David Salter
David Salter has enjoyed a varied career in family law with over 45 years’ experience. He served as National Head of Family Law at Addleshaw Goddard and, subsequently, as Joint National Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve, retiring in 2018.
From 1997-1999, David was Chairman of Resolution, also acting as the first Chairman of Resolution’s Accreditation Committee. He subsequently became President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers from 2010 to 2012, having previously served as the Academy's European Chapter President.
He has sat in various part-time judicial posts since 1985 sitting regularly as a deputy High Court judge and Recorder in the Family Court until March 2022. He now conducts private financial dispute resolution appointments.
David was one of the original members of the Family Procedure Rules Committee which framed the 2010 Rules, serving a ten-year term from 2004 to 2014.
He is a prolific author on a variety of family topics with an acknowledged expertise in relation to pensions on divorce. He is a contributor to the Family Court Practice (The Red Book), Butterworths Family Law Service, Rayden and Jackson, the International Family Law Practice and LexisPSL Family.
Practice Area
Panels
- Contributing Author
- Other Publications
Membership
- President and Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Resolution
66 Contributions by David Salter
PRACTICE NOTES
Assessing costs in family proceedings (England and Wales): standard and indemnity bases, summary and detailed assessment, legal aid, authority to assess, points of dispute and default costs certificates
Practice Note
This Practice Note offers direction on costs assessment in family proceedings, covering both summary and detailed assessments. It reviews assessment on the standard basis and the indemnity basis in private proceedings, publicly funded costs, who has authority to assess and when, and the procedure for addressing points of dispute and for obtaining default costs certificates. Its emphasis is principally inter partes costs. For further practical guidance on solicitor and own client costs, see Practice Note: Client care—family law — Costs...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Attachment of Earnings Orders in Family Proceedings: Eligibility, Procedure, Deduction Rates, Offences, Variation and Costs (England and Wales)
An attachment of earnings order (AEO)
An AEO is a mechanism for enforcing maintenance obligations imposed by a court order made in the Family Court or the High Court, regardless of whether any arrears have accrued, by taking specified sums directly from the debtor’s wages. The order is addressed to the debtor’s employer, not the debtor. Once made, the employer must promptly remit prescribed amounts from the debtor’s pay to the court’s designated collecting officer, who then passes them on to the creditor. The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2016, SI 2016/355 amended the Family Procedure Rules 2010, SI 2010/2955 (FPR 2010), and, among other things, created a new Part 39 provision governing applications for an attachment of earnings order to secure payments due under a maintenance order. These provisions took legal effect on 6 April 2016. Under FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Part 39 is to be applied to any proceedings begun, but not concluded, before 6 April 2016, just as it applies to proceedings started on or after that date...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Charging orders to secure and enforce family financial orders: scope, procedure and sale (England and Wales)
This Practice Note
This Practice Note explains the criteria for enforcing an order made in family proceedings via a charging order, as authorised by the Charging Orders Act 1979 (COA 1979). It covers:
Which debts may be enforced
Which assets may be made subject to a charge
Enforcement by sale
It also outlines the procedural steps to follow under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 40, together with FPR 2010, PD 40A.
A charging order is a direction that secures payment of a judgment debt by placing a charge over specified categories of the debtor’s capital assets. Its function is to provide security for the liability, rather than to execute it.
A creditor is the person to whom payment of a sum is owed under a judgment or order, or a person entitled to enforce that judgment or order; this includes a court officer empowered to take enforcement steps by virtue of FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, 32.33. A debtor is the person against whom a judgment or other order requiring payment of a sum of money was given, made or ordered...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Civil partnership dissolution, separation and nullity jurisdiction in England and Wales: pre‑ and post‑Brexit rules and residual jurisdiction
Residual jurisdiction
This Practice Note explains the foundations of the courts’ jurisdiction governing proceedings for dissolution and separation orders concerning civil partners, covering both the period prior to 1 January 2021 and from that date onwards, having regard to the effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It also addresses the position on residual jurisdiction; see: Residual jurisdiction. At precisely 11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020, the Brexit transition/implementation period, entered into following the UK’s departure from the EU, came to an end. From that point (described in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), key transitional arrangements ceased and substantial changes took effect across the UK legal regime. These developments have implications for practitioners when determining which courts possess jurisdiction in relation to dissolution and separation orders. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Confiscation of assets (sequestration) for contempt in family proceedings under FPR 2010 Part 37 (England and Wales): background, procedure and case law
Sequestration
Sequestration provides a means of responding to contempt of court that might otherwise lead to committal, acting as a measure that allows the respondent’s assets to be taken and kept until the relevant order is complied with.
Attention should be paid to the amendments made to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, taking effect on 1 October 2020, which significantly altered the position regarding sequestration under the FPR 2010 as it then stood. Corresponding revisions were also implemented in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132; see: Background and News Analysis: Changes to contempt of court in family proceedings.
Sequestration arises in two distinct settings.
This Practice Note focuses solely on the confiscation of assets (encompassed by the term sequestration) in proceedings for contempt under the substituted FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 37, effective from 1 October 2020, and is separate from sequestration used as an enforcement method; for that, see Practice Note: Sequestration to enforce a financial order. For practical guidance on contempt and committal more generally, see: Contempt and committal in family proceedings—overview...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Costs in family financial remedies: FPR 2010 r 28.3 no order rule, PD 28A conduct, CPR for exceptions, NCDR/MIAM, open offers and case law (England and Wales)
This Practice Note summarises the rules governing costs in financial remedy proceedings arising from divorce or civil partnership cases under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), and in financial proceedings that proceed under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), setting out how the relevant provisions apply in practice.
General provisions
The court retains an ongoing discretion to make such costs orders as it considers just at any time. By FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, 28.2(1), CPR 44 (excluding CPR 44.2(2)–44.2(3) and CPR 44.10(2)–44.10(3)), together with CPR 45.8, 46 and 47, and the associated practice directions, apply to costs in family proceedings, albeit with certain modifications...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Costs in Family Proceedings (England and Wales): Principles, CPR/FPR, Divorce and Dissolution (DDSA 2020), Children, Financial Remedies, Enforcement, Non‑Parties, Litigants in Person, Applications and Assessment
This Practice Note sets out guidance on the rules that govern costs in family proceedings, addressing the application of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, together with the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132, and the factors the court considers when determining costs, including conduct and offers of settlement. It further examines costs on divorce or dissolution (both before and after the coming into force of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) on 6 April 2022), the categories of costs orders available to the court, costs concerning litigants in person, and costs orders made against non-parties.
General principles
The principal costs provisions are contained in FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 28, supplemented by FPR 2010, PD 28A. Certain elements of the CPR costs regime also apply to family proceedings, subject to modifications; see: Application of the CPR...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
CPR 52 and Supreme Court Rules 2024—Family appeals to Court of Appeal and Supreme Court: permission, bundles, time limits, second appeals and costs (England and Wales)
This Practice Note outlines the requirements governing family proceedings when taking an appeal to the Court of Appeal or to the Supreme Court, including provisions in relation to permission, bundles, second appeals and costs. It sets out the applicable provisions contained in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) and reflects the changes to Supreme Court appeals that came into effect on 2 December 2024.
Court of Appeal
Appeals to the Court of Appeal are regulated by CPR 52, alongside CPR PD 52A (Appeals: general provisions) and CPR PD 52C (Appeals to the Court of Appeal). Revisions to CPR 52, CPR PD 52A and CPR PD 52C took effect on 3 October 2016, when a new CPR 52 was substituted by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 3) Rules 2016, SI 2016/788.
Practice guidance issued on 1 August 2015 sets out the revised hear-by dates applying to all Court of Appeal cases. The hear-by date differs according to whether permission to appeal was given in the lower court or, if granted by the Court of Appeal, whether on the papers or at an oral renewal hearing, as set out in that guidance...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Cross-border recognition and enforcement of family maintenance and financial orders: regimes, EU transitional cases, and practice in England and Wales
The international enforcement of financial orders is not a routine aspect of day-to-day practice. Consequently, reported decisions are scarce. Published case reports are therefore comparatively limited in number. Nonetheless, a multitude of conventions, regulations, statutes and statutory instruments render this a particularly intricate field. In certain jurisdictions, several statutory pathways exist for enforcing an order; in others, none; and there may even be differences between regions within a single state. The consequences of the UK’s departure from the EU (Brexit) must also be factored in. At 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020, the transition/implementation period entered into after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU ended. That moment—termed ‘IP completion day’ in UK law—brought key transitional measures to a close and ushered in material changes across the UK’s legal framework and procedure. These shifts have ongoing implications for practitioners addressing questions of enforcement in practice. For additional guidance, see Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit. See also Practice Note: Jurisdiction in cases with EU connections issued before IP completion day, including the sections on Impact of Brexit and Transitional provisions. In the majority of matters, enforcement of maintenance orders can be undertaken through appropriate governmental agencies...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Cryptoassets in Family Financial Proceedings: Legal Status, Tax, Disclosure, Tracing, Valuation, Preservation, Enforcement and Payment for Legal Services (England and Wales)
This Practice Note
This Practice Note examines the treatment of cryptoassets such as Bitcoin in family proceedings, together with an outline of how cryptocurrencies operate and their legal and tax treatment. It also covers how these assets are approached within such proceedings, including tracing and disclosure, valuation, expert evidence, and measures for preservation and enforcement.
Cryptoassets first appeared in 2009 with the emergence of Bitcoin, yet there is no single, commonly accepted definition.
Law Society guidance, produced in collaboration with Tech London Advocates and the Society for Computers & Law, points to distributed ledger technologies (DLT) as ‘a group of technologies that use different techniques and structures to store, synchronise and maintain a shared ledger of digital records across a network of computing centres’. That guidance uses ‘cryptoassets’ to describe any asset ‘represented digitally on a DLT platform’, and also refers to the term ‘virtual assets’.
In family law, the most commonly encountered cryptoassets are exchange tokens such as Bitcoin, often grouped under ‘cryptocurrency’. Other forms include:
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as unique digital collectables;
utility tokens;
security tokens; and
stablecoins, pegged to the value of a...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Death of a party in family financial remedies: effect on applications, enforcement and variation (payments, lump sums, property, pensions) before/after final divorce/dissolution order—England and Wales
Practice Note
This Practice Note sets out guidance on implementing and enforcing financial orders arising from family proceedings when one party has died. It examines the impact of a death on applications, and on secured and unsecured periodical payments, lump sum orders, property adjustment orders and pensions orders. Where a party dies before divorce or dissolution proceedings have begun, the parties remain married or in a civil partnership, and the deceased’s estate passes in line with their will or, if none, the intestacy rules. A claim for a financial order is personal to the spouses or civil partners and does not survive death. If either party dies before an application under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) for financial provision or property adjustment is made, the court has no jurisdiction to make a financial order. Likewise, if death occurs before the financial proceedings are determined, the court will be unable to make a financial order...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Domicile (origin, choice, dependence) and habitual residence in family proceedings: jurisdiction, procedure, key case law, child habitual residence, and post-Brexit transitional issues
Practice Note
This Practice Note examines how domicile is identified and its various forms—origin, choice, and dependence—within family proceedings, setting out how the court approaches domicile and the consequences for a case. It also addresses how habitual residence is assessed, including for a child, with reference to pertinent authorities. The effects of Brexit, including transitional measures, are considered. At 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020, the Brexit transition/implementation period concluded following the UK’s exit from the EU. From that moment (termed in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), core transitional rules ceased and notable alterations took place across the UK’s legal framework. These changes affect advisers evaluating which court has jurisdiction to hear a dispute. For direction, see Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit. It is important to distinguish domicile from habitual residence—habitual residence is ordinarily a factual inquiry, whereas domicile is a legal concept...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Enforcement of family undertakings and contempt applications under FPR 2010 Parts 33 and 37 (England and Wales)
This Practice Note
This Practice Note sets out guidance on enforcing an undertaking to pay money, as well as undertakings to perform, or refrain from, actions other than payment. It also examines the requirements for contempt proceedings where an undertaking has been breached. The principal provisions governing the enforcement of undertakings appear in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pts 33 and 37, together with FPR 2010, PD 33A and FPR 2010, PD 37A. With effect from 1 October 2020, FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 37, along with FPR 2010, PD 37A, were substituted. From the same date, amendments were made to FPR 2010, PD 33A to reflect the changes to FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 37 and to FPR 2010, PD 37A. The substituted Part 37 does not change the scope or extent of the jurisdiction of courts dealing with contempt proceedings (whether inherent, statutory or at common law) and applies subject to, and only so far as consistent with, the substantive law of contempt of court...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Enforcing Family Financial Orders by Writ or Warrant of Control: High Court and Family Court Procedure, Permission, Notice, Exempt Goods, Third‑Party Claims, Validity and Fees (England and Wales)
Practice Note
This Practice Note outlines how to enforce a debt in family proceedings against a debtor’s goods and chattels where a judgment or an order for payment of money has been obtained by a writ or warrant of control (formerly the writ of fieri facias or a warrant of execution). It details the procedure for execution against goods and provides guidance on permission requirements, exempt goods, and fees. Section 62 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA 2007) sets out the process—specified in TCEA 2007, Schedule 12—used when a court issues a writ or warrant enabling an enforcement agent to take control of goods to recover sums due under a judgment or order. These provisions commenced on 6 April 2014. The writ of fieri facias (High Court) was retitled the writ of control, and the warrant of execution (Family Court/County Court) was retitled the warrant of control. The revised Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132, Parts 83–84, bring together and update many of the rules concerning writs and warrants that were previously contained in the Rules of the Supreme Court 1965 and the County Court Rules 1981...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Enforcing Family Financial Orders in England and Wales: Procedures, Enforcement Methods, Costs, Interest and Hadkinson Orders
This Practice Note outlines the first matters to weigh up when seeking to enforce a financial order made in family proceedings, setting out the governing rules for each available enforcement route. It further offers direction on orders that can be sought where a party is in contempt, for example a Hadkinson order, and addresses when interest might accrue on a financial order.
General principles
You may need to enforce all or part of an order arising in financial proceedings; attention must be paid to any leave requirements and limitation periods, see Practice Note: Limitations on enforcement. If a court order partly comprises a recital recording an agreement that imposes an obligation on a party, and partly contains operative terms, the recital can be enforced if the court would have had power to make an order in equivalent terms (H v H (Financial Provision)). By contrast, where the essence of the obligation embodied in the recital is not something the court could have ordered, there is no route to enforce that agreement within the existing proceedings (N v N (Jurisdiction: Pre-nuptial Agreement)). However, it may still be open to commence an action based...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Enforcing TOLATA 1996 Orders: Sale, Execution of Conveyance, Committal, Possession and Money Judgments (England and Wales)
This Practice Note outlines the enforcement routes available for implementing an order made under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996). It describes the steps required after an order for sale where a party refuses to execute a conveyance, sets out the procedural path to be followed, and explains the approach on an application to commit for contempt of court. Section 14 TOLATA 1996 empowers the court to declare the nature and scope of an individual’s interest in property held on a trust of land and/or to direct a sale of that property. Either a trustee or a beneficiary of the property is entitled to bring such proceedings. See Practice Note: Eligibility to apply under TOLATA 1996.
Order for sale
TOLATA 1996, s 14 grants the court a discretion to make such orders as it considers appropriate concerning the trustees’ exercise of any of their functions as it thinks fit. When deciding an application under section 14, including whether to order a sale of the property, the matters to which the court is to have regard include:
•
...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
England and Wales: mandatory stays of concurrent EU family proceedings under Brussels II bis - post-Brexit transitional scope, seisin rules and FPR Part 18 procedure
Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit
At 11pm on 31 December 2020, the transition/implementation phase of Brexit came to a close following the UK’s exit from the EU; UK legislation terms this moment ‘IP completion day’. For hands‑on guidance on Brexit’s effects, consult this toolkit for practical assistance. The court carries an autonomous role and duty and remit to properly examine and decide whether it holds jurisdiction. This Practice Note explains the compulsory obligation on an EU Member State to stay proceedings when another Member State has already been seised of jurisdiction. The regime applies where the proceedings fall under Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (Brussels II bis, also known as Brussels IIA). As set out below, these obligations persist in this jurisdiction only where there are parallel proceedings started in the UK or an EU Member State on or before 31 December 2020, or where one set commenced on or before that date in the UK or an EU Member State and additional proceedings were begun on or after 1 January 2021 in the UK or an EU Member State...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
England and Wales: tax on separation and divorce financial orders—CGT changes (Finance (No 2) Act 2023), PPR, periodical payments, lump sums, business assets and deferred payments (Mesher/Martin)
This Practice Note
It examines relevant examples of orders in financial proceedings and spectrum of tax implications that may arise when periodical payments orders, lump-sum orders or property adjustment orders are made, or where business assets are present. The Finance (No 2) Act 2023 obtained Royal Assent on 11 July 2023...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Family appeals in England and Wales: preparation, bundles, respondent’s notice, appellate powers and orders, fresh evidence, public hearings and transparency, and the test for allowing an appeal
This Practice Note outlines the actions required in family cases when preparing an appeal, the document filing obligations, the authority of the appeal court and the range of orders it may issue. It further describes the appellate court’s function, the appellate test, and the principal provisions of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 30, together with FPR 2010, PD 30A and FPR 2010, PD 30B. For guidance on overarching principles and on applying for permission, consult Practice Notes: Appeals—general principles, practice and procedure and Applications for permission to appeal in the Family Court. See also: Forms and fees. Routes of appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132, Pt 52 and the associated Practice Directions; see Practice Note: Appeals to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
After permission is obtained (when required)
The appellant
Where the appeal court grants permission, the appellant must serve the appeal bundle on every respondent within seven days of receiving the permission order...
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Family enforcement of securities in England and Wales: charging orders, stop orders and stop notices under FPR Part 40 and the Charging Orders Act 1979
The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2016 (SI 2016/355) updated the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (SI 2010/2955) and, among other matters, introduced Part 40 together with Practice Direction 40A. These provisions now govern applications for charging orders relating to securities, as well as stop orders and stop notices. The amendments came into force on 6 April 2016. Before that date, the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (SI 1998/3132), Part 73 and PD 73, applied with modifications. The principal statute remains the Charging Orders Act 1979. Further revisions to the application forms took effect on 6 April 2017: Form N380 (application for a charging order on securities) was replaced by Form FE7, and Form N379 (application for a charging order on land) was replaced by Form FE6. See also Practice Note: Charging orders.
Charging orders over securities Application
Specific rules apply when seeking charging orders over securities...
Family
If you expected to see yourself on this page, click here.
