Have you heard people you know talking about Trusts in Wills? If you own a property and/or have significant savings, you may benefit from a Trust in your Will. What is a Trust? A Trust is when you set aside your savings, investments or property for the...
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 process. Under the previous divorce and civil partnership law, couples needed to provide one of five grounds for divorce, including unreasonable behaviour, adultery, desertion, 2 years agreed separation, or 5 years separation without consent.
Couples are now able 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 separation, it’s still essential to seek the advice of an expert divorce solicitor.
Contact our divorce 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 tailored divorce advice 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 and divorce lawyers are on hand to help you. Our goal is to make the divorce or separation 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 to 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 separation 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 it 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 in obtaining 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, our divorce lawyers ensure the best interests of your children are central to the case, promoting your parental rights in the process.
Our divorce solicitors’ arrangements for children advice includes:
- Providing divorce advice 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 separation.
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 are members of Resolution, an organisation of family law professionals all dedicated to promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution over court proceedings.
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 a qualified collaborative lawyer who can sit down with your former partner to discuss divorce and separation 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 no-fault divorce law includes several key changes to previous divorce laws, 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 breakdown 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 proceedings.
Our divorce solicitors deeply understand the distress and frustration the process can cause, in which 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.
Glanvilles’ family law team includes members of Resolution, an organisation of family lawyers committed to non-confrontational family dispute resolution, as well as a trained collaborative lawyer.
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.
Contact our dissolution and divorce solicitors today
For clear, uncomplicated divorce 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.