Family Law

Family Law

Brief Overview of the Case

This case is about Lucie who is 21 years old and has been in a relationship with Nigel Jones for 4 years. The couple is not married but has one child whose name is Jack aged 3. When Nigel and Lucie started their relationship Nigel owned his house at that time. Nigel proposed Louis to stay in his house. Lucie works in a shop as a shop assistant. She used to pay all her salary to help Nigel in paying the mortgage of the house.

From the beginning the relationship between Nigel and Lucie was of volatile in nature. They fight frequently. Arguments and fight that they used to have often lead to the physical fights. Lucie often suffer from bruises and marks on her eyes as a result of these physical fights. The couple has been facing some major problems and their relationship has worsened, since the time Nigel has become unemployed. Nigel showed careless behaviour and instead of finding another job he began to rely on state benefits. He began to spend his days sitting idle at home and indulging in drinking alcohol and smoking.

Another very important perspective of this case is Louise's and Nigel's son Jack. When Nigel became unemployed instead of sharing the expenses all the burden came on the shoulder of Louise. This also has affected the schooling of their child Jack. He used to go to the nursery on irregular basis because of inability of his parents to bare the expenditures. During his nursery, his teachers were so concerned about the appearance and mental well being of Jack. They often used to take actions with regard to Jack. For instance, the nursery has made referrals to the social services about his care. The nursery of Jack began serious and called social services when they observed a mark on the face of Jack that seems to be the mark of a slap.

In response to the call of nursery a social worker Melody went to Lucie house for visit. Upon her visit she found out that Lucie had marks and fresh cuts. Upon the interrogation of Melody about the Jack and that mar of slap on his face, Lucie replied that she did not know how it happened and she further stated that Nigel never hit Jack.

Main Issues

The above mentions the scenario of the case in a brief way. This case highlights few important issues that come under the umbrella of Family Law and Children Act. The case raises the issues of domestic violence, property rights, domestic violence and child protection.

Issues to be Addressed

Following are the main concerns that are needed to be addressed related to the scenario of the given case.

Does Lucie possess rights over Nigel's property (i.e. his house) under the resulting trust, constructive trust and/or proprietary Estoppel?

What are the legal rights with regard to domestic violence under the Family Law Act 1996 that can be attained by Lucie?

What key factors are to be ...