Divorce law blog

The recent cuts to legal aid have received a great deal of press coverage. Something that hasn’t received quite the same attention is the other options for funding legal fees on divorce. So how can you fund court proceedings if you don’t have the income or savings to do so?

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When you are trying to sort out the financial consequences of a divorce one of the key ground rules is that you have to give an honest account of your assets. This applies not only to what you’ve got at the moment, but also to what you know might change in the foreseeable future that could make a difference to the negotiations and order the court is asked to make. The recent “big money” case of S v S heard in April 2013 dealt with this issue.

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Agreeing arrangements for children over the long summer holidays can be difficult for separated families. Here are a few tips to think about when trying to agree those arrangements.

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There are lots of myths about how you and your partner should share the care of your children after you separate. For example, a lot of people wrongly assume that courts are biased towards mothers. More recently, there have been suggestions, again wrong, that the Government is going to change the law so that children split their time equally between their parents. So how do you deal with care of your children after you separate?

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The decision to move abroad is never an easy one and it’s all the more difficult if you are separated and there are children involved. If your former partner has parental responsibility then you need their consent or permission from the court to move your children abroad. You will need to take a whole list of factors into account and plan very carefully.

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What the vast majority of cohabitants will not be aware of is the huge difference between the financial rights they have when their relationship breaks down as compared to married couples. Those cohabitants who cling to the idea that they are in a “common law marriage” and will be “ok”, need to know that common law marriages have not existed since 1753 and the laws that apply to them on separation can be very unfair indeed.

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Many people’s biggest fear about going to see a solicitor is what it’s going to cost them. The much-publicised tale of divorcing lawyers Anna-Marie Harvey Kavanagh and Giles Kavanagh, who squandered almost all their assets in divorce costs, will hardly have helped. But remembering a few very simple guidelines could save you from suffering the same fate.

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The national press is littered with articles about the steep costs of divorce and horror stories of people who have spent tens of thousands of pounds for a service that they probably never envisaged they would need. This, combined with the ongoing economic uncertainty we face and the fact that legal aid for most divorcing couples is about to be pulled, is reason enough to seek a “cheaper” alternative to instructing solicitors. As a result, there is a growing trend for so-called DIY divorces, where you deal with the divorce process by using an online service.

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The twelve days of Christmas are almost upon us and, just to be different, I thought I’d treat you to twelve key facts about family law. Sadly it isn’t chocolate (or even a mince pie) but hopefully these facts will be a helpful starting point to clearing up some of the more common myths and misunderstandings about divorce and family law.

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Oscar Wilde said “I can resist everything except temptation”. And this week bank employee Lara Davies might have reflected on that when she was fined £500 for using her employer’s systems to get hold of her partner’s ex-wife’s bank statements. But while everyone will recognise that this was an obvious abuse of her position, what might be less obvious is that accessing confidential information in other ways to help you with your divorce proceedings can also leave you in hot water. So what can you do if you think that you’re not getting the full picture?

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