Sarah Williams

Senior Associate

Family & Divorce




T: +44 (0)20 7395 3024
swilliams@wedlakebell.com

Sarah Williams's LinkedIn profile

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.

 


Insights

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

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Remote hearings in family law proceedings blog

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

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

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Domestic abuse and coronavirus 28th April 2020

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

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

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What to consider before divorcing

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

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Cafcass: private law statistics: June 2021

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Cafcass: private law statistics: July 2021

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Cafcass: private law statistics: August 2021

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

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

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President’s Circular: Financial Remedies Courts

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

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

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The 13th Programme of Law Reform Projects – Surrogacy

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Private Law cases That Return to Court: A CAFCASS Study

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

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CAFCASS Private Law Case Demand – Figures For October 2017

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Aviva’s Survey in relation to Divorce

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Domestic violence statistics – 14 December 2017

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

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Forthcoming pilots to potentially change the way the Court system works

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Naming the third party in an adultery application for divorce

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

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

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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

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Cohabitation

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

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The Cost of a Child in 2017

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

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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

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

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Changes in relation to the Divorce Petition:

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

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

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The Relationships Alliance Manifesto 2017

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The recent case of Green v Adams 2017

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

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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

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Resolution campaign: No fault divorce

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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 …”.

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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)

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Child Maintenance Service statistics released on 20 June 2018

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

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

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

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

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Digitisation of Form A – application for financial remedy

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Online financial remedy consent order pilot

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Cafcass and coronavirus: attending family Court protocol

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

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