YRes Takeover: the five questions you really want to ask, but feel you can’t

In this episode, Anita and Simon kindly passed the reigns to YRes members Abigail and Natalie to pick the brains of Alison Bull (Partner at Mills and Reeve) and Philip Barnsley (Partner and Head of Family at Higgs) regarding questions posed by other YRes members.    Referred to by many as Resolution Royalty, Alison and Philip are both experts in their field, having hosted the finance update at Resolutions National conference for several years. The episode starts by considering some of the signs to look for when domestic abuse is an issue in a case, including when the clients themselves don’t recognise it.  Alison highlights the importance of asking domestic abuse screening questions and shares the following resources: ·       Domestic abuse screening information via Resolution website - Domestic Abuse Screening Information | Resolution·       Family mediation council guidance - Mediation-Screening-and-Assessment-Resource-Final-Draft-for-Consultation-Updated.pdf Phil then goes on to discuss conduct in financial remedy proceedings, whether we should plead it and the practical implications of doing so, as well as the different schools of thought currently developing through case law.  Cases mentioned: ·       N v J [2024] EWFC 184·       Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130·       LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473·       Wei-Lyn Loh v Ardal Loh-Gronager [2025] EWFC 483·       OG v AG (Financial Remedies: Conduct) [2020] EWFC 52  Other resources mentioned: ·       The Law and Disorder Podcast hosted by Nicholas Mostyn,  Helena Kennedy and Charlie Falconer ·       Resolution Report “Domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings”  Alison and Phil also consider Form E preparation and the importance of case strategy generally, as well as pitching capital needs and income needs budgets. Alison notes, anecdotally, the difference in approach between contested proceedings and mediation and questions to what extent AI might change things.  Cases mentioned: ·       AH v BH [2024] EWFC 125 The episode concludes with discussion around spousal maintenance and the difficulties many face when advising clients given the uncertainty of the current law.