Family Law Enquiries
Contact us today to request further information or arrange to discuss your requirements.
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Family Questionnaire Form »
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Financial Provision on Divorce
Family
- Separation and Co-habitation disputes
- Divorce and civil partnership dissolution
- Financial provision on divorce
- Residence and Contact and disputes
- Children issues
- Living together agreements
- Pre-nuptual agreements
- Care proceedings
- Parental Responsibilty and Change of name
- Mediation in Family matters
- Domestic violence and injunctions
- Fixed Fees for Family work ( Legal Aid may be available )
- Detailed Case Assessment
Separation and Cohabitation Disputes
Sometimes its not immediately clear whether a relationship has permanently ended or not, and the finality of divorce is one step too far. If that is the case we can discuss other options with you and help you through that difficult process. We can also advise you on the legal consequences of separating and consider with you whether a Separation Agreement would be sensible.
A Separation Agreement can deal with all sorts of issues, from how, when and who will take responsibility for the divorce to what arrangements will be made for the children.
Some people believe that if they have lived together for long enough they have the same rights and protection in law as a married couple. It can come as quite a shock that this is not the case. Sadly for some this can mean that after decades of cohabitation they find that they are not entitled to any financial payment when the relationship breaks down.
We can advise parties who have lived together whether or not they have any claim against their cohabitee. We can help resolve issues such as joint debt, joint ownership of property and children issues.
Co-Habitee DisputesDivorce and Civil Partnership Dissolution
If you have come to the conclusion that your relationship is permanently at an end, or if you have been served with Court papers we can take over the stress and anxiety for you and help you through the process. We realise how much stress a divorce can cause, and how much uncertainty it can create. We offer a range of fixed fee packages to suit your needs and can either give you an overview of the procedure and provide basic assistance on the forms or can handle every last detail for you.
DivorceFinancial Provision
This is known as “ancillary relief” as it is dealt with “ancillary” to divorce proceedings or dissolution of a civil partnership. We realise that financial security for the future is what causes most stress on a relationship breakdown and is the main cause for disagreement. Our experienced lawyers’ first priority will be to ensure your financial security for the future in the most amicable, cost effective way. Our experience has shown that successful negotiation is what provides the best results, in the quickest and cheapest time, and allows parties to move on with their lives more amicably. This may mean that initially we discuss with you a referral to mediation.
We are also aware that there are situations where an application to the Court must be made to protect our client’s interests and in those circumstances we will advise and assist you every step of the way - right up until the final hearing. Even if the matter goes to court, we continue to work towards a settlement knowing it will provide security sooner, and will reduce the costs you have to pay.
Financial Provision on DivorceContact and Residence Disputes
Who will see a child and where a child will live after a relationship breakdown is always fraught with problems. We understand that there are never winners or losers. We approach all such disputes with sensitivity, seeking to put the needs of the child first.
Whether you are a father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, sibling or have a much more distant family relationship we can advise and assist you in relation to any dispute you have over contact or residence of a child.
We have vast experience acting for grandparents who have a very special role to play in children’s lives and have successfully reunited children with their grandparents on many occasions.
As with other disputes our priority is always to try and negotiate first and to find a way to resolve matters without involving the Court. We understand that helping to improve the adult relationships will assist everyone in the long run – especially the children.
In some circumstances an application to the Family Court will be necessary and we can help you make the right application to find the right outcome for the child. Somtimes this will also involve outside agencies such as CAFCASS or maybe a child pyschologist. We have experience of spotting when these agencies can help and have experience in dealing with them.
Children IssuesLiving Together/Prenuptial Agreements
If you are not married and plan to live together, or if you are planning on marrying in the future we can advise you on living together and prenuptial agreements. These agreements can enable you to consider carefully how you and your future partner intend to own property together and avoid stressful disputes in the future.
It is especially worth considering how you intend to own property if you are not planning on marrying your partner. We can advise you on trust ownership to protect your investment in the event the relationship breaks down in the future.
Prenuptial AgreementsChange of Name
You can change your name at anytime you like, to whatever you like, but the problem is often in proving it. With ever increasing requirements for identification it is important that if you change your name you do it in the recognised way. We can offer a fixed fee for an adult change of name deed and can advise you how best to notify the main agencies of the change.
Changing Children’s names is a more complicated issue as it requires the consent of all those who have parental responsibility for a child. If you have the consent of all those with parental responsibility we can offer a fixed fee to change your child’s surname. If you haven’t got permission but you want to go ahead with the change, we can advise you in relation to your specific situation and how best to proceed. This could mean an application to the Court and we can advise you and take you through that process.
Domestic Violence and Injunctions
We have a great deal of experience dealing with domestic violence and understand how terrifying an ordeal it can be. We appreciate and understand that often the violence comes last of all, and before that there has probably been months and years of verbal abuse and threats, as well as comments that you are useless and worthless. We also understand how hard it can be to take the first step to stop it and that you may have to make that first step several times before you have the strength to stick to it. Because we understand that, we will be there with you, each time you take that first step.
Our experienced family team are sensitive and compassionate and will literally hold your hand at every step until you feel strong enough to go it alone. We can advise and help you obtain injunctions and can put you in touch with domestic violence counsellors. We will do all the paperwork for you and ensure that in the event an injunction is obtained at court, that the police and local domestic violence team are notified immediately.
We also understand that ending the violence may also mean ending the relationship which could mean anxiety over finances, children and many more practical issues. We can help you with all of it, and will take the burden from you.
Domestic ViolenceCare Proceedings
If you have children and you have been contacted by social services with concerns we can help you. We can attend meetings with you and advise you and help you through them. We can also advise you about the future and can help you make decisions to keep your family together.
Sometimes social services take cases to court for a ‘Care order’ or ‘Supervision Order’ as they consider the risks to the children are so great. We can represent you throughout those proceedings and have considerable experience and expertise in managing such cases.
If you are a grandparent or other extended family member and children in your family have been the subject of concern from social services we can also offer advice to you in supporting the family and possibly offering an alternative home to the children if the parent’s can’t manage. In these circumstances we may be able to assist you in an application for a special guardianship order.
Our team have the knowledge, experience and sensitivity to deal with these sorts of cases professionally and compassionately.
Care ProceedingsFixed Fees
We encourage you to consider paying a fixed fee at the start of your case so that you have certainty about the costs involved and can budget accordingly. The alternative is to pay an hourly rate (currently £150 plus VAT) for the time we spend on your case.
In some cases there might be additional issues to be resolved and we do charge extra for this additional work, examples can be: within Divorce proceedings for sorting out a financial agreement, advice on contact to children, not being able to trace the other party, the other party denying receipt of the papers, needing to obtain a private detective and so on. Any extra costs will be discussed and agreed with you before any work is undertaken.
An example of an extra cost sometimes found is obtaining a certified copy marriage certificate. For that we charge £15 + Vat and you will also be asked to pay the fee of £9.
Fixed FeesInitial Case Assessment (fixed fee)
This is an opportunity for you to discuss with us your particular circumstances and what you want to do next. We will give you a detailed assessment of your case and advise on the next steps in outline.
In order to be able to properly advise you we will need certain information to hand at the interview. We will need the following details as a minimum:-
- Your name and full address
- The name and full address of your spouse
- The date and place of marriage
- The names and ages of any children from the marriage
- Housing status
- Income, pension and savings / capital / investment positions for you and your spouse
- Brief details of separation or dispute
| Our fees: | £300.00 |
| VAT on our fees: | £60.00 |
| Total: | £360.00 |
The fixed fee allows for up to 2-hours of discussion. Assuming you are able to provide all the necessary information we will advise you as to what steps you might take next.
The aim is to leave you better informed about where you stand, what your options are and what action you can take next.
