Joanna Miles was one of two academic members on the Family Justice Council's Financial Needs Working Group, chaired by Mrs Justice Roberts, to take forward a recommendation made by the Law Commission in its report on Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements, published in February 2014, aimed to promote greater transparency and consistency in the application of the law of financial remedies on divorce.
The Working Group's task had two limbs. The first was to produce a guide for litigants in person explaining how the courts approach financial provision on divorce. The second was to provide guidance for judiciary and practitioners, aimed at promoting greater consistency and certainty in the exercise of the court's discretion in financial proceedings. The Guide for litigants in person Sorting out your finances on divorce was published for the FJC by Advice Now in 2015. The judicial guide entitled Guidance on "Financial Needs" on Divorce has been published in early July 2016.