Family Law Guidance

Family mediation is voluntary. No one can be forced to attend. However, there are implications if you choose not to try mediation or any other type of alternative dispute resolution and make a court application for a judge to resolve your family law dispute. In this blog, our family law solicitors explain what mediation involves, the support your family lawyer can provide and outline your options. Contact Evolve Family Law. Finding out about family mediation Your family law solicitor will provide you with information about all your alternative dispute resolution options to resolve disputed issues with your ex-spouse or partner. Alternative dispute resolution can help resolve disputes over money, maintenance, property, pensions, the family business or the living and contact arrangements for your children. The alternative dispute resolution options include: Family mediation. Amicable Divorce - One Lawyer Divorce. Solicitor negotiations. Roundtable meetings. Collaborative law. Arbitration. A family lawyer can explain the pros and cons of each option and outline why one may be more suitable than others. Although you may not have a positive view about mediation because of previous experience or the tales of friends, a divorce solicitor can explain the different types of mediation process, such as lawyer-involved mediation, shuttle mediation or child-inclusive mediation, and can recommend a mediator to you. One-to-one preliminary meeting with a family mediator Many people are reluctant to try mediation because they think they will be rushed into a settlement they don’t want and that won't work for them. However, mediation normally starts with a one-to-one preliminary meeting with a mediator. This is called an MIAM or Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. A MIAM should be treated as a meet-and-greet and strategy meeting, so the mediator has sufficient information about you and your family to enable them to work out a mediation plan that reflects your priorities and those of your ex-partner. The Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting At the MIAM meeting, the mediator explains how mediation works, outlines the role of a family mediator, assesses whether mediation is a suitable option for you, and answers your questions. It is best to outline your specific concerns about the mediation process in the MIAM so the mediator can discuss solutions. For example, the mediator may suggest shuttle mediation or recommend the instruction of experts during the mediation process if you do not think that you can come to a fair financial settlement without a formal valuation of the family business or without a report from a pension actuary. If the mediator does not think that mediation is suitable for you and your former partner, they will sign a form saying so. Your divorce solicitor will advise on whether the mediator is likely to say whether you fall within one of the exemptions that make mediation unsuitable. Even if the mediator thinks that mediation is a suitable option to resolve the disputed family law issue, either you or your ex-partner can decide that you don’t want to mediate. Role of family law solicitors in mediation Some people are reluctant to go to mediation because they fear their ex will push them into an ‘agreement’ they don’t want and think they would be better protected by their divorce solicitor handling everything for them. Sometimes they are right, and mediation is not the right option. For example, if one spouse is abusive, financially manipulative or refuses to provide financial disclosure of their assets. In other situations, family mediation can be empowering, and you, the mediator, and the family lawyers can work out the extent of the family law solicitors' role in the mediation process. The role of family law solicitors in mediation can involve: Lawyer-inclusive mediation. Mediation support. Legal implementation of the mediated agreement. [related_posts] Lawyer-inclusive mediation With a lawyer involved in mediation, both family lawyers attend the sessions and provide advice to their respective clients between sessions. This type of mediation is only feasible if both partners want the lawyers to be present during sessions and the mediator agrees. Lawyer-inclusive mediation can be a good option when there are complex assets or issues, and the two lawyers can work in ways that support the mediation process, giving it the best chance of success. Having family lawyers present at family mediation meetings increases costs, so it is best to explore alternatives, such as seeking legal advice between mediation sessions or suggesting shuttle mediation if you don’t want to be in the same room as your ex and the mediator. Mediation support provided by a family solicitor  A family lawyer can provide mediation support by: Explaining the mediation process. Advising on potential child arrangement order or financial court order outcomes if either you or your ex-partner start financial settlement or children law court proceedings. Advising on the extent of financial disclosure required to reach a fair mediated financial settlement. Explaining an ex-partner’s financial disclosure and recommending that additional questions be asked or that valuation reports be obtained. Advising on tricky legal points that crop up in mediation, such as the relevance of a prenuptial agreement or a future inheritance or how the court will treat a family business if court proceedings are started. Reality testing childcare or financial settlement options suggested in family mediation sessions. Explaining your options if mediation breaks down. Converting your mediated memorandum of understanding into a binding financial court order or child arrangement order. Sorting out the associated legal paperwork involved with a separation, such as no-fault divorce proceedings, the sale or transfer of the family home, a new Will or Lasting Power of Attorney. Legal implementation of the mediated agreement Some family lawyers are only instructed after family mediation has taken place, and an agreement has been reached. The family law solicitor can: Advise on the memorandum of understanding. Convert the mediated agreement into a binding financial court order or child arrangement order. Legally implement the order. For example, arrange for the pension administrator to implement a pension sharing order. If you reach an agreement in mediation but you do not finalise the divorce proceedings or obtain a court order, your ex could try to renege on the agreement later. That’s why it is essential to get input from a family lawyer on the memorandum and what needs to be done to convert it into a court order. Confidentiality and mediation Sometimes people worry that if they say they are willing to give mediation a go and it fails, anything they said in mediation will be used against them in subsequent court proceedings for a financial settlement or child arrangement order. Mediation rules prevent either you or your ex-partner from revealing in court proceedings what was said in mediation to try to reach a compromise. Impact of not going to mediation If you choose not to go to family mediation or try any other form of alternative dispute resolution, and you issue court proceedings, the rules state: The judge can decide to adjourn the application for mediation if the judge thinks it should be attempted. The judge can penalise someone who started court proceedings or who refused to try alternative dispute resolution by making a cost order in favour of the other person. Legal advice during mediation At Evolve Family Law, our family solicitors emphasise the benefits of reaching a financial settlement or agreeing parenting arrangements outside of court proceedings. Family mediation is one of several ways to achieve that.  Our lawyers can support you through the mediation process and, if it is successful, ensure that your mediated agreement is converted into a binding court order and implemented. Contact Evolve Family Law.

Who pays child maintenance when you agree to share the parenting of your children after a separation or divorce? It's essential to understand the law on child support before finalising your divorce financial court order or reaching a childcare agreement. Our Northwest family law solicitors can help you understand how child maintenance works and assist you in reaching a parenting agreement or financial settlement. For specialist family law advice, call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form. Who pays child maintenance when the parenting of children is shared? If you poll parents on the question of who pays child maintenance when parenting is shared, most parents assume that the parent who earns more will be responsible for paying child maintenance. That’s not correct. Under the complex child maintenance law rules, if both parents equally share the care of their children, neither parent will be required to pay child maintenance to the other parent. This child maintenance rule can lead to two problems: Parents not wanting to agree to shared parenting because they don’t want to lose out on child support or can't afford to do so. Parents saying they want to parent equally but not doing so in practice, or the child spending an equal amount of time at each parent’s home but not getting the same quality of parental care and attention at both parents’ homes. These problems can result in more parental disputes about the best childcare arrangements for their children or child arrangement order applications for the court to decide if parenting should be shared equally. What difference does shared care make to child maintenance payments? If you share the care of your children, then it can make the difference between: Receiving hundreds of pounds each month for your children in child support and receiving no child maintenance at all. That can mean the difference between being able to afford to work part time and having to work overtime to pay your household bills, or Paying hundreds of pounds each month for your children in child maintenance. This can mean that a parent cannot afford to pay child support and pay the mortgage or rent on a suitable home near their child’s school, or afford for their children to have the same sort of lifestyle that they enjoy with their other parent. That is why both parents must understand their respective roles and responsibilities regarding shared parenting and child maintenance before agreeing on a parenting regime and child maintenance arrangements. Child benefit and the payment of child maintenance  It was thought that if one parent receives the child benefit money, their entitlement to the child benefit payment automatically means they are the parent who is entitled to ask for child maintenance from the other parent. One father challenged that assumption. The child maintenance tribunal decided that: Child maintenance is only payable if one of the parents is classed under child maintenance rules as the ‘non-resident parent, or in other words, there isn’t an equal shared care arrangement. This means that the other parent is classed under child maintenance rules as the ’parent with care.’ If there is no evidence to the contrary on shared care, then if the person applying for child support receives the child benefit payments, it is assumed that they are the ‘parent with care.’ This assumption isn’t relevant if both parents equally share the care of the children. The day-to-day care provided by each parent must be evaluated. The evaluation isn’t just about counting the nights the children stay with each parent, but also about assessing tasks and responsibilities. If there is equal responsibility for the day-to-day care of the children, then no child maintenance is payable, even if one parent earns a lot more than the other parent. Factors to consider when negotiating parenting arrangements and child maintenance Here are some factors to consider when negotiating parenting arrangements and child maintenance: What type of child care arrangement meets your child’s needs? Some children cope better than others with an equal shared care arrangement. How do the practicalities of commute and work commitments impact how you will share the parenting time and childcare? If you do equally share the care of the children and child support isn’t paid, how will this impact the finances of both parents? Will one parent be paying spousal maintenance to the other parent and, if so, how long for? Will one parent be receiving more than half of the equity in the family home to rehouse themselves because they earn less than the other parent? With specialist legal advice from a Manchester divorce solicitor on your best divorce and financial options, many parents can agree a financial settlement that meets both families’ needs. The lawyer can then draw up a financial consent order, ensuring that both parents have the certainty and legal protection of a court order.   You might also be interested in [related_posts] What counts as shared care of children for child maintenance payments? Shared care is as individual as families. It is a question of what works for a particular family. Some families agree on: A week on, week off schedule so the children spend a week with each parent, or A day on, day off schedule so the children never spend more than a day away from each parent, save for holidays, or Sharing an au pair or nanny so that the child care support moves with the children to provide continuity. These types of shared care arrangements can work better for some families than the more traditional 3-day/4-day split, where one week is spent on the 3-day schedule and then swapped with the 4-day schedule in the second week. The shared care arrangement that works best for a family can depend on: Distances between family homes. If a family has children with different or competing needs. For example, if one child has special educational needs or there is a significant age gap. New relationships and stepchildren. The practicalities of managing work and child care commitments combined with the daily commute and school run. Experience as a Manchester divorce solicitor has shown that any type of shared care arrangement can be beneficial for children, provided their parents are happy with the arrangements, commit to co-parenting and parenting routines, and share the highs and inevitable occasional lows of parenting. What happens if we stop or start sharing the care of the children? If, for whatever reason, you stop or start sharing the care of your children, then child maintenance could either stop or start. That is because, in most situations, you can apply to the Child Maintenance Service for child support at any stage. If child care arrangements change, then a parent may be able to ask the child maintenance service to either stop the requirement to pay child support or to vary the amount paid in child maintenance. That’s why, when looking at your housing options and finances on separation, it is sensible to factor in possible changes in child support in future. Manchester & Cheshire-based Evolve Family Law solicitors are approachable and friendly, providing pragmatic and expert solutions for divorce, children, and financial settlements. For specialist family law advice, call Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.

Sorting out how you split the equity in the family home can be tricky. It can be a lot harder to reach a divorce settlement when you are also trying to agree on who pays the bank loan and credit cards, what happens to the pensions, and whether one of you should pay spousal maintenance and for how long. In this blog, our family law solicitors answer your questions on divorce financial settlements.  Call us for expert family law advice or complete our online enquiry form.  Reaching a divorce settlement  In the UK, divorce settlements are discretionary and based on reasonable needs. The statutory factors make it hard for couples to reach a financial agreement as English family law doesn’t say that a husband and wife must split their assets equally or that a wife must return to full-time employment when the youngest child is 11 or that a husband will always keep a family business owned before the marriage or even that the divorce court must follow a prenuptial agreement. If there are no hard and fast rules, how are divorce settlements reached? Ultimately, if a husband and wife can't agree, it is down to a family court judge to decide what happens to each asset and make a financial court order. The judge will look at statutory criteria and case law when making the order. When a divorce solicitor advises on likely divorce settlement outcomes, they base their advice on their experience in negotiating settlements and representing spouses in contested financial court proceedings.  Divorce settlement advice   If you need divorce settlement advice, it's crucial to speak to a divorce lawyer. The solicitor will talk to you about your circumstances before offering advice. Examples of why information and talking are important include: It is often assumed there should be a 50/50 split of assets after a long marriage. However, that assumption could be displaced for several reasons, such as the wife can't get a mortgage and needs more than 50% of the assets to buy a new family home for herself and the children or most of the assets were inherited by the husband before the marriage and the wife can comfortably rehouse herself and meet all her other needs with 30% of the total assets. Alternatively, the couple may have signed a prenuptial agreement to ringfence inherited money Clean breaks should be achieved to end any financial or other ongoing ties between husband and wife. However, if the family home is sold, the equity won't be enough for either the husband or wife to buy another property, so both parents will be stuck renting. Maybe the parent who is the primary carer of the children should stay in the family home until the youngest child is 18. The house can then be sold, and the proceeds of the sale can be split in percentages fair to the ex-husband and wife   Discretion and how it works with divorce settlements Family law solicitors will outline the discretionary factors the court applies when making a financial court order after a contested final hearing of a financial application. The factors are just as relevant if you are negotiating an agreement through family mediation, solicitor negotiations or trying to do a deal at a financial dispute resolution hearing. The discretionary factors are contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The lawyer shorthand for them is ‘Section 25 criteria’. The court’s first concern should be the welfare of any dependent children and how the children's needs will be met. The court should then consider the Section 25 criteria: The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resources that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future. With earning capacity, this includes any increase in that capacity which it would, in the opinion of the court, be reasonable to expect a husband or wife to take steps to acquire The financial needs, obligations, and responsibilities that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage The age of the husband and wife and the length of the relationship  Any health issues affecting either the husband or wife or their children   The contributions made by the husband or wife or likely to be made in the foreseeable future to the welfare of the family, including any contribution as a homemaker or stay-at-home parent  The conduct of the husband or wife if that conduct is such that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard it The value to the husband and wife of any benefit (for example, a pension) that they will lose the chance of acquiring because of the divorce With this list of factors, it is easy to see how, in some situations, a judge may order a different financial settlement from another judge. However, the difference in judicial view should be within a band of reasonableness. For example, it would be unreasonable for one judge to say an equal split of equity in the family home and for another one to say a 90/10 split of the equity in the family home would meet the Section 25 criteria. With the uncertainty of judicial discretion, most divorcing couples prefer to try to negotiate a divorce financial consent order based on their family lawyer’s assessment of the Section 25 criteria. [related_posts] How to get the best divorce settlement  Some people think the only way to get the best divorce settlement is to apply to the court for a financial order.  They may be right. For example, if their former spouse is refusing to provide financial disclosure, is transferring assets to friends or family or is refusing to agree to a valuation of the family home or business. In other situations, a divorcing husband or wife must weigh up the costs and time in making a financial application against the benefits to be gained.  A family law solicitor will tell you that if your ex-spouse is only offering you 10% of the family assets, you need to go to court. It is far harder to advise on the decision to start financial proceedings if your former spouse is offering you 45%. The decision may then come down to the value of the 5% of the assets you may be losing out on balanced against the costs of going to court. Things are often more complicated than that, as you may also dispute your ex-spouse’s valuation of his business or home, or you may argue that your ex-partner is offering you assets that are not as valuable to you as the ones you want. For example, they may be proposing that they will keep all the equity in the family home and you keep all your pensions, but that deal doesn’t give you the capital to rehouse yourself even though it will provide you with an income in eventual retirement. At Evolve Family Law, our North West divorce solicitors focus on finding out what your ideal divorce settlement would look like and why. We then work on discovering the full extent of the family assets and any property that might be classed as non-family assets. We can then have an informed discussion with you about your realistic settlement options so you can weigh up the pros and cons of court proceedings over family mediation or arbitration or weigh up the advantages of spousal maintenance over a bigger share of equity in the family home. Having the right expert support behind you can give you the confidence to say yes or no to what is on offer from your ex, knowing that your lawyers have a strategy to get you the divorce settlement you need. Call us for an appointment to discuss your divorce settlement or complete our online enquiry form. 

Although the Child Maintenance Service uses a mathematical formula to calculate child maintenance many parents prefer to negotiate child support and want to know how overnight stays affect child maintenance. In this article, our North West family law solicitors look at how overnight contact affects the amount of child support under the Child Maintenance Service rules. However, child maintenance solicitors who are negotiating child maintenance on behalf of parents don’t have to stick rigidly to the CMS rules as a parent may want to agree to child maintenance payments as part of an overall divorce financial settlement and parenting arrangement. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Equal day-to-day care of a child There is no child support liability under Child Maintenance Service rules if there is shared equal parenting. That’s the case even if one parent earns double or triple the amount of the other parent. If the parents are married the court can order spousal maintenance. The court can also award the lower-earning parent more equity in the family home to help them rehouse themselves. The parents can also negotiate and agree that child support will be paid despite the child’s care being shared. If parents are unmarried the court cannot order spousal maintenance. The court also cannot divide the equity in the family home in a way that it thinks is fair in an unmarried parent property dispute. Instead, the court must use property and trust laws when working out how the equity in an unmarried property dispute will be split or the judge can use Schedule 1 of the Children Act to provide a home while the children are dependent. When the court is asked to make a child arrangement order and one parent wants equal care and the other parent is opposed to shared parenting the court makes its decision based on its assessment of what contact arrangements are in the best interests of the child rather than purely on the impact of overnight contact on child support. The impact of overnight contact when care isn’t equally shared Under the Child Maintenance Service rules if a parent has overnight contact their child support liability is reduced as follows: Overnight contact    Reduction in the amount of child support  52 nights per year     1/7th 104 nights per year   2/7ths 156 nights per year   3/7ths 175 nights per year   50% The overnight contact rule throws up some odd consequences. A parent can look after their child all day but they don’t get a reduction in their child support payments unless the child stays overnight with them. The overnight contact is calculated by reference to a year rather than a week or month as a shorter period might give a misleading picture. Parents should keep a record of overnight contact if they are concerned that the annual amount of contact might tip over into the next level of reduction in child support. That way there is some evidence if there is a dispute. If you have more than one child and there are different overnight contact arrangements you need to record both arrangements. The annual overnight contact figure includes holiday contact. That applies whether the parent takes the child away on holiday or stays at home on a staycation. [related_posts] What does child maintenance cover? Child maintenance is meant to cover the cost of caring for a child. That isn’t just the child’s food and school uniform costs but also a share of the cost of housing (mortgage or rent), heating and all the associated household expenses, such as water rates or TV licence. The Child Maintenance Service doesn’t work out a fair division of the cost of caring for a child. Instead, it uses its mathematical formula. Parents paying child support and parents receiving child maintenance often perceive this formula as unfair and very arbitrary. For example, a mother looking after a child as the primary carer has the same monthly mortgage payment whether her ex-husband has overnight contact on 155 or 157 nights per year but his having two extra nights of overnight contact a year could make a big difference to the amount she receives in child support and to her ability to pay her bills. Likewise, a father who only gets to see his children on 103 nights per year as his ex-wife has moved hundreds of miles away still has to pay for a house that’s big enough to comfortably house the children when they come to stay with him. The father will still be liable to pay child support even if he is the lower earner and even though he didn’t agree to his ex-wife’s decision to move away with the children. Although child support is meant to cover all the things children need, child maintenance lawyers are frequently told that a parent objects to paying child maintenance because the money given as child support appears to be being spent on the receiving parent’s clothes and activities and not on the children. There is no requirement for the receiving parent to provide evidence that the child support payment is being spent solely on the child and their living costs. What things affect child maintenance? The amount payable in child maintenance isn’t just affected by the level of overnight contact. If the paying parent decides to make voluntary extra pension payments this reduces their gross income on which the child maintenance calculation is made. That policy seems to prioritise long-term retirement goals over the child support needs of children. Other criticisms of the child support system include the deductions allowed if a paying parent has other children living in their household. The rigid formula approach takes no account of the fact that the parent receiving child support can end up with a sudden reduction in child maintenance because of family decisions made by the paying parent. Negotiating child maintenance Most family lawyers see the child maintenance formula as a useful starting point. If parents want to negotiate child support so the figure is higher or lower, the child maintenance solicitors' focus should be on ensuring that the agreement reached is fair and workable. That involves reality testing your divorce financial settlement so you know that the full financial deal stacks up from the share in the equity in the family home to the split of pensions and of course spousal maintenance and child support. Your agreement then needs to be incorporated into a binding financial court order so you can enforce it if necessary. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Do you need help with your divorce or in sorting out a financial settlement or child residence and contact arrangements for your children? In an ideal world, you would reach an agreement with your ex but that may not be possible if they are being unreasonable. Our family law solicitors offer some tips on how to handle an unreasonable ex in a divorce. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Divorce proceedings and unreasonable behaviour  You used to have to say that an ex had behaved unreasonably to help you secure a divorce. That is no longer necessary as the government has introduced no-fault divorce proceedings so all you now need to say is that your marriage has broken down irretrievably without needing to explain why.  Although you no longer need to prove unreasonable behaviour to get a divorce the issue of an ex behaving unreasonably is still highly relevant. [related_posts] Is your ex behaving unreasonably? It is worth asking yourself if your ex is behaving unreasonably as sometimes you can lose perspective. That may be because you have been subject to so much emotional abuse during your relationship that you think that your ex’s behaviour is normal rather than coercive and controlling. Alternatively, you may want to stay in the family home and can't see your ex’s point of view that if you don’t sell the property and split the equity, they won't be able to afford anywhere to live or their argument that it would therefore be reasonable for you to downsize. A family law solicitor can help you look at whether your ex’s behaviour is acceptable or not. If your ex has a reasonable case to put forward then there should be some prospect of your being able to reach a parenting agreement or financial settlement through solicitor negotiation or family mediation. Saying what behaviour is unreasonable or not is always difficult as so much depends on context. A spouse leaving the family home and disappearing without explanation and not sorting out child contact seems unreasonable but may be wholly justified if the spouse is fleeing domestic violence and needs to get themselves and the children to a place of safety and secure an injunction order before they can even consider if contact can be managed safely. Examples of unreasonable behaviour by an ex Our family law solicitors come across many examples of unreasonable behaviour when assisting with divorce, children law or financial settlement negotiations or proceedings, such as: Complete refusal to provide financial disclosure so your only option is to start financial proceedings and get orders for financial disclosure because you can't reach a fair financial settlement unless you know the extent of your ex’s assets and income An ex-partner transferring assets to their parents or siblings to try and keep the assets out of the financial settlement  Refusing to agree to any contact with the children without any good grounds to stop or restrict contact and when the children are keen to see you with your ex knowing that it will take you a while to get a child arrangement order  Refusing to return the acknowledgement form in no-fault divorce proceedings – you can still get divorced but it takes a bit longer After the court has made an order for the sale of the family home refusing to agree to viewings or being unwilling to listen to advice from the estate agent about the sale price. You can still get the family home sold but you may need to apply back to court for another order to implement the sale and to ask the court to order that your ex pays the extra costs associated with that hearing Tips on dealing with an unreasonable ex during your divorce The first advice on dealing with an unreasonable ex is to privately acknowledge to yourself that your ex’s unreasonable behaviour just confirms that separation and divorce are the right options for you.  Our other tips are: Take advice and don’t accept unreasonable behaviour by your ex as ‘just your ex’ and how they behave Get your family law solicitor to write to your ex and explain the consequences of their behaviour. For example, transferring assets to third parties will result in a freezing injunction order application and you asking the court to order that your ex pays the costs of the injunction application and make adverse inferences in the financial settlement proceedings about his actions and financial nondisclosure   Make sure you get the support you need. That could be from family, friends or a counsellor   Take a long-term view on dealing with your ex as their game plan may be to behave so badly that you are deterred from applying for a child arrangement order as you think it will be pointless or to make you think that you may as well accept the financial settlement they are offering as the ex is being so difficult about financial disclosure  Think about your children- if you cannot battle on for yourself then we recommend that you do so for your children as they will be the ones affected by the parenting arrangements or by an unfair financial settlement that means you can't support them in the way you should have been able to do so    At some point, you will either need to reach an agreement or secure a court order but your ex’s unreasonable behaviour should not dictate the agreement or orders made. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

If you are separating from your partner the thought of living with them in the family home whilst you get divorced and sort out a financial settlement can be distressing. Our family law solicitors look at your options if you want your partner to leave the family home. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Family home rights If you are married or in a civil partnership your right to stay in the family home after you have separated does not depend on whether you are the legal owner or a joint owner. If you are not a legal owner of the family home you still have rights. You cannot be forced out of the family home but nor can your partner unless: You or your partner agrees to leave One of you gets an injunction order forcing the other to leave – injunction orders are temporary A financial court order states that you or your partner should keep the family home or that it should be sold There are two issues here. First, injunctions are a short-term fix and do not transfer ownership of the property. The second is that it can take a long time to get a financial court order so you may need an injunction before you secure your financial settlement. It isn’t always easy to move out of a family home when you or your partner don’t have family living nearby or friends willing to put you up for what could be for over a year or until you can find somewhere to rent. When you look at the price of renting a property on Rightmove and the limited availability of rental property you can start to appreciate that your partner may struggle to rent somewhere suitable or, if they pay rent, they may not be able to pay towards the mortgage or pay spousal maintenance. You may want to look at timescales to see if you can speed up the process of reaching a financial settlement so you know where you stand with the family home and to make staying together in the property easier for both of you until the house is sold or the property transferred. It is possible to reach a financial settlement quickly and to record your agreement in a separation agreement. In any later divorce proceedings, the agreement can be converted into a financial court order. A family law solicitor will talk to you about the information you need to help you reach a quick financial settlement. For example, you will need to know how much the property is worth, the amount outstanding on the mortgage, the monthly mortgage figure, if your mortgage company would agree to either you or your partner taking the existing mortgage on, and if the mortgage company would lend you more so you can pay out your partner an agreed sum as part of an overall financial settlement. The payment needs to take into account the value of pensions and any savings. It is also sensible to look at rehousing costs for you and your partner so you know how much you would each need so you can work out if staying in the family home on a long-term basis is the best option for you. [related_posts] Occupation and ouster orders If your partner refuses to leave the family home while you are going through divorce proceedings and sorting out the financial settlement you cannot force them out, even if they are not a legal owner. You may be able to apply for an injunction order. An occupation order gives you the right to stay in the family home until a specified date. The order can give you exclusive occupation or say you can use parts of the house or share it all with your partner. An ouster order excludes or ousts your partner from the property. They cannot return to live at the property until the order ends. Applying for an occupation or ouster order You need to apply to the family court for an injunction order. The court will grant you an occupation or ouster order if it thinks it is just and reasonable to do so after considering all the circumstances and factors such as: Your housing needs and housing resources and those of your partner and any relevant child  Your financial resources and those of your partner The likely effect of any order, or the effect of not making an order, on the health, safety, and well-being of you, your partner, or any relevant child Your conduct and the conduct of your partner The court must also consider the likelihood of significant harm and the 'balance of harm'. This means the court must weigh up the likelihood of significant harm to you or your partner and any relevant child if an order is made, balanced against the likelihood of significant harm if an order is not made. If the court considers there is significant harm to you or any relevant child, the court should make an injunction order unless your partner or any relevant child is likely to suffer significant harm if the order is made, and the harm is as great or greater than the harm likely to be suffered by you or any relevant child (because of your partner’s behaviour) if the order is not made. If the court concludes significant harm is not likely, it is not obliged to make the injunction order but may do so. Getting help with an occupation and ouster order application Our family law solicitors can help you apply for an injunction order, start no-fault divorce proceedings on your behalf, and negotiate a financial settlement for you. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

As a Cheshire children solicitor I get asked the question ‘can I stop my ex taking our child on holiday?’ That is understandable as most parents are anxious when their child goes off for the weekend, let alone a holiday with your ex. In this blog we answer your frequently asked questions about whether you can stop your ex taking your child on holiday. Can I stop my ex taking our child on holiday? Whether you can stop your ex taking your child on holiday will depend on: Whether there is a child custody order(also known as a residence order or a child arrangements order). If so, does the order say whether your ex can take your child on holiday? If it does, then have circumstances changed so you can apply to court to vary or change the order to stop your ex taking your child on holiday? Is the holiday in the UK or does your ex plan to take your child abroad? If a foreign holiday is proposed how long is the holiday for and what is the destination? Are there any child abduction concerns that are making you particularly concerned about the holiday? For example, is your concern that your child is being taken to see extended family outside Europe and you have read and googled that the country they are going to isn’t signed up to the Hague Convention?   Prior to talking to a children solicitor about whether you can stop your ex taking your child on holiday it is best to think about the reasons why you object to the holiday. For some parents the answer is obvious, such as you fear child abduction whereas for others it is just a gut fear or your objection to the holiday may be down to: The dates your ex wants to take your child on holiday – for example, do the dates clash with your Christmas, Easter or your summer holiday plans? Who will be accompanying your child on holiday – for example, is your ex going on holiday with his new partner and their children. Are you worried about your child spending time with the new partner or them not getting on with the other children who will be going? The destination of the holiday, as after all a holiday to an English Caravan Park or to European Beach holiday is very different to a trip to the Far East or middle East to meet extended family or for cultural reasons Do you have concerns about your ex’s drinking habits and do you worry that if you are not there, your child will be neglected whilst your ex gets drunk Are you angry that your ex can afford to take your child on an expensive holiday but can't or won't pay child support to you so you can't afford to go on a similar trip?   There are many other reasons why you may object to your ex taking your child on holiday but sometimes it helps to make a list as there may be more than one reason why you feel so strongly about the holiday.  Some of those reasons may be practical ones and others may be emotional, for example, your ex is taking his new partner and your child on holiday to the same resort you all used to go to as a family.   I have a court order so can I stop my ex taking my child on holiday?  If a mother or a father has a court order saying that the child lives with them(for example a child arrangements order) then you can: Stop your child going on holiday unless there is a child arrangements order in place for the other parent that covers holiday contact in the UK or overseas If the holiday contact in the child arrangements order doesn’t cover travel abroad then your ex won't be able to take your child overseas on holiday unless they get your written agreement or a family court order that says they have court permission to take your child either to a specified foreign country for a holiday or a general order that says they can take the child on a foreign holiday each year.   Every children court order is phrased differently so if you are at all unsure about what your court order says and whether your ex needs your permission or a court order to take your child on holiday then speak to a Cheshire children solicitor.   Can I get a court order to stop my ex taking my child on holiday?  You can apply to court to get an order to stop your ex from taking your child on holiday. It is best to speak to a Cheshire children solicitor about whether you need to apply for an order as it will all depend on whether there are any existing court orders. If there are then it may not be necessary to make an application to court or you may need to apply to vary a court order rather than apply for a new court order.   For example, if your ex wants to take your child on holiday abroad and they don’t have a child arrangements order to say that they are the main carer the onus is on them to apply to court to get permission to take your child on a foreign holiday out of the UK unless you give your written consent to the holiday.   If you think that your ex will just take your child without bothering to apply for a court order then you can make an application to court for a specific issue or prohibited steps order  prohibiting the holiday from taking place.   If your ex is your child’s main carer and they have a child arrangements order in place which says the child lives with them, then normally this order allows them to take your child on holiday abroad for up to four weeks.  They therefore don’t need your permission to take your child abroad provided the holiday is for less than four weeks. However, if you object to the holiday (for example, because you fear child abduction) then you can apply to court for an order to prohibit the foreign holiday from taking place.   If your objection is to your ex taking your child on holiday in the UK then you can still apply for an order to try and stop the holiday although you would have to have good reason for the objection as generally speaking there is less opposition to a child being taken away on holiday in the UK unless, for example: The child is young and hasn’t had a lot of contact with the other parent and so would be anxious and fret The holiday is unsuitable, for example , a golf holiday where you anticipate your child will be cared for by your ex’s new partner rather than spend quality time with a parent Your ex wants to go away on holiday at the only time that you can take off to go away on holiday or their holiday plans will mean that you don’t get to spend time with your child over Christmas or will stop your child from going to a family wedding or other celebration Your ex is planning a camping holiday in the Autumn half term and your child is asthmatic or has special health needs. [related_posts] Should I object to my child going on holiday? If a parent wants to object to their child going on holiday most people’s first thoughts are that a child should be able to enjoy a holiday with each of his or her separated parents. Whilst that is true it is also correct that if you have any concerns about your child then it is your job as a parent to protect your child and stand up for what is in their best interests.   Sometimes children don’t know what is best for them as whilst your child may be very excited about a trip to a far flung destination they won't understand your child abduction fears and the reasons behind why you are so worried about the holiday.   A Cheshire children solicitor will normally ask you to look at the reasons why you object to your child going on a holiday in the UK or overseas and to consider whether those reasons are about you or your child. For example, if your real issue is that your ex can afford a holiday but isn’t paying child support your children solicitor can make a child support application for you. If your issue is the destination of the holiday or its length then perhaps some compromise can be made so a holiday can take place but your child is safe.   If you need help with holiday contact or need a holiday contact order then our expert team of specialist children law solicitors at Holmes Chapel and Whitefield can help you. Call us or contact us online.

Parenting youngsters is hard work. It can be even harder when you are a separated or divorced parent, and your ex-partner doesn’t agree with your parental boundaries or just can't be bothered to follow them. Many parents report feeling unable to set social media limits, fearing that their children will vote with their feet and move to live with the parent who doesn’t set limits and lets them game and message as much as they want. If you’re parenting a tween or teenager and navigating a child arrangement dispute, you’re likely already exhausted from trying to focus on your child’s needs whilst your ex focuses on what your child wants rather than needs. This blog from our family lawyers helps you understand how the planned UK social media ban will affect separated parents, how it will influence child arrangement order applications, and what you can do right now to protect your child. Consult Evolve Family Law Under 16s Social Media Ban The results of a government consultation revealed 9 in 10 parents back a social media ban for under16s. Around 66% of youngsters thought some social media platforms should not be accessible to under-16s. If you are a separated parent, you need to understand how the ban will work and its timeline so you can co-parent effectively. If your co-parent ignores the ban, you need to know your options. The government says the social media changes should be implemented by Spring 2027 and will include: Under-16s being banned from platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X Under-16s restricted from using some other online services Age checks on social media platforms The government doesn’t intend to stop under-16s from using messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, or from using laptops and mobiles for online learning and to access educational content. Importantly, if you are a separated parent or grandparent who relies on social media to maintain contact with your child or grandchild, nothing should change. Under 16s Using Parents' Accounts and Virtual Private Networks If you are a parent who supports the social media ban for under-16s, you may be wondering how it will work in real life. You may anticipate that your child will either use your ex-partner's social media accounts to go online or use a Virtual Private Network to get around the ban. The government is researching how under-16s are using VPNs and the risks involved. However, we can't see how the government will cater for parents allowing their kids to use their accounts to access banned social media. Some parents may be tempted to do this to get their kids on their side after a separation. Other parents may not have the time or headspace after a tricky separation to police a social media ban on a child going through the turmoil of a separation or divorce or the loss of their family home. Under 16s Social Media Usage and Parental Disputes If you are switched onto the dangers of under-16s experiencing too much social media content, what can you do about it if your ex either doesn’t care about bans or is prepared to use social media access as a lure to encourage your tween to say that they want to live with them? Family lawyers recommend that separated and divorced parents start discussing the ban now so they both understand how the law is changing and how those changes will affect their child and them. Even if you both agree to follow the ban, your child may have different ideas about how to get around the ban, or they may struggle to fill their time and act out. Talking about how the ban will affect your child is a good starting point. Recording how you will both comply with the ban is the best option. If you don’t have a parenting plan, then now may be a good time to negotiate one with your ex. If you find it difficult to talk to your ex-partner, then family mediation may be the best way forward. A family mediator may help you both focus on the ban and its impact on your children. Expect some tricky conversations, especially if you have a blended household with a range of children, including over-18s home from university or stepchildren who won't be complying with the ban. Social Media Usage and Welfare Considerations Currently, many parents are told that when children spend time with their other parent, they can't police what the other parent does with their child. That may mean their tween eats too much pizza and ice cream or spends too much time watching TV, but how will the social media ban affect court decision making? When the court is asked to make a child arrangement order application, a specific issue order application or a prohibited steps order application, the court assesses what order is in the child's best interests. With tweens and teenagers, it isn't as simple as asking what order the child wants the court to make and the court blindly following their wishes. Under Section 1 of the Children Act 1989, judges must assess what orders are in a child's best interests using the welfare checklist. The welfare checklist includes: The wishes and feelings of the child (considered in light of their age and understanding) The child's physical, emotional and educational needs The likely effect on the child of any change in circumstances The child's age, sex, background and any other characteristics which the court considers relevant Any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering How well each parent can meet the child’s needs The range of powers and court orders available to the court The judge has to assess all the factors on the checklist; no single factor is all important and trumps everything else. Online Risk and Welfare Considerations With the government research into the dangers of social media for under-16s, it's appropriate to highlight your digital concerns if they play a part in a parental dispute. You may think that your child is becoming increasingly isolated, morose, and detached from family life in ways more extreme than those of normal, healthy teenage years. A court may view your online concerns as relevant to: Harm suffered by your child or risks of future harm Your ex-partner's ability to meet your child’s emotional or educational needs The impact of a change in circumstances on your child The risk of harm could be psychological, such as being bombarded with online information on self-harm or being exposed to online cyberbullying from classmates. The risk could even be physical. For example, if the other parent has no interest or ability in policing unwanted contact from online strangers who pose a physical risk or sexual threat to your child, if digital contact leads to a meet-up. With the UK government announcement that by Spring 2027, under-16s will be prohibited from using social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X, it's important to explain to the court how different parenting styles are influencing your tweens' stated contact wishes or how a diet of late night unfiltered screen time will affect their education and emotional development. Balancing the Welfare Checklist If you are a parent asking a judge to make a child arrangement order or specific issue order, it's vital to talk to your family law solicitor about your child so they can frame their welfare checklist arguments around the specific needs of your child. For example: Your child may be particularly vulnerable to the malign influences of too much social media because of their special educational needs You may have real fears that if exposed to too much social media, your child may end up with an eating disorder or be exposed to misogynistic content that will influence their future adult relationships You know your child has accessed self-harm material and you fear that continued access could have devastating consequences Family lawyers and judges need to listen to parents. You know your child best and are best positioned to explain why your preferred court order is in your children's best interests. In practice, this means that you need to give a picture of what your child is like. Your family lawyer and the judge need to know if your child is bubbly or quiet, sporty or more comfortable with online gaming, and how different parenting regimes and parenting standards affect your child. Some kids move seamlessly between two parental households with no worries. Other kids can't settle, with mood issues, disrupted sleep, and poor attention in school. When you are fighting for the Children Act order you want, whether it is an order that your child lives with you, a relocation or holiday order, or a prohibited steps order, it's essential to frame your case around why the order you want is in your child's best interests. That means less emphasis on your rights and wants and more explanation about why the order you are seeking is best for your child. Your wants and your child's needs may be interlinked. For example, you may want to relocate to Spain from the UK because you have a fantastic job offer, but you may genuinely think your child will be better off living in Spain because of the outdoor lifestyle with less chance of your child spending hours alone in their bedroom on social media or gaming.    Court Powers In addition to making child arrangement orders, the court can determine specific parenting issues and impose Section 11(7) conditions or make specific issue orders. In the future, more parents may ask their family lawyers to address their child’s social media access and online presence when there is parental disagreement over a child’s smartphone access or online activity. Section 11 (7) of the Children Act 1989 allows the court to impose conditions which must be complied with by any person who is named in a Section 8 order as a person with whom the child concerned is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact. Consult Evolve Family Law Our family lawyers can help you if you are in the throes of a separation or divorce and worried about whether it’ll be 50/50 shared care or how you’ll cope with caring for a tween back from their blended family overloaded on sugar, late nights and unlimited social media access. With years of helping parents navigate parenting plans and securing child arrangement orders, our family law solicitors will give you the incisive, clear legal advice you need to help protect your child. BOOK YOUR CONSULTATION NOW.

The end of a relationship turns your world upside down. You’re trying to keep a semblance of normality while hiding your emotional struggles and financial uncertainties for the sake of your children, and juggling all the things that you have to manage when life throws a curveball at you. At Evolve Family Law, our divorce solicitors get that, but because we have your back, we’ll suggest that you make a new Will. In this guide, we explain why, after a separation, you shouldn’t wait to make a new Will and how our Will lawyers can make the process of writing a new Will as quick and stress free as possible.    Contact Evolve Family Law for a new Will Separation, the Law and Wills Your separation from your husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried partner doesn’t: Cancel your current Will Exclude your ex-partner from inheriting Protect your children financially Only a new Will does that. Here's how the law works if you are married or in a civil partnership, or if you were in an unmarried relationship: If you’re married or in a civil partnership You might assume that separating means your spouse or civil partner no longer inherits under your Will. Sadly, that’s not how the law works. Until you’re legally divorced or your civil partnership is formally dissolved, your spouse or civil partner is still in a legal relationship with you and will inherit if you named them in your Will or will inherit under the intestacy rules if you haven’t made a Will. Your Will isn't changed, and your assets aren’t suddenly protected for your children or extended family if you start divorce proceedings or dissolution of civil partnership proceedings. Your Will is only affected by your divorce or dissolution of civil partnership after you have received your final order of divorce or dissolution. No-fault divorce proceedings take a minimum of six months to complete because of court rules. Often, the timescale is longer, as it can be in your financial best interests to delay getting your divorce final order until you have secured a financial settlement.  However, while you protect yourself and wait for your divorce to come through, your family is vulnerable, as your estranged spouse can still inherit under your Will or act as your executor. If the worst were to befall you, your spouse could still control your estate and make decisions you’d never want them to make now. If you’re cohabiting You might assume that because you’ve separated, your ex-partner has no claim. But if you named them in your Will as a beneficiary or as your executor, they stay in your Will until you change it. If you never made a Will at all, or didn’t include your ex-partner in your Will, then your ex-partner won’t inherit under the intestacy rules or the Will, but your children may not be protected either. That’s because the intestacy rules aren’t fit for purpose and don’t meet the needs of modern families. A new Will allows you to protect your loved ones and reduces the risk of your ex-partner being able to challenge an existing Will or the intestacy rules successfully and argue that they should get a share of your estate. A new Will puts you back in control and protects your family. Why Your Old Will No Longer Fits Your Life When you wrote your old Will, you will have anticipated a shared future with your estranged spouse or ex-partner and probably would have left everything to your partner, named them as executor, and trusted them to make a Will and leave what remained of your estate and their own assets to your shared children or to make fair estate planning choices if you have a blended family. Life looks different now because your priorities, relationships, and plans have changed. They will have different priorities and plans as well. Unless you update your Will, the law will treat your separated ex as if nothing has changed. Whilst you may want time to ponder, your ex could have changed their Will. There is no obligation to tell you that they’ve done so. [related_posts]   Why Will Timing Matters More Than You Think When you’re separating, life feels like it’s in limbo. You’re not together, but you’re not divorced. You’re not sure what the future looks like. You’re trying to keep going despite the onslaught of trying to agree on parenting arrangements, getting the family home valued or taking time out of work and childcare responsibilities to check out your mortgage options as a single parent. However, a new Will matters now — not later. Your ex could inherit everything If you died tomorrow without a Will and your spouse is still legally your spouse, they’re still first in line to get the lion's share of your estate under the intestacy rules. If you do have a Will, the likelihood is that they are in it. This applies even if you’ve been separated for years, have been living completely separate lives, have started a new relationship, and have children. Your children may not be protected If you want your children to inherit directly, or you want money held in trust for them, you need a Will that says so. With your existing Will, you may be relying on your ex-partner to do the right thing and give the money inherited under your Will to the children. If your ex-partner doesn’t do the right thing, then your children could be fighting your ex in an inheritance dispute for what should rightly be theirs because it is what you would have wanted if you had realised just how vulnerable your children were under Will and intestacy rules. Your new partner may be left with nothing If you’ve moved on, any new unmarried partner has no automatic rights to a share of your estate. A Will is the only way to protect them. Your estate could end up in a long court inheritance dispute Separation already brings enough conflict. A Will reduces the risk of your ex, your children, or a new partner bringing a claim against your estate, arguing that either your old Will or the intestacy rules don’t make reasonable financial provision for them. You get peace of mind You’re dealing with enough stress with your separation. A new Will means you have one less thing to worry about. If you are worried that you will have to get another new Will when your divorce or civil partnership dissolution is finalised, then don’t worry; you won't. Your Will solicitor will draw your Will up so it won't need to be changed again when you get your final divorce order. What a New Will Lets You Control A Will isn’t just about your money. It’s about protecting the people you love. Here’s what you can decide with a new Will: Who inherits — and who doesn’t You choose exactly where your money, home, and belongings go. A Will lawyer can explain your options and how best to structure your Will to reduce the risk of inheritance disputes and claims. Who manages your estate You can remove your ex-partner as your executor and appoint someone you trust. This could be a sibling, a longstanding family friend, your Will solicitor or a combination. Who looks after your children If your ex has no interest in caring for your joint children or you have concerns about their ability to look after the children on their own, then you can appoint a testamentary guardian for your children in your Will. Your family lawyer and Will solicitor can explain how the appointment in your Will works. How your children inherit You can set up trusts in your Will so children inherit at the right age, with the right support. If you and your ex are separating or divorcing amicably and you trust them to put your children's needs before their own, then you could appoint them to act as one of the trustees. How to protect your share of the family home If you still own a property together, your will can protect your share for your children. A Will lawyer will check whether a jointly owned family home is held as joint tenants or tenants in common. This legal distinction is important because with a joint tenancy, your share of the family home will automatically pass to your co-owner, regardless of what your existing Will or the intestacy rules say. Your Will lawyer can solve that problem for you by converting the family home from joint tenants to tenants in common, so your share of the property passes to your loved ones under your new Will. How to protect a new partner You can give a new partner (who may have been living with you for years by the time you and your ex decide to start divorce proceedings) the right to stay in the family home, or leave them a specific gift, without reducing your children’s inheritance. A new Will gives you choices. Separation takes a lot of your control away, but a new Will gives you a semblance of control and the knowledge of what your life will look like in the future once you have fully separated from your ex. Why Do You Need a Will Solicitor For Your New Will Families often have: Joint homes with uneven deposit contributions Joint property ownership with confusion over whether the property is held as joint tenants or tenants in common, and what that means for you and your children Blended families and children from previous relationships or first spouses with spousal maintenance claims who therefore have potential inheritance claims Family businesses Inherited property Complex assets, including investments, second homes and overseas property Assets that may not form part of the estate, such as some types of life insurance Disputed ownership claims, such as where you are claiming that you have a beneficial interest in a property in the legal ownership of your unmarried partner These situations make Wills even more important. Without one, the law can divide your estate in ways that are unfair or don’t meet the needs of your family. A Will lawyer can navigate all the complexities and get a new Will sorted out that meets your changed needs. What Happens if You Don’t Make a New Will Here’s the part most separating couples don’t realise. If you have a Will Your ex-partner remains in it until you remove them, or you finalise the divorce, or dissolve the civil partnership. An unmarried ex-partner stays in your Will indefinitely. If you don’t have a Will The intestacy rules decide who gets what from your estate. Your wishes don’t have any legal sway. If you’re still legally married, your spouse inherits first. This is why so many families end up in painful disputes after a death. A new Will prevents that. How to Update Your Will When You’re Separating You don’t need to wait for the divorce to finish. You don’t need to have everything agreed. You don’t need to know exactly what the financial settlement will be. You just need a Will that reflects your life as it is today. Here’s what the process usually looks like: You talk to a Will solicitor who listens to what you want You explain your situation, your worries, and what you want to protect. You’re not rushed. You’re not judged. You’re heard. The advantage of talking to a Will lawyer at Evolve Family Law is that if you have already given a lot of financial information to your divorce solicitor, they will be able to look at this information and save you from having to repeat it all.    You get clear Will advice You’ll understand your options, the risks, and the best way to protect your children and assets. You choose who inherits You decide what goes to your children, family, or new partner. You choose who’s in charge You appoint executors you trust. You sign your new Will Once it’s signed and witnessed, it’s legally binding. It can be stored free of charge at Evolve Family Law if that’s what you would like us to do. You get peace of mind You know your estate planning wishes will be followed, whatever happens next. You can get on with sorting out parenting plans and thrashing out a financial settlement. Your Will Experience at Evolve Family Law Clients often tell us that a new Will isn't a top priority when they are separating. That’s because they hope something won't happen to them and because they don’t think they can cope with the hassle of talking about estate planning with another solicitor. Here’s what some of our clients say about their Will experience at Evolve Family Law: Chris Strogen was an excellent choice, being an amalgam of the very best characteristics of a traditional, empathetic, knowledgeable lawyer backed by the latest appropriate technology. The work was undertaken expeditiously (in a couple of days) and at a very reasonable charge. Chris was highly responsive and effective, providing expert legal advice that fully addressed my changing circumstances. Great service! In a very professional but friendly manner, Judith steered us through the many options for both the Wills and LPA documents, and we feel very comfortable that the final documents will serve our family well, as and when they are needed. (Hopefully not too soon). You deserve that same peace of mind. Contact Evolve Family Law for a new Will Frequently Asked Questions on Wills and Separating Couples Do I need a new Will even if I’m only separated, not divorced? Yes. Separation doesn’t change your Will. Your spouse is still legally your spouse until the divorce is final. They can still inherit unless you change your Will. What happens if I don’t have a Will at all? The intestacy rules decide everything. Your spouse may inherit most or all of your estate. Your children may not receive what you want them to. A Will puts you back in control. Can I stop my ex-partner from inheriting? Yes — but only by making a new Will and by taking specialist legal advice on how to minimise the risk of them bringing a claim for a share of your estate because of their status as a spouse, former spouse or dependant. Separation alone doesn’t remove a spouse or unmarried partner from your Will. What happens if we still own the house together? You can change how you own the jointly owned property (for example, from joint tenants to tenants in common). You don’t need your ex-partner’s permission to convert ownership from a joint tenancy to tenants in common. Can I protect my new partner? Yes. A Will is the only way to make sure an unmarried partner is provided for. Without one, they may receive nothing. If you are planning to remarry, you need to speak to a Will solicitor about how your second marriage will affect any existing Will. When should I update my Will? Now. The moment you separate, your old Will is out of date. You don’t need to wait for the divorce to be finalised to give Will instructions and protect your family. New priorities mean a new Will. Your Next Steps If you’re separating, you’re already feeling under pressure. Updating your Will shouldn’t add to that. It should make life feel safer. You should be proud that you are on top of your paperwork and protecting your family. At Evolve Family Law, our Will solicitors will get on with the job with the minimum of fuss and normally at a fixed fee. Here's the link to our fixed fee Will charges. Call us for the peace of mind you and your family deserve. BOOK YOUR WILL CONSULTATION NOW.

The estate planning and probate solicitors at Evolve Family Law see a lot of Wills; either writing a first Will, reviewing and updating Wills after a significant life event, or sorting out probate and administering the estate of someone who has passed away. Some of the Wills that we review and rewrite are DIY Wills. Executors named in home-made Wills ask us to sort out the estate administration and, in some situations, change the Will by preparing a deed of variation. Our experience advising on probate and home-made Wills helps us identify common problems with DIY Wills. Our North West Will and probate solicitors can help if you need assistance with reviewing a Will or with estate administration. Contact Evolve Family Law.  Why problems with DIY Wills are a problem The problem with DIY Wills is that you often don’t realise there is an issue with the Will until the Will maker has passed away. It is frustrating for probate lawyers tasked with helping the executors of the Will because the Will maker went to the trouble of making a Will and had no idea that their Will was invalid or did not do what they intended.   Problems with homemade Wills can lead to: The Will is invalid, and the estate is left to the beneficiaries named in an earlier Will. The Will is invalid, and if there was no earlier Will, the estate is inherited by family members in order of preference as set out in the intestacy rules.  The estate pays more in inheritance tax than it might have done if the Will-maker had taken estate planning advice. Family and friends who are disappointed with the contents of the Will feel more confident in challenging a DIY Will rather than one drawn up by a professional Will solicitor. A time-consuming exercise to prove that the DIY Will is valid. This can cost thousands more than the couple of hundred pounds that the testator saved by writing their own Will.  Family members being distressed by their lack of inclusion in a Will when the Will maker probably omitted them because of Will writing technicalities. For example, naming specific grandchildren in their Will and not updating the Will when a further grandchild was born or not naming a stepchild in the Will, as the testator assumed that referring to ‘their children’ sharing the estate would include a stepchild brought up by them as their own child, but not formally adopted. A reduction in the value of the estate because Will challenges can reduce the amount the beneficiaries receive. Additional stress for the bereaved. Will challenges can even result in long-term family estrangements if family members dispute whether the deceased had the capacity to make their Will, or argue that the Will did not make reasonable provision for them.  It taking longer to sort out the administration of the estate and pay the beneficiaries because court proceedings were needed to clarify what the testator meant in their Will or to resolve an inheritance dispute. The beneficiaries need to agree to a deed of variation to change a Will. This is only possible if the beneficiaries agree (or are all old enough to agree) and they are within the time limit.    [related_posts]   Common DIY Will problems Not all DIY Wills are problematic, but the top ten common DIY Will problems are: The Will was not witnessed correctly. The witness chosen by the testator should not have witnessed the Will. The Will terms are not clear. A later marriage revoked the Will. The Will maker left property in their Will that was not included in their estate, so the gift fails. The testator did not demonstrate they had the capacity to make the Will in circumstances where there was a realistic prospect that their capacity could be challenged or duress alleged. The testator did not fully understand the impact of divorce on their Will. The Will was too specific. For example, it included specific bank accounts that had been closed or property that had been sold by the date of the Will maker’s death. The testator did not make any substitute Will provisions, so their estate had to be distributed under the intestacy rules.   The Will did not say what would happen to the residuary estate.   The impact of DIY Will problems  Some home-made Will problems are minor inconveniences that can be put right at a modest cost, whilst others can render the Will invalid and worthless.  Here are some examples of how a common home-made Will can have unintended consequences: Incorrect signing – for a Will to be valid, it must be signed by the testator in the presence of two independent adult witnesses. The witnesses cannot sign the Will without having seen the Will writer execute their Will. Both witnesses must be present at the same time; one cannot sign the document later. Wrong witness – a beneficiary (or their husband, wife or civil partner) cannot witness the Will. If they do, the Will may still be valid, but the witness won't be allowed to inherit their legacy or share of the estate. Unclear clauses in the Will – the clause may have had an obvious meaning to the deceased, but the court may rule otherwise. For example, a bequest to ‘my friend, Jack.’ Later marriage – if the deceased got married after executing their Will, the effect of the marriage is to revoke the earlier Will unless the Will was specifically said to be made in contemplation of the marriage or civil partnership. Property not included in the estate – a Will maker may leave his share in the family home to his children in their Will. However, if the family home is owned as joint tenants with their spouse, the right of survivorship means the spouse automatically inherits the house, despite the terms of the Will.    Capacity to make a Will – where a deceased is in poor health, elderly or vulnerable, a Will solicitor will advise on the importance of evidencing their capacity to make the Will to reduce the risk of the Will being successfully challenged. The impact of divorce – a Will maker may not realise that their divorce means their former spouse is treated in law as having died before the testator and therefore will not receive a share of the estate. If the couple separated but did not divorce, the legacy remains valid. Too much detail- if an effort is made to provide detail, some DIY Wills are too specific. For example, leaving a property to a child rather than a percentage of the estate. If the property was sold before the testator died, the child will not be entitled to a share of the estate. No substitutes – Will solicitors try to include substitute clauses so there is an alternative beneficiary if the first choice cannot receive the legacy. Many homemade Wills do not include a substitute and are not regularly reviewed. Residuary estate – a DIY Will writer may think it is unnecessary to refer to the remainder of their estate. However, the residuary is often sizeable and will pass under the intestacy rules if the Will does not mention it. Will solicitors at Evolve Family Law  The private client lawyers at Evolve Family Law can help with: Reviewing a homemade Will.  Advising on a first Will. Assessing Will risks, such as capacity issues or the risk of a Will challenge. Estate planning and lifetime gifting. Wills made in contemplation of marriage or second marriage. Wills to protect unmarried partners. Wills to safeguard children and protect their interests. Will reviews after a divorce or a relationship breakdown.  Estate planning and Wills for small business owners. Probate services. Estate administration. Advising executors or potential claimants about claims on estates and Wills or inheritance disputes. Deeds of variation.   Our website includes cost information on the cost of a professionally drawn-up Will. In most situations, we can provide a Will for a fixed fee, offering cost certainty and peace of mind for a testator and their loved ones.   Contact Evolve Family Law to discuss how our private client solicitors can help you. 

In Brief According to the Office for National Statistics, there are nearly seven million people in cohabiting relationships. Cohabiting families now account for around 17% of relationships. Although unmarried relationships are growing in popularity, couples who have lived together do not have the same legal protections and rights under current law as couples who are married or in civil partnerships. Without clear or automatic rights, complex and protracted court proceedings may be necessary to resolve property disputes. The government intends to reform the law to give unmarried partners additional rights. However, until the law changes, cohabitants need to understand their family law rights if they separate from their partner. Contact Evolve Family Law.    Key Considerations for Unmarried Partners Living together does not confer the same legal rights as marriage or civil partnership. Cohabiting for an extended period does not make you a common law husband or wife. The law on cohabitation is based on property and trust law rather than needs or fairness. Using trust or property law, a cohabitant may be able to claim a share of their partner's property - even though they are not a joint owner. Legislation (called TOLATA) gives the court the power to order the sale or transfer of a property. Cohabitants cannot claim spousal maintenance for themselves or claim pension rights. The right to claim child support for children is the same, whether parents were married, in a civil partnership or living together. Cohabitants can sign a cohabitation agreement while living together to record how they want to split their property if they separate. Joint owners of property can sign a declaration of trust to record how the equity in their property will be shared if they separate. The right to spend parenting time with a child and apply for a child arrangement order is the same, whether parents are married, in a civil partnership or living together. What is a TOLATA Claim? The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) is the legislation that governs property ownership disputes. In TOLATA court proceedings, the judge can decide: Who is the legal owner/s of the property. Who has a beneficial or equitable interest in the property. The property shares that those with an interest in the property hold, normally expressed as a percentage of the net equity. Whether the property should be sold. Who is entitled to occupy the property. If a couple have children under 18, an application can also be made under the Children Act 1989 for housing provision while the child is a dependent or for a lump sum for child-related expenses. TOLATA focuses on property and trust law, whilst Children Act claims provide temporary housing provision and focus on the child’s welfare and needs. TOLATA Claims TOLATA claims can be used to resolve disputes between unmarried ex-partners where one ex-cohabitant seeks: A declaration to resolve property ownership. An order for sale. An order for deferred sale. The court will require detailed information where claims are brought by cohabitants whose names were not on the title deeds and who are claiming a beneficial interest, or where joint legal owners cannot agree on the extent of their legal ownership. In a TOLATA claim, the court will need to look at these issues: Did the couple sign a declaration of trust or a cohabitation agreement? In the absence of a declaration of trust or cohabitation agreement, what was the couple’s intention regarding property ownership and equity at the time of the property purchase or when one partner moved into the other partner’s property?   Who provided the house deposit and associated purchase costs, such as stamp duty? Who paid the mortgage?  Who paid for renovations to the property?  What evidence is there of discussions that took place or promises made over property ownership? What evidence is there of contributions made to a property in money's worth? For example, carrying out DIY renovations to a property. Each TOLATA claim is decided on the facts and the evidence a claimant and their ex-partner can produce. That’s why it is important to take specialist advice on the merits of a claim so former cohabitants can try to resolve their property dispute using mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution to avoid protracted court proceedings. Legal Advice for Cohabitants  Taking early family law advice can help cohabitants avoid expensive court disputes and protracted litigation. People in unmarried relationships should have: A cohabitation agreement. A Will. A Lasting Power of Attorney.    If you are ending a cohabiting relationship, you need: A separation agreement. A parenting plan.  A new Will and Lasting Power of Attorney.  Family lawyers and estate planning solicitors can draw these documents up for you.  [related_posts] Risks of not Documenting Your Cohabiting Relationship   The risks of not documenting your cohabiting relationship become apparent if you separate or if one partner becomes unwell or passes away.  The risks are: Without a cohabitation agreement, there could be a dispute over ownership of the family home. Non-owners whose names are not on the title deeds or mortgage can claim a beneficial interest in the property and either receive a share of the sale proceeds or have their partner buy out their interest in the house. If a separation agreement is not signed when cohabitants split up, there is a risk that a former cohabitant will return and try to claim additional monies. A parenting plan records the agreement reached on the split of parenting and contact time. Without a plan, disagreements can escalate, leading one parent to ask the court to make a child arrangement order.   If a cohabiting couple do not have Wills, neither of them will inherit from the other. The intestacy rules do not recognise cohabiting relationships. To claim a share of the estate, a cohabitant will have to bring an estate claim and assert that the intestacy rules do not make reasonable financial provision for them. If a cohabiting couple do not have Lasting Powers of Attorney and one of them loses capacity, the other partner has no legal right to deal with their financial affairs or make health and welfare decisions for them. Family Law Solicitors for Unmarried Partner Disputes At Evolve Family Law, our specialist team of family law solicitors in Cheshire and Manchester can help with: Cohabitation agreements.  TOLATA claims for unmarried partners. Schedule 1 Children Act 1989 claims. Parenting time disputes and child arrangement order applications. Child maintenance advice.  Parents wanting to relocate with their children (either overseas or within the UK) and relocation order applications. Wills for unmarried partners. Lasting Powers of Attorney for cohabitants. Claims against estates where a claimant maintains that their cohabitant’s Will or the intestacy rules did not make reasonable financial provision for them.    Contact Evolve Family Law for expert advice. 

In Brief Research from the Money and Pensions Service in 2025 revealed that 56% of UK adults aged 18 and over did not have a Will.  Will solicitors don’t know how many people with Wills need a new one because their current one no longer reflects their personal or financial circumstances. Whilst writing a Will is an excellent way to protect your loved ones, your Will needs to be updated if your family life evolves or your estate changes.   Our Will and estate planning lawyers can explain whether your Will needs updating and prepare a new Will for you. Contact Evolve Family Law For Help With a New Will.    Is a Will For Life? A Will can be for life, as Will solicitors always try to write a Will that is precise but not overly specific. With careful, expert drafting, a Will may not need to be reviewed or changed for several years. Examples of how an estate planning solicitor can give a Will longevity include: Not naming children or grandchildren if the Will maker wants all their children or grandchildren to inherit, and there is a possibility that more children will be born after the Will is signed. Substitute beneficiaries are included in case a beneficiary predeceases a Will maker, so the Will leaves the estate to alternate beneficiaries.  The use of discretionary trusts in Wills and the careful appointment of trustees. Despite the care taken by Will lawyers when drafting a first Will, sometimes estate planning solicitors recommend that a new Will be signed or a codicil prepared. The Difference Between a New Will And a Codicil The difference between a new Will and a codicil is that a new Will revokes any earlier Will, while a codicil does not do so because it is an addendum or add-on to the earlier Will.   A Will lawyer will carefully consider an existing Will and the extent of the changes required and recommend either a new Will or a codicil. Sometimes a new Will is essential when the changes are wide-ranging, or when a codicil might raise questions about its impact on the Will's provisions.  An example of when a codicil may be appropriate is when a Will maker wants to add a specific bequest—for example, leaving their engagement ring to their daughter. An example of when a new Will may be appropriate is when an estate has grown in size since the first Will was signed, and the testator wants to engage in estate planning to make their new Will as tax-efficient as possible. Reasons For a New Will  If your Will was a DIY Will, prepared by a non-specialist lawyer or signed some years ago, it's best to check if you need a new one.   Sometimes, people do not realise that their Will is no longer fit for purpose and needs a complete overhaul. That is because changes in personal or financial circumstances may not seem legally significant to you, but they can be. Reasons for a new Will include:  The executors of the Will have passed away, and there is no substitution of executor clause in the Will. The Will maker has married. The Will maker is in a new cohabiting or unmarried relationship.  The testator has separated from their wife, husband, civil partner or partner. The Will maker has children or grandchildren, and their existence was not contemplated, and they were not referred to in the original Will. There are stepchildren or step-grandchildren that the testator would like to leave a legacy to, and although the children and grandchildren were included as beneficiaries or substitute beneficiaries in the first Will, the wording does not include relatives by marriage.  Covering unforeseen events not anticipated in the first Will. For example, if the original Will did not say what would happen if one of the beneficiaries predeceased the testator.  Age of inheritance – a Will maker may want to change the age at which their beneficiaries can inherit. For example, increasing the age from 18 to 25, or expanding trustees' powers to advance some of the inheritance funds to underage beneficiaries to help pay for education fees or other specified expenses. Change in a beneficiary’s personal or financial circumstances. This could range from a beneficiary becoming bankrupt to winning the lottery, so the Will maker wants to adjust the legacies to them in the Will. A plan to reduce the risk of a Will challenge or estate claim. A new Will may help reduce the risk of estate claims by evidencing the testator's capacity to make the Will or by including measures to reduce the potential for dependency claims.   There are many other reasons a Will may need to be reviewed. It is best to seek legal advice every couple of years to ensure your Will still meets your needs and protects your family and loved ones.  [related_posts]   Changing a Will if a Beneficiary’s Circumstances Change You may think that a change in your beneficiary’s personal or financial circumstances is not relevant to your Will or estate planning. However, estate planning solicitors recommend that you consider whether to review your Will if your beneficiary: Gets married. Separates or divorces their spouse. Has children. Is made bankrupt. Receives lifetime gifts from you or another family member.   Shows that they are not good at managing their finances. Reviewing your Will does not necessarily mean you will reduce the size of the legacy left to a beneficiary. Amending the wording of a Will may provide your beneficiary with protections and help safeguard family money. There are several other situations in which a change in a beneficiary's financial or personal circumstances may justify amending your Will. If you are unsure about the benefits of updating your Will, contact a Will solicitor for advice.  Reasons for Changing Your Will if a Beneficiary’s Situation Changes  Here are several reasons and explanations for why you may want to change your Will because of a change in a beneficiary’s circumstances: A beneficiary’s change in relationship status. If a beneficiary lives with a partner or marries, you may want them to consider signing a cohabitation agreement or prenuptial agreement to help safeguard the money you are leaving them in your Will. You may be keen to keep your gift ‘in the family’ and avoid the possibility that an unmarried partner, or a husband or wife, could claim a share of the legacy if your beneficiary receives their inheritance and then separates. If a beneficiary is cohabiting and uses the legacy to pay off the mortgage on a property jointly owned with their partner, half of the legacy could be lost if the beneficiary separates from their partner. Equally, if a beneficiary marries without a prenuptial agreement, they could lose the money inherited from you if they divorce, as the legacy would not be ringfenced.   A beneficiary’s separation or divorce – if a beneficiary is going through a difficult separation or divorce, you may not want them to inherit a substantial legacy that could be the subject of a divorce claim. There are ways to change a Will, so your beneficiary can still receive a legacy or share of your estate while reducing the risk that the legacy will be partially inherited by their spouse.  A beneficiary has children -  if your beneficiary has children, you may want to change your Will to say that if your beneficiary predeceases you, their share of your estate will be inherited by their children. Alternatively, if your beneficiary is financially comfortable, you may prefer to leave your planned legacy to their children or in a discretionary trust. A beneficiary is made bankrupt – if your beneficiary inherits money during their bankruptcy, their trustee in bankruptcy will use the money to pay off debts. If a beneficiary is self-employed in a high-risk sector or is financially imprudent, there are measures you can take in an updated Will to protect the legacy and your beneficiary.  A beneficiary receives lifetime gifts from you or another family member – the lifetime gifts may have been made to reduce your estate’s liability to pay inheritance tax, or to help your beneficiary buy their first house, pay children’s school fees or to assist with their financial recovery after a separation or divorce.  Lifetime gifting to one beneficiary may require an update to the Will to reflect the lifetime gifts that one child or grandchild has received if fairness and equal financial provision are important to you. If further gifting is possible, careful Will drafting can achieve fairness without the need to keep changing the Will. A beneficiary is not good at managing their money – this situation may prompt a Will maker to question whether a beneficiary should receive the planned legacy or how to write the Will in a way that protects the beneficiary. There can be several ways a beneficiary may struggle with money, such as their young age, a love of spending, a vulnerability to gambling, a financially abusive spouse, an injury or a health condition. A Will can include a discretionary trust to protect a vulnerable beneficiary or one who could benefit from income or capital advances from trustees, rather than an outright inheritance. Alternatively, the testator may prefer to amend the Will to say that a beneficiary should inherit at age 30, rather than at age 18 or 21. Whatever a beneficiary’s circumstances, an expert Will solicitor can discuss your Will concerns and explain your options and create an updated Will that helps address your beneficiary’s change in circumstances. Contact Evolve Family Law for a New Will    Updating your Will is one of those chores that we sometimes put off, but it is best not to. If you are uncertain about whether your Will needs reviewing and updating, talk to one of our specialist Will lawyers for comprehensive and expert advice. Contact Evolve Family Law For Help With a New Will.  Frequently Asked Questions on Wills Do I need to know what I want to put in my Will before I see a Will solicitor?  It is helpful to have an idea of what you would like to put in your Will. However, many people make an appointment to see a Will lawyer without knowing exactly what they want to put in their Will and are receptive to advice on how to structure their Will to estate plan and minimise inheritance tax, protect young or vulnerable beneficiaries and how to create a Will that reduces the risk of a successful estate claim by a disappointed family member. Can I leave my estate to my preferred choice of beneficiaries? In England and Wales, there is no law requiring a testator to leave a specified percentage of their estate to their spouse or children. However, if you are married, in a civil partnership, or in a relationship akin to marriage for over two years, have children or other dependants, a claim could be made against your estate if it is asserted that the Will is invalid or does not make reasonable financial provision for a potential claimant. An estate planning lawyer can advise on how to reduce the risks of an inheritance claim.   What happens if I die without a Will? If you die without a valid Will, your estate is distributed to family members according to legislation. Who inherits your estate is set out in the intestacy rules. Non-biological family, such as unmarried partners or step-children, will not inherit under the intestacy rules. The rules can produce very unfair results and lead to court proceedings alleging that the intestacy rules do not make reasonable financial provision for a claimant. What happens if I do not update my Will? If your financial circumstances change, but you do not update your Will, your earlier Will remains valid. If you marry, your earlier Will is revoked unless the Will was made in contemplation of marriage. If you divorce after signing a Will, some provisions in your Will may no longer be effective.  It is best to talk to a Will solicitor about the impact of any change in financial or personal circumstances because if your Will is not up to date at the time of your death, there is an increased risk that a partner or family member will make an inheritance claim and allege that the Will does not make reasonable financial provision for them. What should I include in my Will? What is included in your Will is your decision, but it is usual to:  Appoint executors and trustees to administer your estate. Appoint a testamentary guardian if you have dependent children.  Give legacies or bequests to specified beneficiaries. Leave the residue of your estate, after debts are paid off, to a beneficiary (for example, your spouse) or a class of beneficiaries (such as all your children alive at the date of your death).   Create trusts.  A Will lawyer will advise on how to ensure that your Will reflects your wishes but is as generic as possible to reduce the need for regular Will updates. For example, by referring to the children alive at the date of your death rather than naming each child.  How will getting married or entering a civil partnership affect my Will? If you marry or enter a registered civil partnership, this automatically cancels your Will unless the Will specifically says that it was written in contemplation of your planned marriage. If you intend to marry, it is best to talk to a Will solicitor and a prenuptial agreement lawyer about a new Will and relationship agreement.  What is an executor? An executor is the person or organisation named in your Will as responsible for administering your estate.  This means obtaining probate, paying any debts and taxes, paying any specific legacies and distributing the remainder of your estate amongst your residuary beneficiaries. Executors can be held liable if they make a mistake, such as paying insufficient inheritance tax or paying the wrong amount to a beneficiary. This is one reason why Will makers often appoint their Will solicitor to be an executor of their Will. Alternatively, lay executors can instruct probate solicitors to handle the estate for them.  Can an executor of a Will be a beneficiary of the Will? An executor of a Will can be a beneficiary named in the Will. For example, it is usual for a spouse to be appointed as one of the executors and to be the sole or main beneficiary in a Will. Can an executor decline to act as an executor? It is best to ask your proposed executors whether they are willing to serve as executors and to update the Will if they are no longer able or suitable to act as executors. After a Will maker has passed away, an executor can request to be released from the role. Alternatively, they can ask a probate lawyer to administer the estate for them. This can help to reduce the administrative burden, risks, and stress that some executors struggle to cope with during a bereavement. What is the residuary estate? The residuary estate is the money that is left after your executors have: Paid the funeral expenses. Paid inheritance tax and any other outstanding tax due to HMRC. Paid any debts, such as a credit card bill or bank loan. Paid any monies outstanding because of the sale of assets, such as estate agent fees or conveyancing solicitors' costs. Paid any specific gifts to beneficiaries, such as a gift of £500 to each of the Will maker's grandchildren. Discharged the probate solicitors' bill for administering the estate. What is left is the residuary estate. Normally, this is the bulk of the estate unless the Will maker made large specific bequests. What is a mirror Will?   Some spouses, civil partners or unmarried couples choose to make mirror Wills. These are separate Wills, but the Wills mirror one another. In typical mirror Wills, the testator leaves their estate to the other partner, and the partner who dies last leaves their estate to their child, and, if more than one child, in equal shares. Are mirror Wills binding?  After a mirror Will has been signed, the Will maker can change their Will. They do not need to tell their partner that they have done so. After the first partner dies, the surviving Will maker can remarry or make a new Will leaving the entire estate to a new partner rather than to the children from their first marriage. Do I need a Will solicitor to write a Will? You can do a DIY Will or use a Will writer who is not a lawyer to write your Will for you. However, your Will may not say what you intended it to say or may not be as tax efficient or as watertight from the risks of a Will challenge. A Will lawyer at Evolve Family Law can explain our Will-writing services and the likely fixed costs and timescales. Contact Evolve Family Law For Help With a New Will. 

Any divorce is traumatic, but it can be particularly tough in a farming family as the farm is both the source of the family income and the family home. When you are trying to end your marriage and sort out the division of personal and business assets, it is especially important to choose a divorce solicitor with expertise in divorce in the farming community. Contact Evolve Family Law. Family farms and divorce Some people question why a divorce involving a family farm is different from any other type of divorce. Whilst every divorce is painful, one involving a family farm can be particularly complicated and emotive. Often, the farm has been in the family for generations. There is, therefore, a great sentimental attachment to the farmhouse and land. Not only that, the farm is normally both the family home and the source of income for the entire family, including extended family members such as grandparents and adult children. Adding to the complexities, the farm, or part of the land, may be owned by the older generation, or one spouse’s parents may receive income from farm profits to provide a pension after they transferred ownership of the family farm to a son or daughter. A divorce lawyer at Evolve Family Law can advise on the financial complexities of divorce involving a farm, explain your options, and help you negotiate and agree on a fair divorce financial settlement. If that is impossible, we can expertly represent you in a court application for a financial court order and present your case for why you need the order you are seeking. Prenuptial agreements and farms In an ideal world, a farming family will take private client advice before handing over ownership of the family farm to a son or daughter. Often, a farming family is told by an estate-planning solicitor that it is tax-efficient to transfer ownership of the farm to the younger generation to minimise inheritance tax. That is all very well, but unless specialist family legal advice is sought, the family may be reducing the risk of paying a large inheritance tax bill while exposing the family farm to divorce claims, because they did not receive advice on the benefits of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Is a farm a family asset whose value will be shared? Some farming families believe that if the family farm has been gifted or inherited, it will automatically be protected or ring-fenced from any financial claims arising on divorce. That is not necessarily the case. Divorce financial claims can be made against the assets even if an asset is: Owned in the sole name of one spouse, and Was owned by the spouse before the marriage, and It has been in family ownership for a long time. When a couple gets divorced, all the assets they own, individually or jointly, are considered by divorce solicitors when negotiating a financial settlement or by the court when making a financial order. The court's decision will depend on whether the asset is classified as a family or matrimonial asset, or a non-family or non-matrimonial asset. If a husband and wife cannot agree on whether an asset is a family asset or not, the court will decide. If an asset is classified as a family asset, the court will treat its value as potentially divisible between the husband and wife. Alternatively, its value can be offset against other assets, such as land, investments, or pensions. If land or property is classed as a non-family asset belonging to one spouse, the court will not share the non-matrimonial asset between the husband and wife unless the non-owning spouse’s and the children’s needs are such that they can not be met from them sharing all the family assets, including where needs are not met from one spouse getting 100% of all the family assets and the other spouse retaining their asset that has been held to be a non-matrimonial asset, such as a farm business. Will a prenuptial agreement make a family farm a non-matrimonial asset? If a family own a farm and wants to leave it as a legacy or gift to a son or daughter, the best option to protect the family farm from divorce claims is to sign a prenuptial agreement before the marriage. Although a prenuptial agreement can try to ring-fence the family farm from any financial claims in divorce, whether it will work fully depends on the family's needs at the time of the divorce and the availability of other assets to meet those claims. In any family situation involving a family farm, divorce solicitors recommend seeking legal advice on the benefits and potential disadvantages of a gift or transfer before the farm is transferred to a son or daughter. Advice can then be taken on the option of a prenuptial agreement or, if they are already married, a post-nuptial agreement. Divorce and the family farm If you are getting divorced and one of you owns a family farm, then both husband and wife should take expert legal advice from specialist divorce and family finance solicitors. The farm owner likely wants to keep the farm, while the spouse who does not own it wants it sold to raise money to buy a house to rehome them. There may be mention of the land’s increased value if farm buildings or land could potentially get outline planning permission, so it can be developed for housing or even get planning permission for a new town. Valuing a family farm in divorce proceedings In any divorce and financial proceedings, assets need to be valued. That applies just as much when the asset is a family farm. A specialist valuation will be needed to look at the value of the farm and land, as well as any ‘’hope’’ value in relation to planning permission and development opportunities or the sale of part of the acreage. In addition, the value of the farm asset will depend on the income generated and the value of the agricultural land. [related_posts] Selling part of a farm to fund a divorce financial settlement  If a farm is owned in the sole name of a husband or wife (rather than ownership being shared with parents and siblings), then it may be possible to sell part of the land or a farm building or to raise capital by mortgage to meet a husband or wife’s divorce financial claims. When it comes to a family farm and divorce, the court may view the farm as a non-matrimonial asset and therefore will not order that its value be shared equally between the husband and wife. However, the bottom line is that a husband or wife may get an award that affects the family farm if it is the only way that their housing and other needs can be met. Choosing Evolve Family Law When a divorce solicitor is giving legal advice to either a farmer or their spouse, the aim is to achieve a financial solution that provides a home for the husband, wife, and children, and, ideally, does not affect the continued viability of the working farm. This can require creative resolutions to secure the family farm for future generations. At Evolve Family Law, our specialist divorce lawyers are experienced in advising on prenuptial agreements and farms and on reaching divorce financial settlements where there is an owned or tenant farm and a creative divorce settlement is required to preserve the farm whilst also meeting the family's need for rehousing and income. Contact Evolve Family Law.

When you have suffered a bereavement, it can be hard to navigate the steps you need to take to sort out a loved one's estate. In this article, our probate solicitors outline what a grant of probate is and explain whether you will need to obtain probate. Get in Touch With us Today for Estate Administration Advice. What is probate? Probate is the legal process of proving that a Will is valid. Probate gives the executors of the Will the authority to administer the deceased's estate. It is best to speak to a probate lawyer about probate, as the executors named in the Will can only normally access funds to pay debts, transfer or sell assets or distribute the estate in accordance with the Will after the grant of probate has been obtained. What is a grant of probate? A grant of probate is the legal document that gives the executor of a Will the legal authority to act. Without the grant of probate, third parties, such as banks, the land registry or financial institutions, will not act on the instructions of the executor of the Will. The grant of probate gives third parties the official evidence they need to prove that the deceased has died and that the person contacting them is the authorised executor or administrator of the estate. Intestacy and letters of administration If a deceased dies without making a Will, it is called dying intestate. Instead of applying for probate, the administrators of the deceased’s estate apply for letters of administration, in a similar process to a grant of probate. Executors and probate The executors named in the Will are responsible for gathering in the estate, paying any debts or taxes and then distributing the estate to the intended beneficiaries. Most executors don’t deal with the probate personally but instead instruct a probate solicitor to deal with the legal work for them, with them retaining overall control of the administration by giving instructions to the solicitor. If the deceased died without making a Will, the intestacy rules specify who can administer the estate and who will receive it. The administrator has a role similar to that of an executor. How to apply for a grant of probate Usually, the process of obtaining a grant of probate and administering the estate involves: The executor, or the probate solicitor instructed by them, obtains information about the assets and any debts. The grant of representation is applied for. An inheritance tax form is completed and, if necessary, any IHT is paid. The grant of probate is received. The assets of the estate are gathered in. For example, shares or the family home are sold. Any debts payable by the estate are discharged. For example, outstanding utility bills on the family home. The estate is distributed in accordance with the Will or intestacy rules. The probate lawyer prepares estate accounts to show the monies and assets received, debts and taxes paid and how the estate was distributed. When probate is complicated Some grants of probate are straightforward, but others can be complicated. Examples of potentially complex probates include: If the named executors in the Will do not get on with one another. If the beneficiaries named in the Will are likely to challenge the speed or work of the executors in securing the grant of probate and distributing the estate. If the validity of the Will is challenged. If there is a dispute over the Will and questions over whether the deceased made fair financial provision for a dependant. If there are likely to be complicated inheritance tax or capital gains tax issues. The size of the estate or the nature of the assets. For example, where the estate consists of a large buy-to-let property portfolio or overseas assets, such as a holiday home. The beneficiaries want to change the estate distribution by making a deed of variation. [related_posts] Who pays for probate? Some people think that if they are named as an executor in a Will, they must personally obtain the grant of probate. That isn’t normally the case, as an executor can choose to instruct a probate solicitor. The estate pays the costs of instructing a solicitor before it is distributed to the beneficiaries. The probate solicitors’ cost will depend on the size and complexity of the estate. Evolve Family Law believes it is very important that fees are transparent, and we publish a price guide. For a bespoke quote, please call us so we can review the work you would like us to do. Is a grant of probate necessary? In some family situations, an executor, a loved one or a beneficiary will question whether a grant of probate is necessary. In situations where the estate is very small, a grant of probate may not be necessary. The requirement for probate does not depend on whether there is a Will or whether a husband or wife is inheriting the entire estate. Instead, the requirement for probate depends on the size and nature of the estate's assets. If there is a property to sell, a grant of probate will always be required. If you aren’t sure whether a grant of probate will be needed or not, our Manchester and Cheshire probate solicitors are always happy to advise you on whether a grant of probate is needed and, if so, the likely probate solicitors’ fees for securing probate for the estate. Get in Touch With us Today for Estate Administration Advice.