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downsmail.co.uk


downsmail.co.uk Specialist help for dry eyes


Eye 2 Eye Opticians in Allington is now pleased to offer its patients a specialist treatment for dry eyes. E-Eye is the first and only medical device in the world that uses IRPL (Intense Regulated Pulsed Light) that has been specifically designed for the treatment of dry eye due to Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). This is the No.1 dry eye solution to treat MGD.


Everybody should set up Lasting Powers of Attorney!


We know this sounds ridiculous but that is what the government has been saying since they introduced them in 2007. The thing is that if you wait until you have a stroke or start to show signs of dementia, it might be too late: you need to ‘have capacity’ in order to set them up.


The Office of the Public Guardian is even trying to make it easier for you to set them up yourself through their web site, www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/make-lasting-power. Of course not everyone has access to the internet and a lot of people are nervous about legal documents – rightly so as it is very easy to get it wrong.


This is where Camrass Wills comes to the rescue. We can do everything for you and at a very reasonable price. For a free guide to lasting powers of attorney, phone us or go to the web site.


In 2015, over 35,000 patients were treated with the E-Eye worldwide. It was found to have 84% efficiency from the first session with an 86% satisfaction rate. It also showed proven efficiency on mild, medium and severe dry eye. Three clinical studies were conducted on over 300 people. In most cases patients can expect up to 18 months relief before a top up treatment may be required with many patients having experienced results lasting as long as 3 years.


Dry eyes is a deeply concerning condition which can damage the surface of your eyes, there is no cure, however treatment with E-Eye is the very best way of ensuring it doesn’t take over your life. At Eye 2 Eye, your care is our priority and as such we will arrange for regular reviews to ensure your comfort levels are remaining stable and discuss ongoing options with you to ensure you remain comfortable.


If you’d like to discuss this further please get in touch with Chirag or Manish (our IP therapeutic Optometrists who provide medical treatment) to discuss the options available to you.


In most cases, Dry eye symptoms will significantly improve after 3 sessions carried out over 45 days. For 60% of patients results can last up to 3 years


• Fast results – sessions are completed in a matter of minutes


• Clinical study with 90% satisfaction rate on the first 2 sessions


• 95.7% recommended the treatment • 55% don’t use eye drops anymore • 82.6% have symptom improvements


Find us at: Unit 8, Mid-Kent Shopping Centre Castle Road, Allington, Maidstone Kent ME16 0PU


E:eye2eyeallington@gmail.com Business Focus


The aim of the new online


Monika Pirani and Dawn Harrison


divorce petition is to make it more user friendly. The idea behind the new form is to


allow people without legal representation to commence their own application to the court but there are some potential problems.


• Petitions for divorce based on adultery or unreasonable behaviour, as the two more immediate and fault based options for proving irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, are very common and often serve to increase disharmony at a time when the opposite would be more helpful. Resolution family law members know how to craft a petition that aims not to inflame any dispute more than is necessary.


• When acting for people on divorce, we do not encourage the naming of a co-respondent to an adultery petition. There is no need for this but the new form might lead someone to include a co-respondent without understanding the extra problems and costs this can cause. It can often increase conflict which specialist family lawyers endeavour to avoid to enable a petition to proceed on an undefended basis. A defended petition is not for the faint hearted.


• Few people applying for their own divorce understand the need to apply for a financial order on the divorce petition to avoid the remarriage trap.


• Parents caught up in conflict between the adults often Dry Eye Special


www.eye2eyeonline.co.uk 01622 672563


ignore the potential harm their conflict creates for the children or blame each other parent whilst accepting no personal responsibility. The divorce proceedings have removed all consideration of the children from the divorce unless a stand alone child arrangements application is made.


Recent research that was led by Professor Trinder of the University of Exeter has found that the fault based divorce in England and Wales encourages people to exaggerate their claims of behaviour or adultery. Many people prefer to use adultery or behaviour to avoid having to wait for either two or five years separation for their divorce.


Some respondents complain that particulars claimed in a petition are not an accurate description of the marital breakdown. They do not understand that the court rarely needs to make judgements about the truth of the allegations.


In a recent case, much publicised, Mr Owens, has challenged a mild set of unreasonable behaviour claimed by his wife. A decision of The House of Lords is awaited as to whether the petition that he has defended should allow Mrs Owens to be divorced or not. The lower courts have found her allegations “too thin” to justify the divorce. In the 1980s, 64% of unreasonable behaviour petitions made allegations of physical violence whereas today that percentage has dropped to 15%. Society does not have as high a bar for unreasonable behaviour today as it did 30 years ago but will Mr Owen’s case change that and take us back?


Resolution family law members have for a long time been lobbying the government to introduce a no fault divorce


Canterbury 01227 643276 Maidstone 01622 698051


Tenterden 01580 767527 www.whitehead-monckton.co.uk


Whitehead Monckton Ltd (no.08366029) registered in England & Wales. Registered office 72 King Street, Maidstone Kent ME14 1BL. Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under no. 608279


14 Maidstone Weald March 2018 Maidstone Weald March 2018 15


This treatment is currently only available privately


NHS options for dry eyes are available in practice


downsmail.co.uk New Divorce Petition: For Better or Worse


system that avoids blaming a person for their behaviour or adultery to be divorced. There is considerable opposition to such a change even though there are many good reasons for it. The government appears to have no appetite for a change in the law nor has it shown willing to protect the increasing number of cohabiting couples who have inferior rights on separation to those who have married.


Financial claims are often missed or misunderstood by separating and divorcing couples. A family lawyer will nearly always advise a petitioner to include on their divorce petition a claim for a financial order. This is so even if the intention is to obtain an order that dismisses claims because it is unwise to leave claims unresolved.


Despite pension sharing being available for nearly 18 years it is surprising how few couples understand that a financial order can include some pension provision. Statistically women are not as well prepared for retirement as men. If couples divorce without legal representation, the risk of inadequate financial provision being made is likely to increase with the introduction of the new form this month. The average married couples’ retirement pension pot is over £100,000, with the highest level of divorces occurring when couples are approximately 40 to 45 years of age. Whilst they have some time left to accumulate more resources before retirement, they could be foregoing a financial remedy without realising it.


Please contact the family team at Whitehead Monckton or Docklands Solicitors for advice on divorce and finances as well as the impact of the breakdown of the relationship and its consequences for the children.


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