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A new study has found no evidence that family courts in England and Wales are discriminating against fathers because of gender bias.

The Queen’s Speech has outlined further improvements to the adoption system that aim to benefit children awaiting adoption by enabling them to be placed with a family far quicker.

A recent study has found that men visiting their GP with symptoms of anxiety or depression are more likely to have experienced or carried out some form of behaviour linked to domestic violence and abuse.

The European Court of Human Rights has recently given its decision in a case brought by a father who claimed that court proceedings concerning the return of his child lasted so long they were a breach of his rights under Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for private and family life).

A High Court judge has ruled that a one-year-old girl should live with her father and his male partner instead of her mother, reports the BBC.

Parental separation or divorce is linked to a heightened risk of psychosomatic problems among the children in the family, according to recent research from Sweden published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Money is well known to be a common cause of stress within a relationship but, according to a recent survey by the Money Advice Service, many couples are far from honest with their partner about their finances.

It is widely recognised that divorce can have a negative impact on a couple’s finances, but people are possibly less aware of how far reaching this impact can actually be.

An advisory group set up by Justice Minister Simon Hughes to investigate the best ways for children to be involved in out-of-court dispute resolution processes has now published its final report.

The hidden misery of women trapped in financially abusive relationships has been revealed in a recent report by the TUC and Women’s Aid. According to the report, many of these women are trapped in poverty without any access to money for essentials, emergencies or for their children.

The Law Commission has published a consultation paper on the enforcement of family financial orders in England and Wales.

The Government has announced funding of £10 million to help support refuges across the country and boost provision for vulnerable victims of domestic violence and their families.

Family law organisation Resolution has launched its Manifesto for Family Law, calling for widespread changes to the laws affecting divorce and separation.

New Government proposals will mean that children involved in any type of family case - whether to remove them into care or disputes about child arrangements following divorce or separation - will be able to have their views heard when decisions are made that will affect them.

The Government has recently announced that from September all family court judges in England will be able to order DNA tests to determine a child’s parentage.

Researchers at Northumbria University have recently studied the impact of Family Court Advisers on the duration of court cases involving adoption or care proceedings.

The Office for National Statistics has recently published statistics that give an interesting insight into the most common household types and family structures that existed in the UK during 2014.

The number of non-resident parents who pay towards the cost of their children through the Child Support Agency (CSA) has hit an all-time high, according to the Government.

The latest figures from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) show that in December 2014, it received a total of 918 care applications. This figure represents a 13% increase compared to the number received in December 2013.

Amendments made by the Government to criminalise coercive and controlling patterns of behaviour and psychological abuse in relationships have been welcomed by domestic violence charity, Women’s Aid. However, the charity has warned that the defence included in the offence could too easily be manipulated by perpetrators.