Bob Wheldon
Associate
Bob advises individuals on their most important relationships. He specialises in divorce, financial proceedings involving separating married and unmarried couples, wealth protection for individuals and families with marriage on the horizon, and child arrangements issues.
Bob’s cases often have an international element, with clients from the US, France, Spain and elsewhere. He has acted for wealthy international individuals on complex cross-jurisdictional divorce issues, including successfully contesting an English divorce application in the High Court in reported case: AN v NO [2024] EWFC 94 (09 May 2024)
He has recent experience representing clients in the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Central Family Court.
In both financial and children work, clients value Bob’s ability to see the big picture and provide strategic advice. He works closely with them to realise their aims and achieve favourable settlements which protect their long-term interests.
Bob speaks French conversationally.
Work highlights
A, B and C, Re (Child Arrangements: Final Order at Dispute Resolution Appointment) [2025] EWCA Civ 55
Acting for a father, culminating in a rare and very significant Court of Appeal private law children case in 2025. The mother had made repeated applications to vary an equal shared care arrangement which had first been ordered by the court in late 2019. The first instance judge, DDJ O’Leary, dismissed the mother’s applications at the DRA in 2023 and made a s91(14) barring order against the mother. The mother appealed twice, and in the second appeal the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the decisions of the first instance Judge, DDJ O’Leary, and the first appeal judge, HHJ Robertson; the three Court of Appeal Justices rejected the mother’s arguments and determined that the equal shared care arrangement and the s91(14) barring order against the mother should remain in place. The Court of Appeal judgment contains very important guidance on variation of children's arrangements, s7 welfare reports, children's wishes and feelings, case management of private law children proceedings and s91(14) barring orders.
AN v NO [2024] EWFC 94 (09 May 2024): successfully contesting a divorce application in England for his European client on the grounds of a lack of jurisdiction.
Achieving a favourable out-of-court settlement for a senior executive with a public profile, which protected his and his family’s privacy and maximised his financial interests.
Advising in relation to an Anglo-US pre-nuptial agreement with complex jurisdictional considerations.
Memberships
Bob is a member of Resolution, an organisation of family lawyers and other professionals who pursue a constructive approach to family law matters.
