
- Contact Orders with children in care
- Emergency Protection Orders and other urgent remedies
- Adoption and Placement Orders – trafficked children, removal of children from parents without UK legal status.
- International Abduction cases – unlawful removal of children from their habitual residence, involving family members abroad, and cases where the children are foreign nationals living in this jurisdiction
Personal interests:
All things Yorkshire... the Dales, horses and dogs. Helen's claim to fame? She is a lambing assistant extraordinaire - having assisted with over 500 deliveries!