Sarah Williams

Senior Associate

Family & Divorce
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Expertise

Sarah specialises in divorce and separation law, together with the associated financial aspects and children issues, cohabitation disputes (TOLATA and Schedule 1) and the rights of cohabitees.

Sarah works on a range of family law matters with a variety of clients.

Recent Experience

  • Worked on a range of matters including media-sensitive cases, so far as they concern, for example, assisting on the case of an internationally renowned sport star.
  • Acted for a wife in relation to a set aside application where the assets are over £10million.
  • Acted for a wife in a financial remedy matter wherein the husband is a very high earner (multi-millions per year) and his income is unusual in nature and it is paid across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Obtained a positive outcome for a father in relation to a TOLATA and Schedule 1 matter.
  • Represented a father in relation to Children Act proceedings and successfully obtained a favourable Child Arrangements Order for him.

Career History

Sarah obtained a First Class degree in Sociology from The University of Sheffield. She then completed a Masters in Law degree where she was awarded the DLA Piper prize in recognition of her examination results. This was followed by the Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School where she achieved a Distinction.

Following completion of her studies, in 2009 Sarah commenced her training contract at Birkett Long (a tier 1 for family law, provincial law firm) and spent a lot of time working with middle income clients and their families, as well as working on some high net worth cases. Sarah worked on financial remedy matters as well as children matters. She also gained experience of working with clients whose issues or assets were cross-border in nature.

In 2015, Sarah moved to Lloyd Platt & Co and worked on a number of highly complex, substantial and often multi-jurisdictional matters and thereafter, joined Wedlake Bell in 2018 with 4.5 years post qualification experience in a variety of family law matters.

She is a member of Resolution.

 

News

No fault divorce: Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020: Royal Assent received on 25 June 2020

Up until recently, the Law in England and Wales for a divorce only allowed “no fault” to be attributed to either party after a minimum period of two years since separationRead more

News

Remote hearings in family law proceedings blog

Remote hearings in family law private children proceedings In family law Court proceedings, there has been ongoing (and regularly updated) guidance helpfully provided by the President of the Family DivisionRead more

News

Financial remedy: Maintenance Pending Suit – interim maintenance: Rattan v Kuwad [2021] EWCA Civ 1

Background: Section 22 of the MCA 1973 gives the Court power to make an Order for maintenance during the course of the proceedings. It provides: “(1) On a petition forRead more

News

Domestic abuse – Coronavirus – Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21 : Second Reading in the House of Commons on 28 April 2020

The intention of the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21 was said to be to: – make provision in relation to domestic abuse; – make provision for and in connection with theRead more

News

Domestic abuse and coronavirus 28th April 2020

Unfortunately, domestic abuse can often, due to the very nature of it, be under-reported. It is also often sadly true that at certain times – such as at that ofRead more

News

Cafcass private law demand; annual summary April 2019 – March 2020

Cafcass stands for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.  They represent children in family court cases in England and “put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, makingRead more

News

No fault divorce: Second reading at the House of Lords on 5 February 2020

The Law in England and Wales for a divorce only allows “no fault” to be attributed to either party after a minimum period of two years since separation (the twoRead more

News

What to consider before divorcing

Associate in our Family & Divorce team, Sarah Campbell,  has written an article on the things to consider before divorcing for YourMoney.com. Sarah writes “It isn’t unusual for individuals toRead more

News

Cafcass: PRIVATE LAW DEMAND; ANNUAL SUMMARY APRIL 2020 – MARCH 2021

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) represent children in family court cases in England and “put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voicesRead more

News

Cafcass: private law statistics: June 2021

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, who represent children in family law cases in England) have reported on the number of new private law cases referredRead more

News

Cafcass: private law statistics: July 2021

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, who represent children in family law cases in England) have reported on the number of new private law cases referredRead more

News

Cafcass: private law statistics: August 2021

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, who represent children in family law cases in England) have reported on the number of new private law cases referredRead more

News

Domestic abuse : the Office for National Statistics – year ending March 2019 blog

On 25 November 2019, the Office for National Statistics (which is an independent producer of official statistics) published its report in relation to the prevalence of domestic abuse and trendsRead more

News

Transforming the Response to Domestic Abuse Consultation Response and Draft Bill – Joint Committee’s findings June 2019

In January 2019 the ‘Transforming the Response to Domestic Abuse Consultation Response and Draft Bill’ was published, following consultation with various stakeholders. It was explained that the Government’s aim isRead more

Bulletins

President’s Circular: Financial Remedies Courts

  On 1 December 2017, Sir James Mumby, President of the Family Division published the “President’s Circular: Financial Remedies Courts”. Within that circular, it was confirmed that Financial Remedies CourtsRead more

Bulletins

The administrative de-linking of divorce proceedings from financial remedy proceedings

As from yesterday (19 June 2017), divorce proceedings across the country are being administratively “delinked” from financial remedy proceedings. The background to this is that back in 2015, administration changesRead more

Bulletins

The Office for National Statistics – statistical bulletin 2017: Divorces in England and Wales

The Office for National Statistics (which produces statistics for the UK) released its statistical bulletin on 18 October 2017 in relation to divorces in England and Wales in 2016. SomeRead more

News

The 13th Programme of Law Reform Projects – Surrogacy

On 14 December 2017, the 13th Programme of Law Reform Projects was launched. By way of background, the Law Commission explain that “Under the Law Commissions Act 1965 the LawRead more

News

Private Law cases That Return to Court: A CAFCASS Study

A CAFCASS study regarding private law cases that returned to Court was published. The authors explain that “it was undertaken within the context of a 20% rise in private lawRead more

News

Divorcing couples and the Chancellor’s Budget – Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

In November 2017 the announcement of the Chancellor’s Budget was no doubt welcomed by some. Currently, indeed, since April 2016, due to Schedule 4ZA of the Finance Act 2003, individualsRead more

News

CAFCASS Private Law Case Demand – Figures For October 2017

On 3 November 2017, CAFCASS reported their latest figures for October 2017 in respect of the demand for CAFCASS in private law children cases.  The report showed an increase inRead more

News

Aviva’s Survey in relation to Divorce

Recently Aviva have announced the findings from their research in connection with individuals’ experiences of divorce.  Back in 2014, at the time of their previous survey, they had found thatRead more

News

Domestic violence statistics – 14 December 2017

The Ministry of Justice published its Family Court Statistics Quarterly, England and Wales, July to September 2017, on 14 December 2017. The statistics demonstrated that when compared to July toRead more

Bulletins

The Child Maintenance (Assessment of Parents’ Income) Bill 2017-19

The Child Maintenance (Assessment of Parents’ Income) Bill 2017-19 had its first reading in the House of Commons on 28 November 2017. It is a private member’s Bill with itsRead more

Bulletins

Forthcoming pilots to potentially change the way the Court system works

Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) have recently published how they propose that the Courts (in England and Wales) should work differently moving forwards. In order to test theRead more

Bulletins

Naming the third party in an adultery application for divorce

The Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2017 – naming the co-respondent in the application for a divorce Previously I wrote about the Family Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2017 thatRead more

Bulletins

Child Support Agency arrears transitioned to the Child Maintenance Service system – statistics

On 30 August 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions published statistics in relation to the Child Support Agency arrears transitioned to the Child Maintenance Service system. The publication explainsRead more

Bulletins

Mills v Mills – permission to appeal to the Supreme Court granted

On 8 August 2017, the husband in the case of Mills v Mills was granted permission to appeal on the ground of “whether, provision having already been made for theRead more

Bulletins

The case of R an B and Capita Trustee Services Ltd and Hawksford Trustees Jersey Ltd and X and Y – Bad conduct and financial settlement upon divorce

A Judgment that was published at the end of June this year, dealt with the issue of what impact bad behaviour (conduct) could have upon a financial settlement upon divorce.Read more

Bulletins

Cohabitation

Background/Statistics This is where a couple are living together (either with or without children) and they are not married or in a civil partnership. According to the Office for NationalRead more

Bulletins

Updated guidance in relation to the domestic violence exemption for having to pay the Child Maintenance Service initial calculation fee

As I have written about previously,  the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), was introduced in 2012 to deal with child maintenance, which was at that time dealt with by the ChildRead more

Bulletins

The Cost of a Child in 2017

The Child Poverty Action Group (who research poverty in the UK, as well as providing information, advice and training) has recently released its report “The Cost of a Child inRead more

Bulletins

Hart v Hart – the Court of Appeal decision – divorce and pre-acquired assets

The Court of Appeal has recently dismissed a wife’s appeal in relation to the settlement that she was awarded upon divorce. By way of background, the husband and wife, MrRead more

Bulletins

The Government’s ‘Providing a cross-border civil judicial cooperation framework – a future partnership’ paper – The UK’s departure from the EU and the impact on Family Law in the UK

The government has recently published its “Providing a cross-border civil judicial cooperation framework – a future partnership” paper. The focus is on the UK leaving the EU and it setsRead more

Bulletins

The case of Tobias v Tobias [2017] – freezing injunctions, without notice orders and applications to the out-of-hours Judge

On 29 June 2017, a Judgment was given in the case of Tobias v Tobias ([2017] EWFC 46) which gave guidance in relation to freezing injunctions, without notice orders andRead more

Bulletins

Changes in relation to the Divorce Petition:

One of the changes is that it is only until 4 September 2017 that a Divorce/Dissolution Petition (or an Answer to those Petitions) do not require a Statement of TruthRead more

Bulletins

The case of Owens v Owens – permission to appeal the decision against the dismissal of her divorce petition

Earlier this year, in the case of Owens v Owens, the wife appealed against the dismissal of her divorce petition, after her husband, unusually, defended the divorce. The wife’s divorce petition was basedRead more

Bulletins

The case of Green v Adams – update – further judgment released on 4 August 2017

I previously wrote about the case of Green v Adams, which concerned a financial claim by a mother, against the father, for financial provision for their son. Part of theRead more

Bulletins

The Relationships Alliance Manifesto 2017

The Relationships Alliance has released its “Relationships Alliance Manifesto 2017”. The Relationships Alliance is made up of four charities namely Relate, OnePlusOne, Tavistock Relationships and Marriage Care. They explained thatRead more

Bulletins

The recent case of Green v Adams 2017

The Judgment in the above case has recently been released and serves as a reminder of how child maintenance is dealt with differently through the Child Maintenance Service compared toRead more

Bulletins

Report into the Child Maintenance Service by the House of Commons Work & Pensions Committee

On 2 May 2017 the House of Commons Work & Pensions Committee (who “examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of the Department for Work & Pensions andRead more

Bulletins

THE CASE OF OWENS V OWENS – PERMISSION TO APPEAL THE DECISION AGAINST THE DISMISSAL OF HER DIVORCE PETITION: SUPREME COURT HEARING ON THURSDAY 17 MAY 2018

Previously, I wrote about the case of Owens v Owens which is a case where the wife appealed against the dismissal of her divorce petition, after her husband, unusually, defended the divorce.Read more

Bulletins

Resolution campaign: No fault divorce

In relation to a divorce, currently the Law in England and Wales only allows “no fault” to be attributed to either party after a minimum period of two years sinceRead more

News

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 allowed for same-sex couples to enter into a civil partnership, which was said to be for the purpose of enabling them “to obtain legal recognition of their relationship …”.

Part 1 (1) of the above Act states that “A civil partnership is a relationship between two people of the same sex (“civil partners”)…” and Part 2 (3) deals withRead more

News

JS v SSWP and ZS (CSM) 2018 UKUT: The Upper Tribunal decision in respect of the father’s appeal concerning the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (child maintenance)

On 24 May 2018, the Upper Tribunal Judge gave their decision in respect of the father’s appeal concerning the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (child maintenance). This is where theRead more

News

Child Maintenance Service statistics released on 20 June 2018

The Child Maintenance Service I have previously explained that the Child Maintenance Service (“CMS”) was introduced in 2012 to deal with child maintenance, which was at that time dealt withRead more

News

Wedlake Bell’s family team appeared in the list for 2018 as one of eprivateclient’s Top Family Law Firms at their awards evening

On Monday 2nd July 2018, Charmaine Hast and Sarah Campbell attended Dixon Wilson’s offices for  the 2018 eprivateclient Top Family Law Firms awards evening, sponsored by Close Brothers. eprivateclient explainRead more

News

Mills v Mills: Judgment of the Supreme Court to be handed down on 18 July 2018

Previously I wrote about the case of Mills v Mills and had said that permission to appeal to the Supreme Court had been granted. The appeal relates to “whether, provision havingRead more

News

Mills v Mills: Supreme Court Judgment released on 18 July 2018

I previously wrote that on 8 August 2017, the husband in the case of Mills v Mills was granted permission to appeal on the ground of “whether, provision having alreadyRead more

News

The Office for National Statistics: statistical bulletin: Civil Partnerships in England and Wales in 2017

On 16 August 2018, the Office for National Statistics published their statistical bulletin in relation to Civil Partnerships in England and Wales in 2017. In summary, some of the findingsRead more

Bulletins

Digitisation of Form A – application for financial remedy

Currently, in divorce proceedings applications for financial remedy are made to the Court on paper by way of a document known as a Form A. Upon receipt of the FormRead more

Bulletins

Online financial remedy consent order pilot

From 6 August 2018, certain matrimonial consent Orders could be filed online, as part of a pilot scheme. Following that time, HMCTS have been working with solicitors and other interestedRead more

News

Cafcass and coronavirus: attending family Court protocol

Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) represent children in family court cases in England and “put children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’sRead more

News

Government Voucher scheme boost to help thousands more families resolve disputes away from court

Mediation is where a trained mediator will “sit” (which can in some circumstances be over the telephone) with both parties in a matter (or one at a time) to encourageRead more

News

Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 receives Royal Assent on 25 June 2020 – “no fault divorce”

Previously, I wrote about the fact that pursuant to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, “no fault” divorce could only be applied for after a period of at least 2 years’Read more