Clear and crisp guidance on complex subjects

Although now in its eighth edition, this is a book with which many family practitioners are perhaps unfamiliar. As Mr Justice Mostyn notes in his introduction, the authors are to be congratulated for their ‘less is more’ approach in providing clear and crisp guidance on complex legal subjects.

Its title is perhaps misleading. While it deals with key themes in alphabetical order, each theme is tackled with a clear summary of key issues, leading case law and, most helpfully, practical guidance.

A good example of a key issue being addressed clearly and practically is the three pages addressing Duxbury and the alternatives to Duxbury. In a similar vein, the three pages devoted to companies constructively address alternate methods of business valuation, taxation issues, liquidity and Wells sharing.

Spousal maintenance is perhaps one of the thorniest issues in financial remedy work, but this complex issue is covered in several detailed sections. These appear independently of one another in sections such as: Clean Breaks And Term Maintenance; Bonuses; Spousal Maintenance (Quantum); Needs; and Stockpiling Orders.

The only area where the book could be improved would be the inclusion of an index. By definition, a dictionary should not require an index, although it would help in identifying which section of the book covers certain specific issues which would not warrant a section of their own. Having said that, many of the entries do include at their start cross-references to other entries on similar themes.

This book is highly recommended for all financial remedy practitioners, regardless of their level of experience.

Andrew Newbury is a partner at Hall Brown Family Law