Practice Areas - Matrimonial Law
- Family Law
- Alimony
- Annulment
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Collaborative Family Law
- Community Property Law
- Divorce
- Divorce Arbitration
- Divorce Mediation
- Divorce Taxation
- Domestic Partnerships
- Domestic Relations
- Domestic Torts
- Domestic Violence
- Equitable Distribution
- Family Arbitration
- Family Mediation
- International Family Law
- Childrens Rights
| - Legal Separation Agreements
- Marital Agreements
- Marital Property Distribution
- Marital Property Law
- Marital Property Settlements
- Matrimonial Bankruptcy Law
- Uncontested Divorce
- Spousal Support
- Restraining Orders
- Postnuptial Agreements
- Post Divorce Modification
- Paternity
- No Fault Divorce
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Children
- Adoption Law
- Child Care
- Child Custody
- Child Welfare
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| Mailing Address | Trott and Duncan Building, 17A Brunswick Street, P.O. Box HM 2094, Hamilton, Bermuda, HM 10 |
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| Education | University College Buckland (LL.B.); Building Temple, Gray's Inn, London, England. |
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| Admitted | 1991, England; 1991, Bermuda |
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| Memberships | Gray's Inn, London, England; Bermuda Bar Association; Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Associate Member). |
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| Born | London, England |
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| Biography | Areas of Practice Karen Williams-Smith is involved in every area of the family law practice. These areas include, but are not limited to: divorce; resolving financial issues upon divorce; children's issues, namely custody, access and financial support. More recently, Ms Williams-Smith has been involved in large family disputes where parties own millions of dollars worth of marital assets both in this jurisdiction and overseas. Such cases involve liaising with attorneys, accountants and at times tax advisors outside the jurisdiction as the outcome of the cases involve severe tax implications or legal penalties overseas. In addition, her practice has extended to overseas clients, mainly regarding the enforcement of overseas court orders or pursuing orders as they relate to ongoing support for children and/or access and custody matters. Ms Williams-Smith continues to provide advice to diverse segments of the Bermuda community concerning pending changes in the family law legislation and on areas of family law in general. In addition, Ms Williams-Smith is a qualified arbitrator and mediator, the latter of which she has utilized on a number of occasions in family disputes. Fellow: Honourable Society of Grays Inn; Bermuda Bar Council; Family Law Reform Committee.
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| Reported Cases | Cases of Interest The following are examples of reported cases Karen Williams-Smith has appeared in. Variation of Child Support: Case involving a variation application in which the primary issue was whether there had been a change of circumstances and the principles to be applied. Avery v. Avery 1994 Civil Appeal No. 9 [1994] Bda LR 15. Succession Act Application: Case involving a succession application for illegitimate children where a Will did not make reasonable provision for the minor children. As a result of the mother's inability to maintain herself and the children, otherwise the court provided sufficient relief for the children. Re Richardson (Deceased); Richardson v. Waldron and Diel 1991 Civil Jur. 413 [1996] Bda LR 40. Child Custody: Case wherein there were allegations of sexual abuse and the father was eventually granted full custody but there were issues as it related to the appropriate jurisdiction and the independence of the judiciary in making the decision. Re J (A Minor) 1996 Civil Jur. No. 444 [1997] Bda LR 56. Removal of Children Permanently from Jurisdiction: Leading Supreme Court case involving a mother's right to remove children from the jurisdiction temporarily where it eventually enabled the mother to remove the children from the jurisdiction with the full support of the Department of Child and Family Services, despite the contention of the father and subsequent appeal. Fisher v. Fisher and Stirling 1997 Divorce Jur. No. 88 [2001] Bda LR 71. Wife's Application for Ancillary Relief: Case involving an application wherein the wife was seeking to retain the marital home and the court ordered that she receive the first option to buy out the husband's interest and failing which in the prescribed time frame the property would be placed on the market. F v. F [2006] Bda LR 59. Husband's Application for Ancillary Relief: Case wherein the leading principles of White & White had a lot of impact on this case where the court ordered a substantial lump sum to the husband, where in this case it was unusual for a wife to be the breadwinner. D v. D [2007] Bda LR 6. |
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| ISLN | 902739206 |
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