If you have divorced, or intend to divorce, you may already be aware of the importance of a consent order. Without an order in place, any financial arrangements you make will not be considered legally binding. While consent orders are vital, sometimes circumstances can quickly change. This means that any…
The grounds for getting an annulment in the UK are very strict. Statistics from ONS indicate that only 231 annulments took place in 2021, which tells us that annulments in the UK are rare. For an annulment to be granted, a marriage must be either ‘void’ or ‘voidable’. This can be a…
The rights of parents and especially fathers to spend time with their children after a couple separate can be a highly complex and emotive issue. It’s unfortunately common to hear tales of fathers who are being denied the right to access their children, leading them to question what rights they…
A breach of a consent order happens when a party fails to comply with the legally binding court order. To address this, the non-breaching party can first try to resolve the issue directly with the other person or by sending a warning letter. If that fails, the next step is…
There are many reasons why couples tend to view annulment as the preferred option when compared to divorce. This includes situations where there are religious or cultural reasons for not wanting a divorce, where a couple have not been married for 12 months and are unable to legally divorce, or…
There are many reasons why a couple may choose a legal separation as opposed to applying for a divorce or civil partnership dissolution. Whether for religious or cultural reasons, or because a couple have been married or in a civil partnership for less than a year, a legal separation is…
A prenup (more formally referred to as a prenuptial agreement) is a document that couples can sign prior to marriage which clarifies their respective financial rights and obligations. An effective prenup in the UK will make provision for any property, debts, income, and assets that a couple have purchased together,…
Knowing where you stand during separation can be very difficult to comprehend, especially where you share children and/or financial assets. One solution to remedy this confusion would be a separation agreement, which outlines the terms and conditions that govern the separation. This includes the division of assets and any financial…
As with many questions in family law, there is no one, simple answer to the question: what am I entitled to in a divorce settlement? Every case is different because the circumstances of each couple is different. Who gets what in a divorce settlement? The starting point for dividing assets…
We often hear divorcing couples say they want a “clean break”. How many of them, however, really understand what is meant legally by “a clean break”? A clean break order is a court ruling that cuts off all financial links between ex-spouses following a divorce or civil partnership dissolution, ensuring…
As a family lawyer, I am rarely involved at the start of a relationship when all is going well and people are considering moving in together. Instead, my involvement normally arises at the point the relationship is breaking down or has broken down. This has given me a lot of…