Your Life
Family Law
Relationships end for many reasons. What really matters is where you go from here. Our specialist Family law team will work with you to bring things to a fair conclusion, whether you have been married, in a civil partnership, or living together.
We cover all aspects of family issues, including dealing with assets like homes, businesses, companies and trusts as well as arrangements for where children live and how much time they spend with the relevant adults.
Our approach is to avoid unnecessary confrontation and try to deal with all matters by agreement wherever possible: this brings huge benefits not only in terms of legal costs saved, but also in reduced stress, upset and possible damage to any children, in an already difficult time. There are many tools that can be used to settle even the most difficult of matters and all our family lawyers follow the Resolution Code of Conduct to achieve the best result.
When Court action is needed, we have a great deal of experience in all family matters that come before the Courts. We have represented clients in Courts of all levels, including on the most complex and difficult matters.
Above all, our focus is on looking after our clients and their children at what is often one of the most difficult points in their lives. All our family law advice is, of course, in complete confidence and we are always happy to speak informally on the phone before arranging any appointment.
We can help with:
- Pre-& Post-Nuptial Agreements.
- Children
- Civil Partnership Dissolution
- Divorce and Separation
- Domestic Abuse
- Mediation
Children
Relationship breakups where children are involved can be especially difficult and upsetting and require sensitive handling. In most cases, couples manage to work things out between them, and this is always our preferred option. We will provide all the support you need, but if you cannot reach a satisfactory agreement, we will help you find the best legal remedy.
We advise on all issues including
- Contact with children
- Residence
- Maintenance and other financial support
- Disputes concerning schooling
- Name changes
- Adoption
- Applications to move a child abroad
Civil Partnership Dissolution
As with any relationship breakdown, ending a civil partnership is a complex, often traumatic, mix of personal, practical and financial considerations. Our aim is to make this difficult process as swift and pain-free as possible for you, so you can sort things out and start getting your lives back on track.
The biggest areas of contention are likely to be around your finances. We have particular expertise in dealing with cases involving substantial assets, including those with complex pension, business, tax and trust issues. We are also experienced in dealing with offshore assets and cases with an international dimension. We always look to help couples resolve matters themselves wherever possible but can advise on initiating court proceedings should this become necessary.
Divorce & Separation
The breakdown of any relationship is painful, whether you are married or living together. When you know it is finally over, getting impartial, professional advice is important, both in practical terms, and in helping you both to move on with your lives.
Our Family Law team is highly experienced in the legal and financial complexities of divorce and separation. We can discuss your various options, including mediation, and the financial implications, particularly how assets such as properties, businesses and pensions are divided. This is particularly crucial if you have been cohabiting, as the law surrounding separation is less clear-cut than the divorce laws for married couples. And though this can feel like a very lonely experience, we will make sure you get all the professional and emotional support you need.
Domestic Abuse
Official statistics suggest that a quarter of all women, and one in seven men, will experience some form of domestic abuse in their lives. The real numbers are probably even higher – and figures, of course, are only one small part of the story. Although it’s appallingly common, domestic abuse – which can be verbal, emotional and financial, not just physical – remains very difficult to talk about and can seem impossible to escape.
If you are being subjected to domestic abuse, in whatever form, you don’t have to suffer in silence – or go through it alone. Our Family Law team has enormous experience of this difficult problem and includes specialists in dealing with domestic abuse.
Pre & Post-Nuptial Agreements
Preparing a pre- or post-nuptial agreement might seem like tempting fate or suggesting you do not have confidence in your relationship. However, more and more couples are seeing it for what it really is: a simple financial agreement that can potentially save you both enormous amounts of cost and heartache if things do not work out. A pre- or post-nuptial agreement is not automatically binding, but the courts are increasingly upholding them in divorce and civil partnership dissolution cases.
Our Family Law team is highly experienced in preparing pre- and post-nuptial agreements and can advise you on drawing up something that works for you both. We understand it can be a delicate subject, but you can be confident that we will handle it in a sensitive, professional and objective manner, to keep things on the right footing.
To discuss any aspect of family law, please contact us and one of our Family Law specialists will be happy to help.
”I want to thank you so much for your hard work and patience… I really appreciate the extra time and effort that you put in”
“Fantastic service I would not hesitate to recommend”
Our Experts
Emily Bower
Associate
Family Law
Emily is an Associate in the Family Department working at our Petersfield and Midhurst office. Emily studied at Southampton University, completing the LPC and LLM in Law & Business Management at the University of Law,…
Emily Bull
Partner
, Head of Department
Family Law
Emily is Partner and Head of the Family Law Department, based at our Petersfield office. Emily has a particular focus on finances for mid-high net worth clients with a range of assets, including businesses and…
