Common Family Questions

Family

Divorce

Financial Remedy

Children Act Matters

Domestic Violence

Pre-marital Agreements

Separation Agreements

Cohabitation

Civil Partnerships

Common Family Questions

Divorce & Separation

Do I have to be married a certain amount of time, before I can divorce?

Yes, you have to be married at least one year.

On what grounds can I petition for divorce?

There is only one ground for instigating divorce proceedings, namely an ‘irretrievable breakdown’ in your marriage. However, you are required to rely on one of five facts in order to prove your marriage has irretrievably broken down. These are:

a) Adultery

b) Unreasonable behaviour

c) Desertion

d) 2 year separation & consent

e) 5 year separation

How long does it take to finalise a divorce?

A divorce on average takes about 6 months to finalise.

I am unable to divorce because it is against my religion; is there anything else I can do to legalise my separation?

Yes, you can instigate Judicial Separation proceedings instead. This means you will not be divorced at the end of the proceedings however; you will be separated in the eyes of the law.

Financial Remedy

I am very worried my partner will dispose of matrimonial assets in anticipation of our separation and subsequent financial proceedings. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

Yes, an urgent application can be made to court. You are advised to seek legal assistance promptly should you anticipate this to be the case.

My ex partner and I divorced some time ago although we did not deal with the finances; is it still possible to instigate financial proceedings?

As long as you have not remarried and provision for the instigation of proceedings was provided in your divorce petition, you may seek the permission of the court to do so.

What type of orders can be made in financial proceedings?

Income and capital orders, more specifically maintenance and lump sum orders and orders in relation to property and pensions.

My marriage has broken down, what financial relief will I be entitled to?

This is dependent upon a number of factors, namely:

• Income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources of both you and your spouse;

• Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities of the parties;

• Standard of living enjoyed by the family;

• Age of the parties and duration of the marriage;

• Physical or mental disability of the parties;

• Contribution including looking after the home and family;

• Conduct of the parties which would be inequitable to disregard;

• Any benefit which the party will lose the chance of acquiring.

Children

My ex partner will not allow me to see my child. What can I do about this?

Your ex-partner may be invited to mediation and if this should fail to resolve matters, we can file a contact application at court.

Do I have parental responsibility for my child?

If you are the mother of the child, you automatically have parental responsibility. If you are the father and married to the mother of your child, you too will have parental responsibility. However, if you are not married you can only acquire parental responsibility in one of six ways. Further information can be found on our family webpages.

I am scared my ex-partner will take our child abroad without my permission; is there anything I can do?

We can submit an ex-parte application to court, which is an emergency application, without your ex partner’s knowledge and obtain a prohibited steps order, prohibiting the removal of your child from the UK.

I want to change my child’s surname; can I do this without my ex-partner’s knowledge and permission?

Your ex-partner will have the right to be notified of your decision if she/he has parental responsibility. If you fail to agree, you can submit an application to court for a specific issue order where the court will make a decision, as the name suggests, on a specific subject.

Domestic Violence

My ex partner keeps texting and telephoning me through the night. What can I do to stop this?

This can be classed as molestation and therefore you would be entitled to apply for a non-molestation order, which is an ‘injunction’ prohibiting your ex partner from carrying out this type of behaviour.

My partner and I own our home jointly; I am suffering from domestic abuse, can I do anything to keep my partner away from the property?

You may be able to obtain an occupation order excluding your partner from the home you share and further ordering your partner not to come within ‘x’ number of meters of your home.

Can I get an injunction urgently?

In urgent situations we can attend the court with no prior notice and obtain an emergency order without your partner’s knowledge. The matter will be re-listed for a further hearing date in order to allow your partner the opportunity to put forward their defence.

How long will an injunction last?

This will be at the court’s discretion, it will either be for a specific period of time or until a further order of the court; however the duration of the order can be extended.

Pre-marital, Separation and Cohabitation Agreements

Are pre-marital, separation and cohabitation agreements binding?

Pre-marital agreements are not binding and will only be considered as a factor in financial remedy proceedings.

Separation agreements although may be upheld by the courts and relied upon during subsequent financial remedy proceedings, they are not necessarily final and they can be varied by the courts.

The validity of cohabitation agreements is debatable. If parties seek independent legal advice, provide full and frank disclosure and involve no undue influence, fraud or mistake, they are likely to be upheld.

Civil Partnerships

How long do I have to be in a civil partnership before I can petition for dissolution?

You need to be in your civil partnership for a minimum of one year.

On what grounds can I petition for the dissolution of my civil partnership?

There is only one ground for dissolution of civil partnership, namely ‘irretrievable breakdown’ in your relationship. However you are required to rely on one of four facts to prove your relationship has irretrievably broken down. Namely:

a) Unreasonable behaviour

b) Desertion

c) 2 years separation & consent

d) 5 years separation

How long does it take for a dissolution to be finalised?

It will take on average six months for a civil partnership to be dissolved.