Latest News from Family-Lawfirm.co.uk

Celia rises to the mediation challenge

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:25:00 GMT

Warwickshire-based collaborative lawyer Celia Christie has recently qualified as a Resolution family mediator.

Since new guidance came into force last April, the Government has made it compulsory for couples seeking the courts assistance with settling a financial dispute or a dispute over children to attend a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM). The idea behind this is to give more couples the opportunity of finding out about mediation and whether it would be suitable for them before the court application is issued.

There is also a general shift towards dispute resolution as an alternative to the court process. Celia wanted to ensure she was at the forefront of these changes.

“Being an active collaborative lawyer, I already see the benefit to clients in reaching amicable agreements with the assistance of their collaborative lawyers when they have been unable to sit together and discuss matters directly, “said Celia, based near Rugby and serving clients across the Midlands.

“Mediation is a natural progression for me in that I will be helping my mediation clients to explore all of the options open to them and enabling them to negotiate with each other in a safe and supported environment. It can also be very cost effective and significantly cheaper than using the courts.

“Although the proposed changes have been met with some scepticism from other legal professionals, the Government’s proposed launch of an information hub for separating families in the autumn will promote mediators as key practitioners and encourage couples to speak to a mediator to investigate their options before seeing a solicitor. Currently around 80 per cent of people see a solicitor first and I think that this will change in the future. ”

Celia is a Resolution mediator, meaning the training and qualification are regulated by Resolution, the organisation committed to non-confrontational divorce. She is also a collaboratively trained lawyer, again committed to non-confrontational divorce where both parties sign up to this approach, agree not to go to court and both engage a collaborative lawyer.

Woolley & Co Managing Partner Andrew Woolley said: “It is great to see Celia embracing this new opportunity. It further enhances her position as a family solicitor and collaborative lawyer allowing her to offer an even better and wider service to clients.”

Woolley & Co Solicitor reaches highest family law accolade

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:28:00 GMT

Woolley& Co solicitor Shahzea Tahir recently received further recognition for her expertise in family law from the Law Society Advanced Family Law Panel.

The advanced scheme accreditation is a scheme for members who can demonstrate that they can provide advice and assistance to clients in particularly complex family law cases.

Commenting on Shahzea’s Advanced Family Law Panel success, senior partner Andrew Woolley says; “It is great to have this kind of recognition for Shahzea’s experience and expertise in family law and the high standard of family law advice she can provide. This recognition testifies to her technical excellence in all aspects of family law, including international divorce matters, financial disputes and all issues arising out of children matters.

Shahzea is a member of Resolution, an organisation that is committed to a non-confrontational approach to resolving relationship disputes. “My belief in trying to resolve disputes through negotiation has meant up to 80% of my cases have settled without going to a final hearing,” says Shahzea. “My aim is to achieve practical, swift and amicable solutions to problems whenever possible. I’d like to think the recognition I’ve achieved through the Family Law Panel accreditation recognises my approach as well as my expert knowledge.”

Shahzea, who is based near Wembley, Middlesex and has clients throughout the UK, she has been a solicitor for over 12 years, much of that time specialising exclusively in family law.

Drop-in for family law advice in Bedford

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:46:00 GMT

Woolley & Co will be holding two free family law drop-in advice sessions in February 2012 for anyone in the Bedfordshire area.

Family lawyer, Lisa Smith, who is based in Bedford, will be hosting the events on Saturday 25th and Wednesday 29th February, offering friendly, professional advice on any family law matter including divorce, children, financial settlements, separation, cohabitation rights, prenuptial agreements and civil partnership dissolution.

The sessions will be held outside of normal business hours – 10am to 5pm on the Saturday and 6pm to 10pm on the Wednesday – allowing people to call in at leisure when they do not need to worry about getting back to work.

“At Woolley & Co, we have always tried to tailor our service to fit around the client,” Lisa explains. “If that means arranging to speak to them in the evening or on a Saturday morning we can accommodate that, for instance.

"All Woolley & Co lawyers work from a home office base, collectively we cover most of England and Wales and therefore have clients all over the country. We believe it’s essential for us to offer a flexible service, that takes account of when and how our clients want contact. These drop-in sessions being held on a Saturday and in the early evening demonstrate our commitment to making sure everyone has access to the best possible legal advice.”

The Woolley & Co Drop-in advice sessions will be held at Bedford Business Club, Ampthill Road, Kempston Hardwick, Bedford , Bedfordshire, MK45 3JE on Saturday 25th and Wednesday 29th February.

For more details, or if you’d prefer to book a specific appointment time contact Lisa on 0845 6800934.

Learn more about family lawyer Lisa Smith here.

Drop in Family Law Advice Sessions

25th February 2012
10am – 5pm

29th February 2012
6pm – 10pm

Venue:
Bedford Business Club
Ampthill Road, Kempston Hardwick, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 3JE

Lisa Smith, family lawyer with Woolley & Co, will be on hand to provide confidential advice on divorce, separation, cohabitation, prenuptial agreements, child contact and residence and financial settlements on relationship breakdown. For more details contact Lisa Smith on 0845 6800934.

Expanding family law firm urges sector not to be afraid of new challenges

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:10:00 GMT

Specialist family law firm Woolley & Co has recruited three new solicitors as it continues to expand as the legal sector faces up to one of its biggest ever shake-ups.

The Warwickshire-based firm sees its roll grow to 23 this month with the recent arrival of Ian Giddings, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Kate Brooks, in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and Celia Christie, in Rugby, Warwickshire.

It is the latest chapter in the success story of the specialist family firm established in Warwickshire in 1996 with a business model of attracting senior level lawyers to work from home offices and offering flexible services built around the needs of the client.

And it bucks a trend being seen elsewhere in the industry with firms shedding jobs or merging as they prepare to face the challenges of the Legal Services Act which comes into force in October, allowing for greater competition in the sector from well-established household consumer brands.

“The industry is seeing a bit of a hiatus as some firms appear to scramble to prepare for the advent of so-called Tesco’s law which will see other high street organisations free to enter the legal market place and offer legal services,” said Andrew Woolley, managing partner at Woolley & Co, based in Warwickshire but with lawyers working across England and Wales.

“Some are merging because of the economic climate, some because they are trying to beef up on the range of services they offer as the new regulations come in, but we are finding that by offering specialist advice and quality customer service, business is going from strength to strength as it is.

“Competition is healthy so this change is nothing to be afraid of – if you have an effective business model and are offering expertise in a specific area of law.

“Ian, Kate and Celia joining us in the last six weeks reflects the general rise in cases we are seeing in the family law arena. That itself is set against additional changes in family law, such as a greater push for couples to use mediation rather than going to court, which some predicted would cause family law practices to take a significant hit.

“We continue to offer a flexible service to our clients, with services tailored around them, and make best use of technology, like emailing documents, something that is still not widely used in the sector and yet can significantly speed up proceedings. The flexible approach of working from a home office is also popular with our lawyers which means we are attracting high quality candidates and I for one am looking forward to the challenges that the next few months bring.”

All three new lawyers with Woolley & Co are members of Resolution, committed to non-confrontational divorce. In addition, Celia is one of only a relatively small number of specially trained collaborative lawyers in the country, who represent individuals in break-up who want to reach settlements without going to court.

Ian has been exclusively practicing family law since becoming a solicitor in 2003. Working predominantly in Coventry and Warwickshire, he has a wide range of contacts in the local community.

Kate specialises in resolving disputes about children following separation, such as where the children should live and the arrangements for contact with the absent parent.

Celia, who will cover clients in Rugby and Leamington, has handled more than 20 collaborative divorce cases, working with other collaborative lawyers in the Leamington area.

For more information about Woolley & Co, visit www.family-lawfirm.co.uk

Divorce on a farm need not be the end of succession

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:02:00 GMT

Changes to family law could make it easier for farming couples to ensure their children’s inheritance of the farm is safeguarded if they divorce.

Aimed at saving court time and money, Family Procedure Rules came into force on April 6 which insist that couples pursue alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a way of reaching a settlement if they are divorcing, rather than relying on going to court.

Two forms of ADR are mediation and collaborative law, both of which lean on specially trained solicitors or facilitators to help couples reach amicable agreement over what happens. This approach is widely seen as being more beneficial to safeguarding the future of “going concerns”, like a working family farm, so that the division of assets does not cripple the business.

However, lawyers are warning that farming families must look at the longer term when reaching agreements with estranged spouses to ensure successions and inheritances are safeguarded for their children

“In many professions, if there is a business involved in a divorce or family break-up, it may be that part of it has to be sold to ensure one party gets their share of the settlement, with the starting point often being a 50/50 split,” said Andrew Woolley, managing partner with Woolley & Co family law specialist which has an increasing number of farming clients.

“This may suit other sectors but in farming circles, it is just not practical. Thrashing out a deal over complicated holdings and where the assets include animals and very specialised, expensive machinery, would make it difficult for day to day life to continue as normal on the farm. Selling off part of the business could leave the remainder in no fit state to continue as a functioning, viable farm. This will not only “hurt” the partner who wants to stay in the business but also affect the next generation who might expect to take over the farm in due course.

“A sensible attitude needs to be adopted by couples in this situation and the ADR route may be the best forum in which to do this. Going to court can be a combative environment and bring out the worst in people. A judge may make an emotionless decision based on the cases presented, though there is case law to suggest that farms can be seen as exceptional cases, which has the ultimate affect of crippling the farm. Through ADR, a better solution should be easier to find.”

Farming remains one of the UK’s most traditional professions with a greater number of children taking on the family business and making a career out of it than almost any other sector. However, if a divorce settlement is not handled correctly and sensitively, there may not be much to inherit, which is particularly worrying against a backdrop where more people are going out of the profession and margins for many are shrinking.

Aggregate figures for 2010 show a 4.3 per cent drop in total farm incomes compared to previous years and analysts suggests it could be as much as 12 per cent down on 2008 figures.

“If a farming family is looking likely to divorce, both parties need to seek expert advice from an experienced family lawyer advise on the best path, particularly in the light of the new rules,” added Andrew, based near Stratford upon Avon in rural Warwickshire.

“These cases are far more complex than most and there needs to be an understanding of the farming process, way leaves, boundaries, farming payments etc. In the meantime, farm life goes on even if domestic life is falling apart. Any distraction from the day-to-day running of the farm could be damaging and an aggressive divorce dispute could be shattering for the next generation’s succession or inheritance.

“Inherited farms and landed estates will probably not be the subject of equal division on divorce, but each case is decided on its own facts and the courts have made many changes, and caused much surprise and often consternation, in recent years. “

There are steps that can be taken in advance to limit the potential reduction of an estate or farm by a later divorce. One option is to pass assets to the next generation sooner rather than later, particularly if they are old enough to take over the management of the farm or estate. Bear in mind though that such a disposition made less than three years before divorce proceedings will be presumed to have been made with the intention of defeating or reducing the other spouse's claim and so may not be entirely beyond the reach of the law.

Another possibility might be to settle assets into a trust from which the settlor – the person who settles property on express trust for the benefit of beneficiaries – is excluded. Again though, there is case law to suggest that if the settlor retains a high degree of control over the trust assets, the court could effectively “look through” the trust arrangements.

The most simple solution may be a prenuptial agreement which sets out how assets like the farm business and land should be divided if a relationship breaks down irretrievably. While these are still not absolutely legally binding in the UK, since 1997 there has been a clear and increasing trend by English judges to pay greater regard, in appropriate circumstances, to the provisions of a pre-nuptial agreement, if it is drawn up correctly with both parties receiving expert advice and agreeing to its contents.

For more advice or to request a free half-hour consultation to discuss your options, call 0800 321 3832.

Derby family lawyer trains to provide specialist support to blind clients

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:55:00 GMT

Woolley & Co family lawyer Andrew Robotham has completed a specialist training course equipping him with the skills and tools to guide blind and partially sighted clients through divorce and family law cases.

Andrew, based near Derby, attended a training course organised by Sight Support Derbyshire to add to his already impressive array of qualifications and skills as a divorce and family lawyer.

“The training course was really useful and enlightening,” explains Andrew who is a Resolution Accredited Specialist in Family Law. “People with a sight impairment or who may be blind don’t want to be treated any differently to anyone else – but it is important to understand what their limitations are and adjust the way you provide advice accordingly.

“I use a lot of email correspondence with clients normally, for example. If I am dealing with someone with a sight impairment I need to first establish how they prefer to receive communication. The course was useful in that it gave me an opportunity to learn about the tools and implements available to assist people in dealing with and executing documents as well as providing a better understanding of how to guide people through the process both physically and mentally.”

Andrew is now accredited by Sight Support Derbyshire to help and assist individuals through the full divorce and family law process.

Andrew Robotham can be contacted on 0870 680 2591 or by email here.

Pre-nups should be viewed like wills for relationships

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:12:00 GMT

A north London family solicitor has called for people to view prenuptial agreements as wills for relationships, based on sound financial planning.

Luci Larkin, who has joined family law specialists Woolley & Co working from a base in Barnet, believes attitudes towards the documents – which would be better called pre-relationship agreements – are thawing in the wake of recent high profile cases in the media which have seen courts back the arrangements.

And she believes individuals could save themselves significant time and money in the event of a separation or divorce by investing in an agreement early on in their relationship.

Luci is the second London based divorce solicitor for Woolley & Co and brings the total number of senior level lawyers working with the firm to 21, working from home bases around the country.

She has practised law for 13 years, focusing exclusively on family law for 10 of those, and has particular expertise in dealing with complex financial arrangements, including multiple property ownership, business interests and pension arrangements.

For the last few years she has been head of the family law department in a central London firm, but she believes that being based in north London means she can offer a high-class service to people living nearby without them feeling they have to travel into the heart of the city to get the best possible legal advice.

“I am very keen on offering a spot-on family law service to people around the area where I live. There is no reason why people should have to travel to a big firm in central London to ensure they get the best service,” said mother-of-one Luci, who is based in Barnet.

“I was attracted to Woolley & Co by the work/life balance that working at home brings, but also it allows me to offer a much more flexible service.

“I believe this is what clients want. I deal with a lot of individuals with high net worth and these are, by nature, often very busy people. They are very IT savvy so the fact that I am now able to converse with them and offer advice at the touch of a button is something they particularly value. There is also the flexibility in the hours I can work which appeals to someone running their own busy life as I can be available when it suits them.

“Clients come from all sorts of background. Empathy and rapport are very important.”

Luci believes the emergence of the prenuptial agreement as a recognised and reliable tool is one of the biggest issues in family law over the last year.

“It is preferable to get an agreement like this as early as possible in a relationship rather than wait until things go wrong and then try and sort things out,” she said.

“It gives much greater clarity and can significantly cut the time it takes to sort matters out if things go sour further down the road. It puts the power in the client’s hands and gives them greater control over their own destiny.

“I believe the stigma surrounding these is slowly going. They should be seen as pre-relationship agreements perhaps, viewed in the same way as a will. It is simply sound financial planning.”

Andrew Woolley, Managing Partner of Woolley & Co, established 14 years ago in Warwickshire using a virtual model of lawyers working from home office and making the most of new technology to cut the time and cost of cases, said he was delighted to welcome Luci to the team.

“Luci brings a wealth of experience and I am looking forward to working with her,” he said.

Luci will cover local clients in Barnet, Finchley, Hampstead and Highgate, Camden Town and in Enfield, St Albans, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, and around the whole of North London/Hertfordshire border.

You can contact her 0845 680 1834 or luci.larkin@family-lawfirm.co.uk, or via the Woolley & Co website at www.family-lawfirm.co.uk.

World Cup boom for divorce lawyers

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:28:00 GMT

With the World Cup kicking off in South Africa, divorce lawyers are preparing for a busy time as relationships break up under the strain of a partner following England’s campaign, according to the Daily Mail.

A study has shown there was a significant increase in couples seeking divorce in the fortnight after the last two tournaments, leading to an expectation of a repeat performance this time around.

The emotionally charged atmosphere of the next few weeks can lead to confrontations and be the last straw for long-suffering partners. But Woolley& Co is urging couples not to make big decisions at “pinch points” of tension like this.

“It is important that people don’t make life-changing decisions at times of emotional stress – like the aftermath of a big football game – and consider their situation carefully rather than making any snap decisions.”

If you need help with family law then call Woolley & Co on 0800 3213832 or book a free initial telephone appointment with one of our lawyers.

Wife left in financial ruin!

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:30:00 GMT

A Stourbridge man who turned to crime to pay his bills has left his wife facing a financial crisis, according to local press reports.

Alan Peck, aged 52, walked out of the home he shared with childhood sweetheart having forged her signature on a mortgage to pay off his spiralling debts.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday May 28, Peck, aged 52, was sentenced to a 14 week jail term suspended for two years for making a false representation to obtain a mortgage for £48,000 on the home he shared with Belinda in Clent Road, Amblecote.

The couple married in July 2005 but Peck announced he was leaving suddenly in November 2009. He is now petitioning Belinda, his third wife, for divorce and insisting she either buys him out of the mortgage or sells their home.

“Whilst this case is a criminal one relating to a forged signature, is does highlight a situation that many divorcing coupes can find themselves in,” said Andrew Woolley, managing partner of Woolley & Co.

“Being married to someone has certain legal implications, like a share of assets and, as in this case, debts. Many people are not aware of this.

“Also, when a relationship goes wrong, one party may pressure the other to sell a property to cash in on the perceived equity there – or at least to cut outgoings. If there are no children involved, it is possible a court could force this action.

“It is essential that anyone unsure of their position gets expert legal advice from an experienced family law specialist as soon as possible.”

If you need help with family law then call Woolley & Co on 0800 3213832 or book a free initial telephone appointment with one of our lawyers

How long does the average family spend together each day? 49 minutes

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:23:00 GMT

Families spend less than an hour a day together, according to a new survey.

More than two-thirds of parents blame financial pressures for getting in the way of family life, with mums and dads often blaming each other for failing to devote enough time to quality home life.

Some 55 per cent of mothers said their children’s fathers made too little effort – and 38 per cent of fathers accused mothers of the same thing.

The survey, of 3,000 parents and 1,000 children, found that mums and dads considered days out and holidays to be the highest quality family time.

However children disagree that family time has to break the bank with 66 per cent saying they are happy to spend time with family at home rather than going out.

The poll was conducted for National Family Week, which aims to encourage families to spend more time together and get parents and children to take part in active hobbies.

If you need help with family law then call Woolley & Co on 0800 3213832 or book a free initial telephone appointment with one of our lawyers.