Divorce

Getting divorced with neurodiversity or divorcing a spouse with neurodiversity brings special challenges. With one in seven people in the UK diagnosed as being neurodiverse, neurodiversity is something that our family law solicitors have experience in when helping couples get divorced and when reaching financial settlements and parenting arrangements. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Is neurodiversity relevant to your divorce? Nowadays couples in England can get a no-fault divorce. There is no need to blame your husband or wife for the marriage breakdown and certainly no need to list examples of your spouse’s unreasonable behaviour in the divorce application.  Although no-fault divorce proceedings try to take the conflict out of the divorce process, divorce is still a stressful and emotional experience for anyone going through it. Some quickie online divorce websites will minimise that aspect of the divorce by telling you that a no-fault divorce means you don’t need to go to a court hearing to get your final order of divorce. That’s true but it is also equally true that divorce can be a very hurtful experience, whether you are neurodiverse or not. If the reason you are splitting up is down to your neurodiversity, or your partners, it is worth looking at whether couple or individual counselling would help you. Individual counselling can help a neurodiverse person but it can help their partner learn to come to terms with their spouse’s diagnosis and how neurodiversity affects them or how to find coping strategies. If you decide that you want to go ahead with your separation and divorce then a spouse’s neurodiversity may also have an impact on any financial settlement negotiations or parenting arrangements. That’s why it is best to be upfront with your family law solicitor and tell them about the diagnosis of neurodiversity and how it affects family life. Without that information, your family law solicitor may not understand why negotiations are not working or why you are not prepared to agree to a financial settlement or proposed parenting arrangement. How does neurodiversity affect family law negotiations and proceedings? Neurodiversity is a wide-ranging concept covering conditions such as ADHD, being on the autistic spectrum, dyslexia or having OCD.  All these conditions affect people differently.  For example, a parent with OCD may have a cleaning compulsion that was effectively managed whilst the family lived together in order to reduce the impact on the children but the other parent is now concerned about the neurodiverse parent having overnight contact and the child becoming increasingly involved in the parent’s cleaning rituals. The concern of the non-neurodiverse parent may be shared by the neurodiverse parent but their separation has led to a breakdown in communication or a willingness to find a solution that allows both parents to enjoy spending time with their child.   For example, a wife with ADHD may be anxious about going to family mediation as she thinks that she will be overwhelmed by the length of the session and unable to cope. For example, a husband may be embarrassed to mention his severe dyslexia meaning his family law solicitors don’t realise that he is struggling to digest all the paperwork they have sent him to review or why he is so worried about his ability to get another job following a redundancy. Does the family court take neurodiversity into account? If it is relevant, the court will take neurodiversity into account in either child arrangement order applications or in financial settlement court proceedings.  Take the example of a parent with OCD. If their cleaning compulsion extends to cleaning their hands with bleach then there could be a concern about the parent’s ability to care for their child during contact, especially if the parent’s hand cleaning compulsion extends to the child. That doesn’t mean that the court will say that there should be no contact but they will look at ways that the relationship between parent and child can thrive whilst keeping the child safe from any accidental physical or emotional harm. In financial settlement proceedings, a spouse’s ADHD may need to be considered when deciding on the appropriate financial court order to make. For example, the diagnosis of ADHD and how the condition affects the husband or wife may affect their earnings capacity and the need for a spousal maintenance order. The court can consider the impact of ADHD on the one spouse because the court makes financial court orders after assessing several criteria, including the needs of both parties to the marriage, their health and respective earnings capacities. Next steps If you want to find out more about how our family law solicitors can support you through your separation and divorce, we offer a fixed fee initial consultation. In this first meeting, we can discuss the legal and practical aspects of your separation and assess the best way forward for you. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

As divorce solicitors, we are sometimes told by a husband or wife that there is a property deed of trust that sorts out ownership of the family home. The relevance of a deed of trust in relationship breakdown and divorce can be a bit complicated. Our divorce solicitors can advise you if you are a husband or wife looking for financial settlement advice or if you are a parent who contributed towards the deposit on your child’s family home but the child is now separating or getting divorced. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Who owns the family home? A divorce solicitor can check who legally owns the family home by obtaining what are called office copy entries from the land registry. The office copy entries say who is the legal owner of the family home. Ownership could be sole or joint.  When a property is jointly owned the owners could be the husband and wife as joint tenants or tenants in common or they could have agreed to a parent being a co-owner if the parent or parents helped with the deposit. In some cases, joint owners will enter a deed of trust to set out how the property is owned and how the net proceeds of the sale will be split if the family home is sold. In other cases, ownership of the family home is a bit more complicated. The legal owners could be the husband and wife but: A father or mother lent money towards the house deposit or paid for renovations and protected the borrowing with a loan agreement or A father or mother agreed that their child and spouse would be the legal owners of the property but they would have a beneficial interest in the property to reflect their deposit contribution, protected by a deed of trust Are you in an unmarried relationship or married? If a couple has a deed of trust that sets out the legal or beneficial ownership of the family home between them then the status of the deed of trust on relationship breakdown depends on whether they are living together in a cohabiting relationship or married. If you are unmarried If the couple is in an unmarried relationship the deed of trust is very important as the court will decide property ownership using property laws rather than assessing the needs of the husband or wife or considering fairness.  If you are unmarried but have a dependent child you may be able to make a claim for housing under the Children Act 1989 but that type of claim does not give you extra property rights over the family home. If you are married If the couple is married the court will look at a range of factors to decide on an appropriate financial settlement and financial court order.  The court has the power to order the sale or transfer of the family home despite the terms of the deed of trust. The court will make its decision after assessing the factors contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act. These include the needs of any children as well as both parties’ housing and other needs and their ages, health and financial and other contributions.  If you are married, the relevance of your deed of trust will depend on factors such as:  Did you sign the deed of trust before you got married and has a lot changed since then? For example, the arrival of children or a 20-year marriage  Did you sign a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement? Is the agreement consistent with the deed? Did you both get advice and provide financial disclosure when you entered the prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement? If so, the family court will start from the premise that the agreement should be upheld in full if the terms of the agreement are fair Was the home owned by one of you before the relationship started? For example, was it inherited? This may be relevant in a short marriage without children  What are your respective needs and can they be met whilst respecting the contents of the deed of trust? [related_posts] If parents entered a deed of trust If parents or in-laws entered a deed of trust as joint legal or joint beneficial owners of the family home as they contributed toward the deposit they can ask to be joined as parties to a financial court application between a husband and wife. They are called intervenors in the financial settlement application. Parents may not need to intervene in the financial court application between their son or daughter and their spouse if the married couple agrees that the parents are entitled to what is said in the deed of trust. The divorce court can then decide what should happen to the rest of the equity in the family home using the factors in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act. Representing husbands, wives and intervenors At Evolve Family Law, we can represent you in negotiations and in property or financial court proceedings if you are unmarried or married and if you are a parent who contributed towards their child’s family home and signed a deed of trust. We have substantial experience in divorce, property law and deeds of trust.   In an April 2024 Trustpilot review client Chris wrote: I used Robin Charrot to help in a family member's divorce proceedings and a deed of trust that had been written. He was extremely helpful and gave very good guidance on how my particular problem could be resolved. He got back to all emails very quickly and compared to lawyers in London his fees were very reasonable. The support staff I dealt were very efficient and I would highly recommend the firm. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

Most people realise that there are often no winners in a family law dispute. That is why it is so important to try to reach an agreement when you separate or divorce. In this blog, our family law solicitors outline the changes to the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) and explain how the rule change may affect whether you make an application to the court to resolve your family law dispute or choose a non-court based option to help you reach an agreement. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The Family Procedure Rules  The Family Procedure Rules (FPR) set out the rules relating to making a family law court application. They must be followed by family law solicitors and barristers as well as litigants in person, professional experts, CAFCASS officers and the family law judge. On 29 April 2024, the FPR was changed. The reason for the change was to encourage non-court dispute resolution to reach a family law agreement over your financial settlement or child custody or contact dispute. The FPRs already required the applicant and respondent to most family law court applications to try family mediation before they went to court and asked the judge to resolve their family law dispute. There were a limited number of exceptions when you did not need to try family mediation before you made a family law court application. Those exceptions have been narrowed and reduced. The other major change to the rules is an emphasis on other non-court dispute resolution options, rather than just requiring most couples to try family mediation. Non-court dispute resolution options Whilst most people have heard about family mediation there are several other non-court dispute resolution options. They include: Family arbitration Collaborative law Private judge or financial dispute resolution hearing One lawyer divorce service A family law solicitor will go through each of these options with you to work out which one would suit you best and help you reach an agreement. Once an agreement is reached your lawyers can help you convert it into a binding court order from a family law judge. It is worth discussing your options with a family law solicitor as you may have ruled out family mediation or an alternative option. A family law solicitor can arrange family law mediation sessions where you are not in the same room as your ex-partner if there are concerns about this. Alternatively, if you do not want to negotiate in family mediation you may find that solicitor-involved family mediation works for you. If that does not suit you then using a one lawyer divorce service or a private judge may be your best option. Some might rule out using a private judge as being too expensive but it can be a cheaper and quicker option than court. Our family law solicitors will highlight the advantages and the disadvantages of the various non-court options so you can make an informed decision. [related_posts]  The Family Procedure Rule changes on non-court options   Couples in family law disputes now need to set out their views on the use of non-court dispute resolution options with a signed statement of truth. The statement is intended to highlight the importance of considering the non-court options. There may be implications if you decide not to engage in any non-court dispute resolution and you do so without good reason. For example: A judge could adjourn your family law application for non-court dispute resolution to be tried A judge could order that you pay some of your ex-spouse’s legal costs associated with the financial settlement court hearing because you refused to engage in any non-court based dispute resolution and the judge thinks money was wasted by taking it to court or a final hearing There are several reasons why applying to court and not using any non-court dispute resolution first is a sensible approach. For example: You need an injunction order to protect you from domestic abuse You fear your ex-partner is going to take your children overseas without your agreement Your spouse is transferring assets or money to other people and if you wait to bring a financial court application the money may have disappeared and your financial settlement claim will have been defeated by your spouse’s underhand behaviour Your ex-spouse is refusing to give you any financial disclosure so you cannot reach a fair financial settlement using any non-court resolution option as you do not know the extent of their assets Our family law solicitors can discuss the reasons why you think a court application should be started rather than look at a dispute resolution option so we can help you work out the best solution for you. The Evolve Family Law one lawyer divorce service Our one lawyer divorce service may be suitable for you and your ex-partner and this is one of the options we can explore with you. With this service, one divorce lawyer advises you and your former partner and prepares all necessary legal documents on behalf of you both in your divorce and financial settlement. The benefits of one lawyer divorce are that it can save time and money but it is not the right format for every couple. For example, if there is a power imbalance and you would prefer to have your own lawyer then collaborative law or arbitration might be a better fit for one of you. Next steps We offer a fixed fee initial consultation in which we can discuss all legal and practical aspects of your separation and assess the best non-court dispute resolution option is the best route for you to take. 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.  

Do you need protection from domestic abuse or coercive and controlling behaviour? Are you worried about your estranged husband or wife transferring money to their parents or siblings to try and hide money from your divorce solicitor? If you need help with applying for an injunction order our family law solicitors can assist and guide you through the injunction application process. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is an injunction? An injunction is an order from the family court telling someone to stop doing something. An injunction order can stop: An ex-partner verbally harassing you A spouse from physically or sexually assaulting you A partner from exerting financial control over you A spouse from psychologically abusing you The other parent from emotionally abusing or otherwise abusing your children A partner from stopping you from returning to the family home A husband or wife or civil partner from transferring the house or the savings to their relatives to defeat your divorce financial settlement claim If you are not sure if you need an injunction order the best thing to do is call one of our family law solicitors to see how we can help you. Do I need an injunction order or to call the police? In an emergency, we would always recommend that you call the police. If they arrest and charge your partner and impose bail conditions you may decide that you do not need to apply for an injunction order as the police can arrest your partner again if he or she breaches their bail. If you do not want to contact the police, they will not get involved as they say it is a ‘civil matter’, or they do not give you the sort of support you were looking for, then you may need an injunction order. For example, a police officer may tell you that you need to apply for a child arrangement order if you and your ex-partner are arguing about where your child should live. For example, the police may just warn or caution your partner about their behaviour. If your concerns are money-related, the police will advise you to talk to a family law solicitor about getting a freezing or family law money injunction. [related_posts] Common myths about injunctions There are a lot of misconceptions about injunctions. Here we dispel some common ones: You don’t need to be married or in a civil partnership to apply for an injunction Men or women can apply for injunctions If you are in a same-sex relationship you can apply for an injunction order An injunction order does not change legal ownership of the family home but the order may give the injunction order applicant the right to live in the family home until the end of the injunction order or until the court makes a financial court order An injunction order can be enforced by the police You can apply for an injunction even if you did not report the domestic violence to the police You do not need to have been physically assaulted to apply for an injunction – if you have experienced any type of domestic abuse you can apply to the court for an injunction order You can apply for an injunction order even if the police have arrested or charged your partner You do not need to own your home to apply for an occupation injunction order. You can also apply if you rent your house or if your partner is the sole legal owner You do not need to have started no-fault divorce proceedings before you can apply for an injunction Applying for an injunction Applying for an injunction involves filing a court application with a statement in support and paying a court fee. If your application is urgent the court can agree to hold a first hearing without giving your partner notice of the hearing. If the court makes an injunction order at a without-notice hearing your partner will have the opportunity to object to it and put their case at another injunction hearing. The court can make an injunction order that prevents your ex-partner (and if relevant other family members or their agents) from continuing to abuse you. This type of injunction is called a non-molestation order. A court may make a non-molestation order at a without-notice hearing but list your application for an occupation order injunction at a hearing when your partner is present. An occupation order or ouster injunction order says if you can occupy the family home and if your partner can be excluded from all or part of the property. The injunction order does not transfer ownership of the family home – you will still need to negotiate a financial settlement or ask the court to make a financial court order.  Family law help As well as needing help with an injunction application you may also need assistance with: Sorting out residence and contact arrangements for your child – if you are concerned about your child’s safety or your ex-partner’s ability to prioritise your child’s needs you may need to apply for a child arrangement order or prohibited steps order Reaching a divorce financial settlement or a property settlement if you were in a cohabiting relationship A new Will because of your separation from your spouse or partner For expert family advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

If your second marriage is in trouble you may already know a bit about divorce and financial settlements because of your experience from the first time around. This time you may find that some things are different. Firstly, divorce law has changed. Secondly, your first husband or wife may have been very reasonable and this enabled you to reach a financial agreement. The situation may not be as straightforward with your second marriage divorce. In this blog, our divorce solicitors look at what you need to be aware of when ending a second marriage. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. No-fault divorce proceedings Divorce law in England has changed with the introduction of no-fault divorce and new divorce terminology. Family law solicitors no longer talk about divorce petitions or decree nisi or decree absolute. The new terminology is divorce application, conditional order of divorce and final order of divorce. Whilst you still need to have been married for at least 12 months before you can start divorce proceedings the remaining rules on divorce applications have been changed. You no longer have to say that your husband or wife committed adultery or behaved unreasonably to start divorce proceedings or wait 2 years from the date of your separation to start your divorce petition. Now, all you need to say in your divorce application is that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. You do not need to go into the reasons why. Applying for a joint no-fault divorce Another major change to the divorce process is that you can now apply for a divorce jointly with your husband or wife. You or they still have the option to bring an individual or sole application if one of you prefers to do so. Our divorce solicitors will normally recommend that you start the divorce proceedings either jointly or in your name if you want to get the divorce sorted out in your timeframe. You may be concerned that your estranged husband or wife may delay starting divorce proceedings if they are the ones given the task of starting the divorce application. Getting quick divorce advice is important if you are concerned about your estranged spouse selling the family business, cashing in investments or hiding assets. If you or your spouse are from overseas then you may need urgent advice on court jurisdiction and where it is best to start the divorce proceedings. Whether you decide that a joint or single divorce application is the best option for you the actual divorce process is similar. A divorce application must be filed at a family court and a fee paid. At Evolve Family Law we offer fixed fee divorce services for most divorce applications. The no-fault divorce process The no-fault divorce process involves: Divorce application - either a joint application or an individual application by one of you A wait – court rules say the applicant for the divorce must wait 20 weeks before they can confirm they want a divorce and go ahead with the no-fault divorce process Conditional order - the court makes a conditional order. This is the same as the old decree nisi of divorce Another wait - after waiting another 6 weeks, the applicant can apply for their final order of divorce (this is the new name for the decree absolute of divorce)No-fault divorces take about 6 months to complete from applying for the divorce to getting your final order but the no-fault divorce advantages are that you do not need to go to court to get your divorce order and you do not need to blame your spouse (or vice versa) to get your divorce. [related_posts] Second marriages and financial settlements In second marriages there is a good chance that you signed a prenuptial agreement before your second marriage. Your divorce lawyer will want to know if you signed one and the terms of the agreement. They will also want to know if anything has changed since you signed the prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement. For example, the birth or adoption of children, the failure of a business or either you or your spouse suffering ill health or a disability. These are the sort of things that might lead to a family court saying that the terms of a prenuptial agreement should not be followed or not followed in their entirety. If you signed a prenuptial agreement, it should be possible to secure an agreed financial court order unless there are major changes in circumstances or you or your ex are saying that the terms of the agreement were unfair or there was no financial disclosure. If you did not sign a prenuptial agreement, it may still be relatively straightforward to negotiate a financial settlement by agreement if you are both keen to finalise your divorce and secure a clean break financial court order. Complexities can arise in situations where: You are paying spousal maintenance to your first spouse and your second spouse also wants spousal maintenance – you think there is a limit to how much you can afford to pay out in spousal maintenance Your ex-spouse wants a share of your pension but the pension pot was accumulated before your second marriage and your pension was your financial settlement from your first marriage as your first spouse got to keep your family home Your second spouse wants you to financially support your step children but you are still financially supporting your children from your first marriage Your ex-spouse wants to keep the family home as they bought it before the marriage. If they keep the family home and do not down size, they will not be able to pay you a lump sum as they do not have significant savings and they only have a limited mortgage capacity because of their age. You do not want to be left homeless as your mortgage options are also limited because of your age or because you are committed to supporting your children from your first marriage through their teenage years and through university There may be other reasons why it is hard to negotiate a financial settlement when coming out of a second marriage. Our expert divorce solicitors will be able to help you by talking to you about the circumstances of your second marriage, your assets and commitments, and then looking at the alternate financial settlement options. Filing for divorce using the Evolve Family Law One Lawyer Divorce Service If your separation from your second spouse is relatively amicable our One Lawyer Amicable Divorce Service may be able to help you both file for divorce and obtain an agreed financial consent order. This service is provided by specially trained family lawyers who comply with the guidance from Resolution (an organisation for family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve divorce and family issues in a non-confrontational manner). The service is not the right option for every couple coming out of a second marriage but it can be ideal if you both ‘know the score’ and are both keen to reach a fair financial settlement with the minimum of fuss and no added costs being built up by your each receiving separate and different advice, For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you need divorce or family law advice it is important to go to divorce solicitors who understand your concerns and needs. With offices in Whitefield, Manchester and Cheshire our expert divorce solicitors can guide you through your civil and religious divorce and advise on all your family law queries. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Divorce proceedings Whether you are a member of an Orthodox, Reform or Liberal synagogue, your Get may be more important to you than your civil divorce.  Our Jewish divorce solicitors recommend that you apply for both so the applications run alongside. With the introduction of no-fault civil divorce proceedings, it is harder for a husband or wife to object to a civil divorce. The other improvement in the law is that you do not need to blame your spouse for the breakdown in your relationship. To get a no-fault divorce all you need to do is file a divorce application saying that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. Your husband or wife does not need to agree with that statement for you to secure your divorce. In situations where a couple agrees that their marriage is at an end the law now allows the couple to jointly file for divorce. Not every couple can work together to obtain their divorce so our divorce solicitors can either help you as a sole divorce applicant or with a joint divorce application. No-fault divorce proceedings take around 6 months to complete. That is because the law imposes delays so you cannot progress the divorce proceedings until specific periods have elapsed during various stages of the divorce process. The divorce process involves applying for a conditional order of divorce (this used to be called the decree nisi). The civil divorce is not finalised until you get your final order of divorce (this used to be called the decree absolute). At Evolve Family Law we offer fixed fee divorce services for most divorce applications. Children law advice for Jewish divorcing couples In tough times for the community, it can be hard to find a compromise agreement over the best parenting arrangements for your children. That’s the case whether you are going through a recent separation and divorce proceedings or divorced many years ago. All parents can struggle at some point in their parenting journey about what is best for their children and as Jewish divorce solicitors we are experienced in advising on specific children law issues after a separation or divorce, such as: Whether children should be brought up in the faith and the extent of the child’s religious observance If children should be brought up Orthodox or Reform Whether the child should be brought up following strict kosher dietary compliance if one parent is not kosher Whether a child should attend a secular school Contact arrangements, Shabbat and festival days Holidays overseas and whether a holiday order is necessary because a parent objects to a child being taken on holiday to Israel or to see extended family in the Middle East Relocation orders if one parent thinks it would be best to move out of England and the other parent will not agree to the child being taken to live overseas These issues, and others, can crop up whether you are both practising or if one parent follows a different faith or has no faith. Tensions can arise making it hard to work out a compromise and agree on a parenting plan. Our family law solicitors can help you try to reach an agreement and record it in a parenting plan. If an agreement is impossible, we can help you apply for or respond to applications for: Child arrangement orders Holiday orders Relocation orders Prohibited steps orders or specific issue orders Child support or school fee orders [related_posts] Financial settlements One important element of divorce is sorting out a financial settlement and ensuring that your agreement is binding on both of you. Our family lawyers can help you with: Separation agreements Converting your negotiated financial settlement into an agreed binding financial court order Representation in a financial application for a financial court order We have substantial experience in financial settlements involving: Family money – parents or in-laws gifted or loaned money to buy the family home or to invest in the family business Family businesses where either one or both spouses and extended family work together in a family business or where a husband or wife may be an employee in the family business or an employee of a relative Family trusts where money has been advanced under trust arrangements Overseas assets ranging from holiday homes, second homes and investments The signing of a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement and the husband or the wife do not think that they should be bound by the terms of their agreement now that they are separating and getting divorced Financial settlements after an overseas divorce Situations where you suspect your spouse has not disclosed assets, transferred assets to family or friends, or undervalued their assets so you do not get a fair divorce financial settlement Our family lawyers will work with your financial advisors and accountants to ensure we understand your financial circumstances and ensure that we help you achieve a financial settlement that meets your needs. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you are separating and trying to divorce amicably it is tempting to think that it is the divorce lawyers who will be the problem in reaching an amicable separation. You may assume that divorce solicitors will pit both of you against one another, racking up the solicitor costs, and leaving both of you worse off. There is a way to share one divorce solicitor. At Evolve Family Law we provide a One Lawyer Divorce Service. However, the service is not the best or right option for every divorcing couple. In this article, our family lawyers explain how both sides can share one divorce solicitor and whether our One Lawyer Divorce Service may be a suitable option for you. For family law help call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The One Lawyer Divorce Service The One Lawyer Divorce Service means both sides to a family dispute share the same family lawyer. You could be a couple wanting to negotiate a separation agreement, an unmarried family trying to sort out the sale of a property and who gets the equity from the sale, or a divorcing couple wanting to get divorced and sort out their financial settlement. Why share a divorce solicitor? Sharing a divorce solicitor is not right for every divorcing couple but it can have potentially massive benefits. These include: You pay for one divorce solicitor and not 2 You are all committed to working together. That may be to achieve your no-fault divorce, negotiate a financial settlement and secure a financial court order from the court or sign off on an agreed parenting plan You share the same information from the shared divorce solicitor as the divorce lawyer will give you both the same information and advice. There can be no saying ‘’well my lawyer says I will get X’’ by your estranged partner when you are adamant that your divorce solicitor says ‘’you will get Y’’ if you go to court for the judge to decide on the financial settlement. A shared divorce solicitor will tell both of you that the court could order X or Y and that there is always a litigation risk if you go to court rather than reach a compromise and ask the court to make an agreed financial court order You avoid delay because documents are not sent back and forth between you and 2 separate divorce solicitors Should YOU share a divorce solicitor? At Evolve Family Law we recognise that our One Lawyer Divorce Service the Service is not right for everyone who is going through a separation or a divorce. As well as you asking yourself if you should share a divorce solicitor with your husband or wife our family lawyers will also explore whether the Service is the best option for you. Sometimes it is obvious that you can make a success out of sharing a divorce solicitor and sometimes it isn’t as clear cut. Whether you should share a divorce solicitor or not is not dependent on the value of your property and assets or the complexity of dividing them to reach a fair divorce financial settlement. Instead, it is more about whether: You can work together with your ex-partner to resolve matters amicably You are both ready to reach an agreement. For example, one of you may feel too raw about the separation to be able to think clearly enough to have direct and open discussions You can be open and honest with your ex-partner and they will be equally open with you to help in achieving a fair resolution [related_posts] The One Lawyer Divorce Service at Evolve Family Law If you want to find out more about our One Lawyer Divorce Service and how we might be able to help you then the next step is for a divorce solicitor to meet with you and your ex-partner in separate meetings. We need to see you separately to check that the process is right for both of you. That is in both of your best interests as you do not want to start a process unless there is a realistic prospect of it being suitable for both of you in reaching an agreement or in securing your no-fault divorce. You may ask how we can assess if our One Lawyer Divorce Service is the best fit for you. We do this by providing the Service through trained expert family law solicitors who comply with the principles, standards, and guidance from the national organisation for family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a non-confrontational manner (Resolution). When you should not share a divorce solicitor Sharing a divorce solicitor may not be right for you or your ex-partner, especially if: During the relationship your ex-partner was controlling and tried to take over decision-making or accused you of trying to exercise coercive control You suspect your ex has been hiding assets from you or you know that your ex-partner thinks that you have been siphoning money from a family business or savings Your ex was violent towards you or your child or accused you of domestic abuse You are concerned about your child’s safety. For example, you may be worried that your ex-partner plans to take your child overseas without first getting your agreement or a relocation order Your ex-partner has very entrenched views and will not be open to discussion about compromise Although it may not be appropriate for you to share a divorce solicitor it does not mean that you will have to ask the court to make a child arrangement order to sort out child custody and contact arrangements for your child or to make a divorce financial settlement. Our divorce solicitors can explore alternative options with you, such as family arbitration or solicitor negotiations, to help you work out the best way forward. For family law help call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.