Family Law

Cohabitation Claims and The Unequal Sharing of Matrimonial Property

March 18th 2027

Virtual Seminar

Cohabitation Claims and The Unequal Sharing of Matrimonial Property

March 18th 2027

2 - 5pm

Speaker: Beverley Addison

Virtual Seminar

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£180+VAT

3hrs CPD

Cohabitation is very much a live issue. The scottish Law Commission issued its report in November 2022 setting out the proposals to reform the present law.

When sharing matrimonial property in divorce, the default position is that of an equal sharing. There are six main principles why matrimonial property should be shared unequally in terms of Sections 9 and 10 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985.

This seminar will cover both topics and will cover the following issues:-

The current legal position on cohabitation and implementation of the case law by the courts;

How to pursue a claim under the present cohabitation law and if met with a claim, how to resist a claim;

Set out the criticisms in the present legislation and the specific issues which have been considered for review/updating by the Scottish Law Commission;

The principles/reasons why there should be a departure from unequal sharing;

Current judicial thinking/case law and reasons for departing from the 50/50 split – what will work and what will not work;

How to costruct an argument to persuade an opponent or the court to give your client a greater than 50% share of matrimonial property; and

If met with such claims and arguments, how to resist such claims.

The talk will be of interest to lawyers who specialise in family law but equally those lawyers for which family law is part of their general practice.

Beverley is a Senior Associate within BTO's Divorce & Family Law team.

She is experienced in dealing with all aspects of family law, having worked exclusively in this area for almost 10 years, and in 2023, she won the Legal 500’s Rising Star of the Year Award.

Beverley takes pride in helping her clients to navigate a separation in the way that is best for them and their family. She always takes steps to make the law as easy to understand as possible and works hard to remove as much stress and expense as she can for her clients.

She is a trained Collaborative Practitioner and has a lot of experience in litigating matters in the Sheriff Courts and Court of Session, where required.

She holds a qualification from the ACCA in Business Valuation and regularly uses this when advising clients with corporate interests.