It is believed that Brexit is going to have a huge effect on family law, especially for those families whose parents are of different EU nationalities. There will also be implications for the British ex-pat community living in the EU unless agreements are reached to protect them.

At the moment, a divorce granted in England (and Wales) is automatically recognised elsewhere in the EU (except Denmark). There is currently an EU divorce regulation known as Brussels IIa and if it no longer applies the English court will have to decide whether it or a competing EU jurisdiction is the place where the divorce should take place. This could lead to very expensive and complex litigation and also cases where there are conflicting decisions. There could also be issues with the automatic enforcements of children orders and maintenance orders made by the UK courts.