separation agreement

If you are coming out of an unmarried relationship and you have dependent children it is important to understand your legal rights and potential claims against your ex-partner. Do not assume that you or your former partner has no rights because you did not get married and you did not enter a civil partnership. The law distinguishes between former cohabiting couples with dependent children and those without children or those who have adult children. In this blog, our family law solicitors focus on the rights and claims of ex-cohabitees with dependent children. For expert advice call our team of family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Your potential claims as a separated unmarried parent As a separated unmarried parent, you can claim: Child support Top up child support if the Child Maintenance Service has made a maximum assessment School fees if private education is affordable and thought to be in your child’s best interests Extra costs of looking after a child with a disability Lump sum payments if money is needed for specific items for your child Help with housing whilst your child is dependent on you Your rights as a former cohabitee are far more limited than if you were married or in a civil partnership. For example, you cannot claim spousal maintenance for yourself or claim a share of your partner’s pension or business. As an unmarried partner, you cannot claim a share of the equity in the family home unless you are a joint legal owner or, if the property is owned in your former partner’s sole name, you may be able to claim a beneficial interest in it because of the contributions made by you to the property or under property or trust principles. A separated parent with dependent children has more potential claims than an unmarried partner with no children or children who are now adults. However, even if you have children, you cannot make claims for child support unless you are the child’s main carer. If care is shared equally child support is not payable even if one parent earns substantially less than the other parent. Housing claims when you are an unmarried parent An unmarried parent can choose to bring a property claim (arguing that they are entitled to a share in the equity in the family home even though the property is legally owned by their ex-partner). This type of claim is made under the Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. Alternatively, or in addition, an unmarried parent can bring what is referred to as a Schedule 1 claim for housing for their child. If you succeed in proving that you have a beneficial interest in a property the share of the equity you are awarded by the court is yours to keep if the family home is sold. The court can order the sale of the property to help realise your money if your ex-cohabitee cannot or will not agree to the sale of the property or if they cannot raise the money to pay you your share of the equity by taking out a mortgage on the property. If you bring a Schedule 1 claim you are asking the court to order that housing be provided for your child. The equity in any property provided as accommodation belongs to your ex-partner. You and your child only have a right to live in the property until a specified date. That is normally when your youngest child reaches 18 or moves out of the property. A Schedule 1 claim therefore does not provide you with a long-term housing solution but, depending on the age of your child, could provide you and your child with mortgage or rent-free accommodation for several years. [related_posts] Schedule 1 applications An unmarried parent can claim Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 asking the court to make financial provision for their child or children. The court will assess the needs of the child. This is a different approach to a divorce financial settlement where a divorce judge considers a range of factors, including the reasonable needs of the husband and wife. Generally, any financial child support made under Schedule 1 will last only until a child is 18. If the court makes an order for the provision of a home this is called a settlement of property or transfer of property. The property could be the former family home or a different property, to be purchased by your ex-partner, but ordered to be used to accommodate your child and you until your child reaches a specified age. The court could also make a lump sum order under Schedule 1 to furnish the property to meet the needs of your child. Navigating unmarried partner claims It can be hard to work out if your best route is to make a property claim or a claim under Schedule 1 or both. Our experienced family law solicitors can help you work out the route that is best in your circumstances. For expert advice call our team of family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

The decision to separate and start divorce proceedings or end a civil partnership is a difficult one for any couple. If you are an LGBTQIA+ couple there are particular challenges when separating or getting divorced. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Choosing the right family lawyer Your family lawyer needs empathy and to understand the challenges you have faced as an LGBTQIA+ couple and during your separation as well as your concerns and fears. Being a red-hot family lawyer is a necessity and having a good sense of humour and ‘getting you’ and what you are going through is a real advantage. At Evolve Family Law we encourage all our potential clients to give us a call to see how we can help you. We are all specialists in family and private client law and pride ourselves on our friendly approach to advising on LGBTQIA+ separation and divorce. LGBTQIA+ separation If you are separating from your partner finding somewhere else to live may be a challenge for you. It may not be possible or comfortable for you to camp out with mum or dad and all your friends may be mutual ones, loath to take sides. Finding somewhere to rent may be tough on a single salary, especially in an area where you feel safe. You may want to stay at the family home but are unsure if you can take the mortgage over in your name. Alternatively, your ex may have kicked you out and won't let you return to live at the property. You may be wary about anyone believing that you have been subject to domestic abuse if it was psychological, financial or involved coercive control. Our family lawyers can advise you about your rights to stay in the family home, interim spousal maintenance (if you are married or in a civil partnership), and injunction remedies if you were subjected to domestic abuse in your relationship. LGBTQIA+ divorce    With the introduction of no-fault divorce ending a civil partnership or getting divorced has got that bit easier as you no longer have to have been separated for at least 2 years and nor do you have to come up with ways in which your spouse has behaved unreasonably before you can start divorce proceedings. Our divorce solicitors can either start the divorce proceedings for you as the sole divorce applicant or, if it is an amicable separation, we can act for both of you and file a joint divorce application. LGBTQIA+ parenting    Whilst children are the priority in every relationship, it is often the case that if you are an LGBTQIA+ couple you may have had a hard journey to parenthood with IVF, surrogacy or adoption struggles. The preciousness of your children can make it hard to accept that parenting after separation should be shared, especially if one of you is the biological parent or the one who pushed to have children. If only one of you is biologically related to your child, then this is a sensitive issue but our family lawyers can help you understand who has parental responsibility for your child. If your child was born while you were in a civil partnership or marriage you will both have parental responsibility. In other scenarios, you may both have parental responsibility through a surrogacy parental order, adoption order, or parental responsibility order. Our family solicitors can advise if you both have parental responsibility and the implications if one of you doesn’t have parental responsibility. It does not mean you have no redress as you can apply to the family court for permission to apply for a child arrangement order so you can secure a contact order or an order that the child lives with you. You may also have the complexity of children from previous relationships. Your ex-partner may want to maintain an ongoing relationship with their stepchildren whilst you think that the child is busy enough splitting their time between you and their other biological parent. Again, there are legal solutions if you are not able to reach a parenting agreement. At Evolve Family Law we specialise in children law and can advise on parenting plans to help you reach an agreement on residence and contact. If you cannot reach an agreement with your ex-partner, we can help you apply for or respond to a child arrangement order application. LGBTQIA+ financial settlements after separation.     Whatever the nature of your relationship you both need a fair financial settlement after you split up. If you are married or in a civil partnership you have more family law rights than if you are in an unmarried relationship. For example, if you are in a cohabiting relationship, you have no right to spousal maintenance or a pension sharing order, and your claims on the family home or family business are limited to property law rights or business law rights. However, if you are a cohabitee or former cohabitee you may still have a property claim on the family home even if it is owned in the sole name of your former partner. If you are married or in a civil partnership the law on how assets are divided is based on need rather than the strict application of property or corporate law. The legal position and your options may be different again if you are caring for a dependent child. Our financial settlement solicitors can talk through your situation and what you want and need to achieve from your financial settlement. We can then negotiate hard to get you a fair financial settlement or, where necessary, apply to the family court to get you a court order that reflects your rights as a husband, wife, civil partner or former cohabitee. [related_posts] LGBTQIA+ Wills and private client advice LGBTQIA+ couples who are not married don’t always realise the importance of Wills whilst they are in a relationship. It is equally important, if you are married, in a civil partnership or former cohabitees, that you review your Will and Lasting Power of Attorney when you are separating from your partner. For expert advice on LGBTQIA+ separation and divorce call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

As North West divorce and family finance solicitors, we are often asked the question ‘’should I sign a separation agreement?’’ The stock answer is ‘’that it all depends’’. However, our answer hinges on your plans and the specifics of your separation agreement. For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form. Should I Sign a Separation Agreement or Get Divorced? In many family situations, a husband or wife will suggest the signing of a separation agreement as they want to split up and divide their property and assets but they do not think that they have the grounds to start divorce proceedings. There is still a common misconception that to start divorce proceedings you or your husband or wife need to be at fault in some way or you need to have been separated for at least 2 years. The introduction of no-fault divorce proceedings in England means you no longer need to explain why you want to get divorced and you do not have to have been separated for a minimum period before you can apply for a divorce. Under the new no-fault divorce proceedings process an application may be made jointly by a couple or individually by a husband or wife. The process to obtain your final order of divorce is similar whether you apply as a couple or as an individual. Although you may now be able to apply for a no-fault divorce there may be reasons why you do not want to get divorced. For example, you may not want to do so for religious reasons. If your spouse wants to apply for a divorce then you have very limited grounds to object because of the rules surrounding no-fault divorce. Talk to a Family Law Solicitor.   Talk to a family law solicitor before you sign a separation agreement or decide to start divorce proceedings as it is best to take advice on whether a separation agreement or divorce proceedings and a financial court order are in your best interests. In most family situations you do not need a separation agreement and a divorce and financial court order because the financial court order will deal with everything that goes into the separation agreement. However, there are some situations where you may need both. For example, if you have separated from your spouse and agreed to a sale of the family home but you have found a buyer before you can obtain a conditional order of divorce and a financial court order by consent. [related_posts] Why is a Financial Court Order Preferable to a Separation Agreement? Divorce solicitors often think a financial court order is preferable to a separation agreement because: A financial court order is legally binding. It cannot be changed (save for maintenance orders) unless there was fraud, misrepresentation or non-disclosure A separation agreement is not legally binding but it will carry a lot of weight if either spouse subsequently decides to start divorce proceedings and make a financial claim that is not consistent with what was put into the separation agreement Although you can agree to share pensions in a separation agreement the pension share cannot be implemented by the pension administrator until a pension sharing order has been made by a court in divorce proceedings and the final order of divorce has been obtained If you intend to get divorced but you want to sign a separation agreement first then you will incur separation agreement legal fees and later spend more on legal costs in sorting out your divorce and getting a financial court order. The separation agreement costs can be avoided altogether if you know you want a divorce as you can start no-fault divorce proceedings It is not all just about the legal fees; instructing a North West divorce solicitor to prepare a separation agreement and to later start divorce and financial court order proceedings is potentially more stressful than instructing your divorce lawyer to sort out the divorce and financial court order When Should You Sign a Separation Agreement?  A separation agreement may be a good option for you if you have no plans to get divorced for religious or other reasons. You should only sign a separation agreement after there has been financial disclosure so you can make informed choices about what goes into the agreement. You should also only sign a separation agreement after you have taken advice from a family law solicitor on the contents. Although separation agreements are not legally binding on the court, they do carry a great deal of weight if either a husband or wife brings a financial claim in later divorce proceedings. You should therefore only sign a separation agreement if you intend to be bound by it. How Can Evolve Family Law Help You. Our family law and divorce solicitors can help you with: Advice on whether you need a separation agreement and the contents No-fault divorce proceedings Financial court orders by agreement after direct discussions or after family mediation Financial court order applications if you are not able to reach a financial agreement Children law orders if you cannot reach an agreement on residence or contact arrangements for your children Converting your existing separation agreement into a financial court order Amicable divorce – one lawyer divorce service Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney if you have separated or you are starting divorce proceedings Our divorce solicitors will provide expert advice tailored to your personal and financial circumstances. For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.

When you are going through a separation or divorce you need to know what you are likely to end up with as your divorce financial settlement. Without that information, or at least a broad idea of what you might reasonably expect to get, you may find the whole process of separating and getting divorced that much more traumatic. In this blog, our family law solicitors answer your questions on whether you will get half in a divorce financial settlement and explain why some people may end up with more or less than half. For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form. Does everyone get half the assets when they divorce? There is no guarantee that you will get half the assets when you divorce. You may get less than half or you may get more than half. Every family is different and although the court starts from the premise that assets should be shared equally there are many reasons why a financial court order might be made that does not equally divide the assets and money equally between husband and wife. Who decides if you get half the assets? In an ideal world, you will reach a financial agreement with your separated husband or wife after having spoken to a family law solicitor or you will ask the solicitor to negotiate an agreement for you. Another alternative is to go to family mediation and reach an agreement in mediation. If you reach an agreement your financial settlement then needs to be converted into an agreed financial court order as part of the no-fault divorce proceedings. If it is impossible to reach an agreement with your ex-spouse then either you or they can apply to the family court for a financial settlement. After financial disclosure and a series of court directions hearings, a final hearing will take place where the judge will hear evidence from each of you. The court will then make a binding financial court order. The court will decide what percentage of the assets you will get based on statutory criteria and case law. As well as deciding whether you will get half the value of the family assets the court can decide if the family home should be sold or if you should get to keep the house but not get to receive a share of your spouse’s pension or the value of their investments or shares in the family business. There are normally many different ways in which a judge can split assets equally between husband and wife. Who works out what half is in a divorce financial settlement? Your husband or wife may tell you that they want to keep things amicable and split the money and property equally but to do that fairly you may need assets to be independently valued.  For example, if your spouse says that you can keep the family home you need to know how much equity there is in the property if your spouse’s financial proposals are based on them keeping their pension or their shares in the family business. You will also need to know the true value of your spouse’s pension fund or the value of the family business. To get an accurate valuation of assets you may need to instruct a surveyor, pension actuary or forensic accountant to carry out valuations. If assets are not accurately valued then you may not end up with half unless your agreement says every single asset will be sold and the money divided equally rather than some assets being retained by one of you as part of the negotiated deal or financial court order. [related_posts] Could I get more than half the property and assets? There are some scenarios where you could receive more than half the money and property as your divorce financial settlement. For example: If you signed a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement that said you would get to keep more of the assets and the court thought it was fair to uphold the prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement in its entirety or partially You owned a house or pension or family business before your marriage, the marriage is relatively short and your spouse can have their reasonable needs met without having to share all or some of your pre-marriage owned assets You agree to receive more than half the assets but the deal is that you do not get ongoing spousal maintenance as your spouse is getting less than their half share of the property or other assets You are the main carer of the children and you need more than 50% of the total asset pot to buy a new home for the children taking into account your reasonable housing needs and your mortgage capacity Your spouse received an inheritance during the marriage and their housing or other needs can be met by using this inheritance whilst you need more than half of the family assets to meet your needs Should I argue that I want half the assets as my divorce financial settlement? A family law solicitor will tell you if you have a good case to get half or more than half the family assets as your divorce financial settlement. You can then decide whether it is worth the time and the potential legal fees of going to court and asking a judge to make a financial court order in your favour if your spouse will not agree to your requested financial settlement. You may decide that it is best to compromise and reach a negotiated financial settlement or come to the view that as your estranged spouse is being so unreasonable about financial disclosure and the financial settlement that you have no alternative to ask the court to order that you get half the assets as your divorce financial settlement. Your best option is to talk to a family law solicitor so you understand your rights and options to help you reach a fair divorce financial settlement. For expert family law advice call our team for an appointment or complete our online enquiry form.

Planning Together for Children is the name of a course run by the organisation CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support) for separated or divorced parents.    In this blog, our children law solicitors look at the Planning Together for Children course and explain your options if you are a separated parent struggling to reach an agreement with your ex-partner on post-separation parenting arrangements for your children.  For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.   Planning Together for Children has replaced the Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP) If your friends have told you that after they separated from their spouse, they went on a SPIP (or Separated Parents Information Programme) then you need to be aware that the Planning Together for Children has replaced the SPIP.  Can you use the Planning Together for Children resource? Access to the Planning Together for Children resource is limited to those parents and carers who are ordered by a family court judge to attend the course or who are referred to the course by a Family Court Advisor in children law court proceedings.  You therefore cannot access the online E-learning resources or attend the Parenting Together for Children workshop if you are a separated parent who is looking for information to help you reach an agreement about the parenting arrangements for your children. Nor can you use the resource if you are struggling with sharing parenting responsibilities with your ex-partner but neither of you has applied to the court for a child arrangement order, prohibited steps order, specific issue order or relocation order.  Options if you cannot use the Planning Together for Children resource If you want help in parenting together after separation there are a lot of useful books and online resources. If you need help with family dynamics speaking to a family therapist or counsellor may help as they may be able to assist you both in understanding the priorities of the other parent and help you focus on the best interests of your child when reaching a compromise about shared care, contact arrangements or parenting styles.  If you are struggling to reach an agreement about parenting after a separation or divorce you may not need to apply to court for a child arrangement order as you may be able to reach an agreement through:  Solicitor round table meeting  Solicitor negotiations  Family mediation   Once you have reached an agreement it is a good idea to record what you have agreed in a parenting plan. These types of plans need to be reviewed as your child grows up or circumstances change. For example, if your child wants to go to football sessions on a Saturday or ballet on a Wednesday after school or if one parent has to move house out of the area because of a job move.  You might also be interested in:   [related_posts] A Planning Together for Children referral If you are ordered by a judge to attend the Planning Together for Children course or a Family Court Advisor makes a request to the court for a referral there is no charge for accessing the online resources or going to the workshop.  Whilst you may not be a fan of e-learning or workshops it is important to try and get as much as possible from the course to give you the best shot possible of reaching an agreement with your ex-partner or being able to tell the family judge that you did so.  If you do not go to a Planning Together for Children course when ordered to do so by a judge the court may reorder your attendance on the course. This may delay your court application. Any delay or refusal to attend may make it less likely that the court will make the type of child arrangement order you are seeking.  What does the Planning Together for Children course cover? The e-learning section of the course will look at matters such as:   What happens if you go ahead with the child arrangement order or specific issue order court application?   How a separation and how you handle the separation can affect your child   Conflict and its impact on your child     Looking at the family situation from your child’s perspective   Supportive co-parenting – what it is and how it works   Communication skills to help you listen to your child and co-parent    Once the e-learning section is completed you move on to a workshop. This will normally take place online. Although the workshop is normally held online there are never more than 6 parents in a workshop group. Your ex-partner will not be in the same workshop as you.  The workshop focuses on the negative impact of parental conflict on children, how best to manage conflict and how to improve communication with your child and ex-partner so you can effectively co-parent.  The course will encourage you to discuss and agree on a parenting plan for your child to set out the residence, contact and other important care details for your child to avoid the need for you or your ex-partner to go ahead with your child arrangement order application.  How can Evolve Family Law help you? At Evolve Family Law all our family law solicitors are committed to resolving parenting disputes outside of court wherever possible. For example, through providing legal support during family mediation or helping you negotiate a parenting plan. Reaching an agreement is not always possible. For example, if you fear child abduction as your ex-partner has threatened to take your child overseas or if your ex-spouse is displaying alienating behaviour and refusing to let you see your child, or if you are concerned about contact arrangement because of a history of domestic violence.  Our family law solicitors will listen carefully to your needs and priorities and help you secure the agreement or court order you need for your children.   For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.