Search site
Call our office
Make an enquiry
Our people
Search our people
Divorce and Family team
Our divorce and separation team understands that the breakdown of a relationship, particularly if children are involved, can be a difficult and stressful time for all those involved. We listen to the needs of our clients and treat each client as an individual. This ensures we are able to tailor our advice and help guide you through the legal process. We can assist you to make important decisions at a time when you may feel unable to do so.
Family disputes can arise in many different circumstances and can involve a wide range of issues - from those concerning financial matters to those involving children, as well as a myriad of issues in between Financial disputes ...
“A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce” was a report by the Pension Advisory Group published in July 2019. It has commonly been known by the family law community as PAG ever since. PAG was recently reviewed and updated in December...
On divorce, couples have financial claims against one another for property, lump sums, maintenance, and pensions. The greater the wealth, the larger those potential claims will be. There are several ways to potentially safeguard assets in a high net...
The stress of a divorce and separation can be minimised if you and your partner are able to reach an amicable agreement about how your assets are divided and about arrangements for any children. What is collaborative divorce? ...
LGBTQ+ family law is growing and evolving. Recent changes to law like the Scottish gender recognition certificate reform have led some to ask where are we currently in England and Wales regarding legal developments? Impact analysis shows the continued...
6 April 2023 marks the first anniversary of the introduction of no-fault divorce. So what impact has this new divorce law had in England and Wales? Has no fault divorce resulted in more divorces? According to a Law...
The risks faced by cohabiting couple families at the end of their relationship or on the death of one of the parties, has again been called for reform by The House of Commons. MP’s are once again calling for a legal scheme which gives...
Getting divorced is rarely seen to be a positive thing. Ending a relationship is an extremely stressful life event. As a family law solicitor for the past 18 years, I have advised many people going through a relationship breakdown. Here are 10 top tips on...
Many are eagerly awaiting the introduction of no fault divorce on 6 April 2022. It has been a long time coming and will enable couples to formalise the end of their marriage or civil partnership without casting blame or having to wait for 2 years or...
As a family lawyer, I see many cases where one of the parties have received a significant sum of money from their parents; often when buying a home. Unlike a mortgage however, money that comes from “The Bank of Mum and Dad” is not...
There are many reasons why Birkett Long should be your first choice of solicitors in the event you need help with a family law issue, my top 10 are set out below: 1. Legal Recognition Birkett Long’s...
At Birkett Long our family team have been waiting for a long time for the divorce process to be made more efficient and I am pleased to say that in my experience so far, the divorce portal has enabled divorces to be processed far more quickly than had been...
Since April 2018, spouses and their legal advisers have been able to apply for a divorce through the online court portal. The use of the online portal will become mandatory for legal advisers from 13 September 2021. This means that instead of filling...
There is a general rule in family law that each party bears their own costs. As with most rules however, there are exceptions! One such exception is litigation misconduct. If it is found by the court that a party has been guilty of litigation...
Since 2006, it has been the general rule that in financial remedy proceedings , the court will make no order as to costs. This means that generally speaking, each party will have to bear their own legal fees. Prior to 2006, the court could and did...
Despite centuries of progress towards gender equality, the fact remains that where a couple decides to have children, there is usually one parent who makes sacrifices in their career in order to care for the children. This can have far-reaching effects, not...
Do I have to instruct a solicitor to get divorced? No. If your marriage has broken down irretrievably then you can start divorce proceedings through the Court’s online divorce portal. You currently need to rely on 1 of 5...
A Separation Agreement is a written agreement made between a separating couple. The couple agrees the terms of the separation including reference to maintenance, division of property and any other financial provisions that may be agreed. If you and your...
