Divorce & Dissolution Solicitors

Glanvilles’ divorce lawyers are able to advise in relation to all aspects of divorce or dissolution.

On April 6th 2022, the UK divorce law was reformed, providing divorcing couples with a more straightforward and potentially less expensive divorce and dissolution process. Under the previous divorce and civil partnership dissolution law, couples needed to provide one of five grounds for divorce or dissolution, including unreasonable behaviour, adultery, desertion, 2 years agreed separation, or 5 years separation without consent.

As of April 6th, couples have been permitted to file for a ‘no-fault’ divorce, meaning that they do not have to provide a reason for the breakdown of their marriage. Couples who wish to dissolve their civil partnership will also no longer need to provide a reason.

These changes to the divorce law mean that couples can access a less complicated divorce process, potentially minimising legal expenses, and lengthy court proceedings. Regardless, if you are considering applying for divorce or dissolution, it’s still essential that you seek the advice of an expert divorce solicitor.

Contact our divorce and dissolution solicitors today

For clear, uncomplicated advice and representation during divorce and civil partnership dissolution proceedings, get in touch with our family lawyers by giving us a call at one of our local branches in Chichester, Fareham, Havant or, Petworth. Alternatively, please fill in our online enquiry form for a quick response.

How our civil partnership dissolution and divorce lawyers can help

Relationship breakdown can be traumatic for the whole family. Complicated questions about arrangements for children and division of finances can quickly cause tensions to rise. In these situations, the support and guidance of a legal expert is essential to help you negotiate, cooperate, and ultimately come to an agreement without unnecessary stress or conflict.

Our friendly and sympathetic family law specialists are on hand to help you. Our goal is to make the divorce or dissolution process as painless as possible.

Wherever possible, we will help you access methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution such as family mediation and collaborative law to help you avoid contentious court proceedings, saving you considerable time, money, and stress. Processes such as family mediation and collaborative law can help divorcing couples to negotiate mutually beneficial arrangements with regard their children and their finances.

Our divorce and civil partnership dissolution expertise includes:

No-fault divorce proceedings

We’ll provide extensive advice in relation to no-fault divorce and dissolution proceedings. Our divorce solicitors can walk you through every stage of the new no-fault divorce process, which includes:

Applying for a joint or individual application and submitting to the court.
Once the court have begun to process your no-fault divorce or dissolution application, there will be a waiting period of twenty days, also termed a ‘reflection period’.
After the reflection period has passed, Glanvilles divorce solicitors can assist you with a Conditional Order application.
When you receive your Conditional Order, it is necessary to wait for a further period of 6-weeks, before your application is processed further.
During these 6-weeks, our divorce lawyers can support you to arrange your financial and childcare agreements with your ex-partner.
Finally, our solicitors can assist you to obtain the Final Order, ensuring that your divorce is complete and legally binding.

Arrangements for children

The happiness of your children is likely to be your primary consideration so from the outset of your case, we will make their welfare central to our instruction.

In the vast majority of situations, we’re able to help clients come to amicable agreements with their partners regarding arrangements for children, utilising Alternative Dispute Resolution where necessary.

In the rare cases court proceedings become necessary, we’ll ensure the best interests of your children are central to the case, promoting your parental rights in the process.

Our arrangements for children advice includes:

Providing support during decisions about where children will live
Negotiating contact with the non-resident parent
Assisting in decisions about a child’s upbringing, such as education and medical treatment
Negotiating child maintenance
Child Arrangement Orders
Prohibited Steps Orders
Specific Issue Orders

Financial settlements

Negotiating the division and arrangement of matrimonial finances and assets is often the most complex aspect of divorce or dissolution.

We have substantial experience helping clients agree beneficial financial settlements, including being involved in many cases involving High Net Worth individuals and complex assets.

In the majority of situations, resorting to court isn’t necessary. We offer various negotiation options, including voluntary disclosure, collaborative law, and family mediation.

Our expertise includes:

Agreeing the division of finances, including money, savings, investments, the family home, other property, overseas assets, pensions, businesses, and personal belongings
Negotiating spousal maintenance and child maintenance
Pension sharing, including Pension Sharing Orders, offsetting, and Attachment Orders
Financial Orders (in the event you and your former partner cannot agree)

Alternative Dispute Resolution

We believe that the amicable resolution of family law matters is preferential to complicated and often stressful and expensive court proceedings.

Our legal specialists, Jane Hodge, Charlotte Woodhouse and Tina Day, are members of Resolution, an organisation of family law professionals all dedicated to promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution over court.

We offer various methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution which we are happy to talk you through so you can make an informed decision about which is the right choice for you.

Collaborative law

Our team includes qualified collaborative lawyer, Charlotte Woodhouse. Collaborative law is the process of sitting down with your former partner to discuss divorce and dissolution matters, including arrangements for children and financial settlements. Both you and your partner will have a collaborative lawyer present who can provide you with legal advice and negotiate on your behalf.

Any agreement made during the collaborative law process can be made legally binding by applying to court for a Consent Order.

Frequently asked questions about no-fault divorce

How is no-fault divorce different from the previous UK divorce law?

The introduction of the new no-fault divorce law includes several key changes, such as:

Divorcing partners can now apply for a joint divorce application.
There is no requirement to point blame or give a reason for the break-down of the marriage or partnership.
The Decree Nisi is now named the Conditional Order.
The Decree Absolute is now named the Final Order.
If one party wishes to get divorced or dissolve their partnership, the other party does not have the right to contest.
Changes to timeframes: divorcing couples are subjected to a twenty- week, and a further six- week wait period at different stages of the application process.
The individual applying for the divorce is now referred to as the Applicant (formerly known as the Petitioner).

How long does a no-fault divorce take?

A no-fault divorce should take around 6 months to complete, however, depending on the complexities of your finances and child arrangements, the process could take longer.

Once our solicitors have taken a look at your situation and legal requirements, we can give you a better idea of how long the process will take, along with the legal fees involved.

Why choose Glanvilles’ family lawyers?

At Glanvilles, we have years of experience guiding and supporting families through divorce and civil partnership dissolution proceedings.

We deeply understand the distress and frustration the process can cause. Jane Hodge, Charlotte Woodhouse and Tina Day are members of Resolution and we value a neutral, non-combative approach to resolving associated matters. From the outset of your case, we will take every step to resolve the matter efficiently and cost-effectively, enabling you to start moving on with your life as soon as possible.

As a firm, we are Law Society accredited in Family Law Advanced for our expertise in the most challenging family law matters, including those involving complex finances and overseas assets.

We are also accredited in Lexcel for our dedication to exceptional client care and legal practice management.