Divorce

If you and your partner are considering getting divorced, our divorce lawyers will support you through this difficult time with patience and understanding. Our team can guide you through the entire divorce process including applying for a divorce, responding to divorce proceedings, agreeing on a financial settlement and making arrangements for children.

We know that divorce is an emotional time for couples, so we take time to understand you and what you want to achieve, helping to protect your interests and those of your loved ones, ensuring that every detail is taken care of. We’ll make your divorce as fast, uncomplicated and stress-free as possible allowing you to quickly move on with your life.

Our divorce lawyers are highly skilled at resolving complex financial matters through mediation and collaboration helping to keep your divorce out of the courts wherever possible, saving you time, money and a lot of unnecessary conflict.

Our divorce law services

We can help you with all aspects of divorce, including:

• Applying for a divorce
• Responding to divorce proceedings
• Agreeing on a divorce settlement
• Making arrangements for children
• Resolving any other issues connected to your divorce

Speak to a divorce lawyer near you to discuss your requirements.

Our divorce financial settlement services

Our divorce lawyers will guide you through the process of agreeing on a divorce financial settlement. In the majority of cases, we will able to help you agree on a divorce settlement voluntarily through mediation, saving you time, money and stress.

The assets that are taken into account in a financial settlement as part of the divorce include:

• the family home and any other property
• savings and investments
• joint bank accounts
• vehicles
• jointly owned business assets
• Pensions

Arrangements for children during divorce

Deciding what will happen to your children is one of the most contentious issues to resolve during a divorce. We will help to make the process as amicable as possible which is ultimately in the best interests of the children and the parents.

We will help you agree on arrangements for:

• where your children will live
• the amount of contact each parent will have with their children
• how they will be supported financially

Options for non-confrontational divorce

The majority of divorce cases don’t go to court. Instead, we find it best to resolve issues with a collaborative approach through negotiation via us your solicitors or through mediation, collaborative law, Private Finacial Dispute Resolution or arbitration. There is no one option that will suit all families because each relationship is different. However, non-confrontational divorce generally makes it faster, cheaper and less acrimonious than going to court and it has a far higher success rate.

The most common option is the family mediation process which helps you to explore finding solutions to separation and divorce in a constructive and supportive way. Our divorce lawyers are Resolution trained mediators who are trained to help resolve disputes over all issues faced by separating couples including specific issues such as financial settlements and arrangements for children. Our mediators will help you and your partner to identify issues that you can’t agree on and help you to reach an agreement.

Each family is unique and at your initial consultation, we will discuss your circumstances, and identify what is most important to you and your desired outcome. We will advise you on the law and how best to achieve the outcomes you seek. If you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, we will need to review this.

Whatever forum you choose, you can rest assured that we will negotiate strenuously on your behalf. If the divorce does proceed to court, our highly skilled advocates will represent you robustly and we have a track record of excellent results for our clients. We have particular experience in high-net-worth divorces.

What is the process for getting divorced?

• Check that you are eligible to get a divorce
• Decide if you want to make a joint application or on your own
• Apply online or by post (there’s a £593 fee to apply for a divorce)
• The Respondent has 14 days to complete and return the Acknowledgement of Service (AOS) form to the court.
• Wait for a mandatory 20-week reflection period
• Apply for a Conditional Order
• The court issues a Certificate of Entitlement, confirming the date your Conditional Order
• Wait six weeks and one day before applying for a Final Order
• Apply for the Final Order
• Final Order granted by the Court

How long does a divorce take?

On average in England and Wales, the divorce process takes between six-eight months. This takes into account the need to sort out issues with money, property and children. Because of the 20-week cooling-off period, a no-fault divorce will take a minimum of six months.

What are my rights in a divorce?

You have some basic rights enshrined in law regarding divorce. You will be legally entitled to a divorce provided you have been married for at least one year, meet the jurisdiction requirements. We can advise you on your specific circumstances and how best to proceed.

If there are children of the family then The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced the presumption that, unless the contrary is shown, the continued involvement of a parent in a child’s life will be beneficial to that child. We can guide and represent you in order that the best arrangement possible can be put in place to ensure the ongoing welfare of your children are met.

With regards to a financial settlement on divorce, the court seeks to be fair, which can often mean a 50/50 split of the matrimonial assets, unless needs mean one party has a claim for more. Once we are fully aware of the extent of your matrimonial assets, we will provide you with detailed advice on what entitlements you will have. This will enable you to confidently move forward in either agreeing a settlement with your former spouse, or in issuing court proceedings to secure your interests.