Christina Morris

Areas of Practice

Christina is a specialist in all aspects of property and financial provision and has experience at all levels of court and in all types of cases. She has particular expertise in cases involving pensions, companies and company accounts and bankruptcy.

Other areas of Christina’s work includes the property and financial rights of unmarried couples and children applications pursuant to s.14 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act and Schedule 1 Children Act.

Christina is always thorough and well prepared in her cases and has a particular skill in working with difficult people. She excels in “hard – ball” negotiations but equally should they fail she’s also ready for the fray.

Memberships

Family Law Bar Association

Reported cases

W v W (Ancillary Relief: Practice) [2000] Fam Law 473
Substantial proceedings for ancillary relief – Procedure for assembling evidence in event of failure of FDR.

M v B (Ancillary Proceedings: Lump Sum) [1998] 1 FLR 53
This is the leading case for the proposition that a financial settlement or order should be so structured as to ensure that both husband and wife have a property where they can reside with or have contact with their children. To achieve that end there should be some stretching of the available funds and some risk- taking. Further Thorpe LJ found that when considering housing needs it was relevant under MCA s.25 to look at whether one or other of the parties would be able to defer paying their costs through the statutory charge.

Cases of Interest

Variation and enforcement of a final consent order which provided for a lump sum to be paid in instalments, although a final order it was variable under statute – Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s31(7),the case involved a very significant change in fortunes since the order was made. Consideration of Westbury v Samspon [2002] 1 FLR 166 and Myerson v Myerson [2009] 2 FLR 147.

A final 5 day hearing dealing with Wife’s interest in a discretionary trust set up out of the jurisdiction where the Trustees were indicating that they would give the Wife no assistance even in the event of an order being made. There was also an issue of a pre-nuptial agreement, the Wife coming from a wealthy family the Husband not, the Husband receiving no independent legal advice and the financial landscape looking very different to the time they signed the pre- nup. Lengthy consideration of the case of Radmacher v Granatino [2010] 2 FLR 1900

Responding to an application for leave pursuant to Part 111 of the MFPA 1984; dealing with the case from the leave stage to the negotiation of the final order in the High Court. Consideration of the latest authorities including Agbaje v Agbaje [2010] 1 FLR 1813

Teaching

Christina has delivered lectures to solicitors, and other professionals on a variety of topics including TOLTA, Stack v Dowden and the Return of the Mesher Order.