Family Law Articles & Advice

In this blog, North West family lawyer Louise Halford looks at divorce emotions and explains how an empathetic family law solicitor can help you navigate the stages of grief during divorce. Separation and divorce can be an emotional rollercoaster. It’s a ride you probably didn’t want to get on with many twists and turns.  At Evolve Family Law our divorce solicitors understand that as well as needing specialist family law advice to help you on your divorce journey you also require support in navigating the path to life beyond divorce. If you need help with your divorce or separation phone us or complete our online enquiry form. Experiencing divorce emotions Everyone experiences divorce differently. With over 25 years of experience as a family lawyer, Louise Halford has learnt that divorce emotions are not necessarily linked to how long you were married or if you are divorcing with young children. If you have been married for two years your divorce emotions may be just as intense as someone who was married for twenty-plus years - because you are grieving for the years and the children you might have had. When you are separating your friends and family may try to compare what you are going through with their own experiences or tell you to get a grip because your divorce emotions can't be compared to a bereavement. However, with a bereavement, you may feel anger and an overwhelming sense of loss but not the same sense of rejection and repudiation. The grief can be just as real as a bereavement, just different. As specialist family law solicitors, we see a lot of raw divorce emotions. We believe it’s best for people to be honest about their grief and for comparisons not to be made with others – it isn’t a league table and you are entitled to feel the emotions you are experiencing. The range of divorce emotions  People can feel: Grief and sorrow Anger and rage Guilt Sadness and a sense of loss Euphoria and joy  Vindication  Fear You may feel all these emotions during your separation and divorce or just some of them. Often emotions can be all mixed up with you feeling euphoric at finally taking the plunge and leaving your ex but fearful about your future. Emotions can be very jumbled up. For example: Experiencing grief because your children won't have the sort of childhood you envisaged for them Feeling guilty that you were the one to end the relationship but feeling glad that you can move on with your life Feeling euphoric that you have your final order in the divorce proceedings but sad because of the impact of the separation on your children  Feeling vindicated because your suspicions about your ex were right but fearful about what the future may hold for you as a single parent  Some of our divorce clients are very open about their emotions. They describe the daily rollercoaster of feeling bereft at breakfast and optimistic by one o'clock with tinges of vindication tempered by guilt. Those feelings can be even more complicated when you are trying to help your children or step-children through their emotional processing of parental separation and to sort out post-separation parenting arrangements. Divorce emotions and children   The first point to acknowledge is that whether you are a stay-at-home parent of a toddler or living with your adult children in the family home your children can colour your divorce journey. For example: Guilt – because you won't be able to fund a deposit for your adult child to buy their first home or you may have to return to work earlier than anticipated after the birth of a child  Fear – because you are worried about the impact of selling the family home on teenage children  Anger – as you know your child is upset that they are no longer living with both parents and you can't see your child as much as you would like as your ex is being difficult [related_posts] Managing divorce emotions    Some people manage their grief and divorce emotions by denying they exist and devoting their energy to appearing calm and in control. It can be counterproductive to keep a tight lid on emotions. They can explode into a burst of anger meaning you tell your ex what you really think of their behaviour. That can be unhelpful when trying to co-parent or negotiate a financial settlement. Others manage their grief by talking to family or friends but this can be wearing for friends or family if they are your sole source of support. They may also offer support that isn’t appropriate for you or the sort of help that may exacerbate your issues. Others may try to take over in the guise of helping but it is your financial settlement, not theirs. Keeping divorce emotions in check can be important if you are employed but it isn’t realistic to think that your work won't be affected by what is happening in your personal life. Sometimes letting the HR department know about your separation can help as managers may be more sympathetic if they know you have separated. That’s because employers perceive divorce as a temporary problem resulting in a short-term dip in performance rather than an unexplained and potential long-term issue. Also, some employers offer paid for counselling. Getting some help to manage divorce grief and emotions  A divorce solicitor isn’t a counsellor or therapist but you should not hide how you feel from your lawyer. They need to know this so they can provide the support you need. This could range from suggesting you meet with a specialist counsellor, see your GP or delay starting family mediation until you are ‘in a better place’ to negotiate a financial settlement.  Alternatively, you may need more practical help, such as a recommendation for an empathetic mortgage advisor or financial advisor to fully explore and explain your mortgage or financial options or advice on applying for an injunction order or a child arrangement order if your emotions are down to your ex-partner continuing to harass you or due to their behaviour around the children. Divorce emotions don’t cut off after six weeks or even a year. You may be a sudden rush of emotion when you thought you were over the worst. Telling your solicitor how you feel is important so they don’t mistake your emotional state as being willing to do a deal at a financial dispute resolution hearing when the reality is that you are feeling overwhelmed and unable to make decisions. At Evolve Family Law all our solicitors are empathetic to your situation and are here to listen and help. If you need help with your divorce or separation phone us or complete our online enquiry form.

Our North West divorce solicitors write lots of financial consent orders. This blog explains why you need an order and how we write them. If you would like our help in negotiating a financial settlement or writing an order then call us for a quote and to arrange a consultation. For financial consent order advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Why you need a financial consent order  Anyone who is getting divorced, or who got divorced without a financial court order, needs an order.  That advice applies even if you: Don’t own a house Signed a prenup or postnup Parted amicably and you don’t think your ex would ever come after you for money  Split the house sale proceeds when you separated Didn’t start your new business or buy your current house until after your divorce  Signed a separation agreement  Reached an agreement in family mediation  Think your ex has more money than you  If you don’t have a financial court order you risk your ex being able to ask for a financial settlement.  Your former spouse can do that many years after the divorce is finalised. Back in 2000, you may have been married for a few years and think that you are in the clear but your ex could have hit hard times or heard about your success and want a share of your pension or a payoff because they know you have inherited some money. If you don’t want to be at risk of an unexpected claim you need a financial court order – preferably one that includes a clean break. What is a clean break financial consent order? A clean break financial consent order stops any future financial claims. Other types of financial consent orders leave the door partially open so a spouse can ask for maintenance later or can ask the court to swap their spousal maintenance into a pension sharing order. If you are relying on your ex’s solicitor to prepare the consent order because you want to save a bit of money then this may be a false economy as you need to know what your options are and what the clauses mean. For example, a financial consent order can be a full clean break, partial clean break or leave future claims open. The law is confusing and that’s why most divorcing couples find that they need expert advice to protect their interests. Even if you didn’t negotiate a clean break order some things can't be reopened after you have obtained your financial consent order. For example, if you agreed to give your ex-husband £100,000 in consideration for him agreeing to transfer the family home into your name, your ex can't normally argue after the order has been made that he wants an extra £20,000. The only circumstances where a capital part of a financial consent order can be re-opened is where a former spouse can show there was an element of dishonesty or coercion at the time of the original order. Feeling regretful that you didn’t get a better deal isn’t sufficient for a court to reopen the order. [related_posts] How to write a financial consent order? You need to take a lot of care when writing a financial consent order. That’s because once the order is made it is final. The judge won't agree to you asking to change the order because you did not fully understand what a clause meant. As family law solicitors we write financial consent orders every week but we are cautious when doing so to check that: The wording in the draft financial consent order is the same as in your negotiated financial settlement. Your financial  deal could be in a solicitor’s letter, minutes of a roundtable meeting or memorandum of agreement made in family mediation  The wording is as clear and simple as possible whilst also following legal precedents. These legal precedents mean it is less likely that your financial consent order wording could be questioned by the judge asked to approve the order or later on. For example, if your order includes spousal maintenance but does not give your ex the ability to apply back to court to extend the time that spousal maintenance is paid for, this must be carefully worded as a deferred clean break   You understand what your financial consent order means and who is responsible for checking its implementation. For example, if you agree to a pension sharing order it must be implemented by the pension administrator. The court will not implement the order for you  The order is capable of being enforced. If you have agreed to receive £100,000 as a lump sum from your ex there needs to be a deadline for payment so you can enforce the order if it isn’t paid. If you are going to receive spousal maintenance the order should say that the money will be paid by standing order to save aggro   You understand the importance of providing accurate information in your financial statement of information. The judge will not approve your agreed financial consent order without you both completing a financial statement of information. This must be on the prescribed form. While the judge won't be concerned about the pence (you can round down or up the amount you have in savings) the onus is on you to provide accurate information. For example, if you say your family business shareholding is worth £500,000 when you have had an offer for the company that gives your shares a value of £3 m. That level of inaccuracy would leave you exposed to your ex being able to reopen the order as it was made without full and frank financial disclosure. The same would apply if you only mentioned one pension transfer value when you had three pensions at the time of your divorce or if you didn’t mention other relevant financial or personal information The order is future-proofed if that is what you want.  If you have agreed to pay spousal maintenance, do you want to include a clause that says the maintenance is inflation-linked to avoid the need for variation applications? There are other ways you may need to future-proof your order      Fixed fee financial consent orders At Evolve Family Law we offer transparent pricing and fixed fees for preparing most financial consent orders. For more information on our fixed fees have a look here.  For information on financial consent orders or advice on divorce or family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Sorting out how you split the equity in the family home can be tricky. It can be a lot harder to reach a divorce settlement when you are also trying to agree on who pays the bank loan and credit cards, what happens to the pensions, and whether one of you should pay spousal maintenance and for how long. In this blog, our family law solicitors answer your questions on divorce financial settlements.  Call us for expert family law advice or complete our online enquiry form.  Reaching a divorce settlement  In the UK, divorce settlements are discretionary and based on reasonable needs. The statutory factors make it hard for couples to reach a financial agreement as English family law doesn’t say that a husband and wife must split their assets equally or that a wife must return to full-time employment when the youngest child is 11 or that a husband will always keep a family business owned before the marriage or even that the divorce court must follow a prenuptial agreement. If there are no hard and fast rules, how are divorce settlements reached? Ultimately, if a husband and wife can't agree, it is down to a family court judge to decide what happens to each asset and make a financial court order. The judge will look at statutory criteria and case law when making the order. When a divorce solicitor advises on likely divorce settlement outcomes, they base their advice on their experience in negotiating settlements and representing spouses in contested financial court proceedings.  Divorce settlement advice   If you need divorce settlement advice, it's crucial to speak to a divorce lawyer. The solicitor will talk to you about your circumstances before offering advice. Examples of why information and talking are important include: It is often assumed there should be a 50/50 split of assets after a long marriage. However, that assumption could be displaced for several reasons, such as the wife can't get a mortgage and needs more than 50% of the assets to buy a new family home for herself and the children or most of the assets were inherited by the husband before the marriage and the wife can comfortably rehouse herself and meet all her other needs with 30% of the total assets. Alternatively, the couple may have signed a prenuptial agreement to ringfence inherited money Clean breaks should be achieved to end any financial or other ongoing ties between husband and wife. However, if the family home is sold, the equity won't be enough for either the husband or wife to buy another property, so both parents will be stuck renting. Maybe the parent who is the primary carer of the children should stay in the family home until the youngest child is 18. The house can then be sold, and the proceeds of the sale can be split in percentages fair to the ex-husband and wife   Discretion and how it works with divorce settlements Family law solicitors will outline the discretionary factors the court applies when making a financial court order after a contested final hearing of a financial application. The factors are just as relevant if you are negotiating an agreement through family mediation, solicitor negotiations or trying to do a deal at a financial dispute resolution hearing. The discretionary factors are contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The lawyer shorthand for them is ‘Section 25 criteria’. The court’s first concern should be the welfare of any dependent children and how the children's needs will be met. The court should then consider the Section 25 criteria: The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resources that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future. With earning capacity, this includes any increase in that capacity which it would, in the opinion of the court, be reasonable to expect a husband or wife to take steps to acquire The financial needs, obligations, and responsibilities that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage The age of the husband and wife and the length of the relationship  Any health issues affecting either the husband or wife or their children   The contributions made by the husband or wife or likely to be made in the foreseeable future to the welfare of the family, including any contribution as a homemaker or stay-at-home parent  The conduct of the husband or wife if that conduct is such that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard it The value to the husband and wife of any benefit (for example, a pension) that they will lose the chance of acquiring because of the divorce With this list of factors, it is easy to see how, in some situations, a judge may order a different financial settlement from another judge. However, the difference in judicial view should be within a band of reasonableness. For example, it would be unreasonable for one judge to say an equal split of equity in the family home and for another one to say a 90/10 split of the equity in the family home would meet the Section 25 criteria. With the uncertainty of judicial discretion, most divorcing couples prefer to try to negotiate a divorce financial consent order based on their family lawyer’s assessment of the Section 25 criteria. [related_posts] How to get the best divorce settlement  Some people think the only way to get the best divorce settlement is to apply to the court for a financial order.  They may be right. For example, if their former spouse is refusing to provide financial disclosure, is transferring assets to friends or family or is refusing to agree to a valuation of the family home or business. In other situations, a divorcing husband or wife must weigh up the costs and time in making a financial application against the benefits to be gained.  A family law solicitor will tell you that if your ex-spouse is only offering you 10% of the family assets, you need to go to court. It is far harder to advise on the decision to start financial proceedings if your former spouse is offering you 45%. The decision may then come down to the value of the 5% of the assets you may be losing out on balanced against the costs of going to court. Things are often more complicated than that, as you may also dispute your ex-spouse’s valuation of his business or home, or you may argue that your ex-partner is offering you assets that are not as valuable to you as the ones you want. For example, they may be proposing that they will keep all the equity in the family home and you keep all your pensions, but that deal doesn’t give you the capital to rehouse yourself even though it will provide you with an income in eventual retirement. At Evolve Family Law, our North West divorce solicitors focus on finding out what your ideal divorce settlement would look like and why. We then work on discovering the full extent of the family assets and any property that might be classed as non-family assets. We can then have an informed discussion with you about your realistic settlement options so you can weigh up the pros and cons of court proceedings over family mediation or arbitration or weigh up the advantages of spousal maintenance over a bigger share of equity in the family home. Having the right expert support behind you can give you the confidence to say yes or no to what is on offer from your ex, knowing that your lawyers have a strategy to get you the divorce settlement you need. Call us for an appointment to discuss your divorce settlement or complete our online enquiry form. 

In this blog, prenuptial agreement solicitor Robin Charrot looks at the statistics on prenuptial agreements and explains why you should consider signing a prenup or postnuptial agreement. For prenuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Prenup statistics The research from Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management highlights that: Only one in ten couples have a prenuptial agreement Younger married couples are more likely to sign a prenup before marriage Nearly a third of those interviewed didn’t sign a prenup because they didn’t think they would get divorced Prenup research and the relevance of age The Handelsbanken research reveals how important age is to the decision to sign a relationship agreement. Although 89% of couples don’t have a prenup, the statistics are very different when broken down into age groups: 40% of couples aged 18-34 have a prenup 11% of couples aged 35-54 have a prenup 1% of couples over 55 have a prenup What’s concerning to prenuptial agreement lawyers is that according to 2021 statistics from the Office of National Statistics, the average duration of a marriage at divorce was 12.3 years for opposite-sex divorces in 2021. Handelsbanken research shows that, worryingly, those entering second or third marriages or getting married for the first time later in life are less likely to sign a prenup. While anyone getting married should consider signing a prenup, it is especially sensible to do so if you have pre-marriage acquired assets, a prior divorce financial settlement, or children from a previous relationship. Research on why couples don’t sign prenups Prenuptial agreement solicitors are always interested in discovering why people don’t want the safeguards a relationship agreement provides. The research shows: 10% hadn’t heard about prenups 15% thought they would be able to sort things out between themselves 16% were not worried about splitting up and dividing assets 17% thought assets would be split equally 32% thought they would not split up so a prenup was unnecessary The responses reveal that many of those interviewed do not see a prenup in the same way as say life or critical illness policies; a safeguard that you hopefully won't need but comforting to know it is there if you need it. [related_posts] Why you need a prenuptial agreement Let's go through the reasons why people don’t sign prenups and explain why they can be helpful: No need, we agree – when you are getting married and in love you don’t need a prenup. However, at the time of your separation or divorce, when you are likely to have far more in property equity, pensions and other assets, emotions and hurt may cloud your judgment or that of your husband or wife We are not worried – you may not be worried about having a prenup but if you do split up you may regret not signing one. A prenup can take away a lot of the worry and stress at the time of your separation because you are less likely to end up in expensive and lengthy court proceedings over how your assets should be split and if spousal maintenance should be paid No need, it's an equal split – that may be accurate at the time of your marriage but fast forward 5, 10, 15 or 20 years and it could be a different story. For example, you may need spousal maintenance if you have stayed at home to look after children or through ill health or you may want an unequal split if you inherited money during the marriage We won't split up – according to ONS statistics, nearly half of marriages end in divorce. Saying you don’t need a prenup because you won't split up is a bit like saying you don’t need critical illness coverage or a Lasting Power of Attorney because you don’t think you will fall ill. Hopefully, you are right to be positive but insurance, LPAs and prenups all give peace of mind The status of prenups in divorce proceedings Our prenuptial agreement lawyers had thought research would show that people would think a prenup wasn’t worth it as it isn’t legally binding but that did not come out as a major reason not to sign an agreement. It's true that under current English family law, a prenuptial agreement isn’t automatically legally binding on a husband and wife at the time of any future divorce proceedings but the agreement will carry significant (potentially full weight) if safeguards are met. The safeguards are: Fairness - the terms of the agreement are fair to both of you – that’s why you need a prenup solicitor to advise you on the contents Timing -the agreement is signed a few weeks before the marriage Understanding - you both understood what you were signing up for and there was no coercion Knowledge- you both provided financial disclosure to help you decide if the agreement was fair Advice – you both took independent advice from family law solicitors If you didn’t sign a prenup before your marriage you can remedy that now by signing a postnuptial or after marriage agreement. Our relationship agreement lawyers will carefully advise you on the type of agreement you need and the options for what to include in it. We will then provide sensitive advice to help you finalise and sign off on your agreement. For prenuptial or postnuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you separate from a husband or wife you need to reach an agreement over what happens to the house and to decide how your assets are split. Until you do so your life can feel in limbo. Our North West divorce solicitors focus on helping you reach a financial agreement that meets your needs. One way to do that is through a private financial dispute resolution. Family lawyer, Robin Charrot, explains what a private financial dispute resolution is and why it may be the best solution for you. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is a financial dispute resolution hearing? A financial dispute resolution hearing is a stage in the financial settlement court process. Financial court proceedings follow a set path timetabled by the court: Financial application sent to court by the husband or wife The court issues the financial application and provides a court timetable Form E financial disclosure by the husband and wife First directions appointment hearing – a preliminary hearing Court-ordered valuations, reports and further financial disclosure is obtained Financial dispute resolution hearing – a settlement hearing Final hearing (if required) Step six, the financial dispute resolution (FDR) is a court or judge-led settlement hearing. The FDR judge hears legal submissions from the representatives of the husband and wife. The FDR judge then says what they think a judge at the final hearing might order if the application had to go to the expense of a final hearing. The financial dispute resolution hearing is designed to encourage a husband and wife to reach a financial settlement. Their financial agreement is made into a binding financial consent order by the FDR judge. You cannot be forced into reaching a financial agreement at a court FDR. However, it may be in your best interests to do so to save money and to avoid the risk of your ending up with less after a final hearing. A negotiated compromise ensures that you walk away from court with a financial settlement that you are satisfied with rather than one that a judge imposes on you after hearing evidence at a final hearing. If divorce lawyers can't negotiate an acceptable financial settlement for you at the FDR, they ask the FDR judge to list the financial application for a final hearing. The final hearing won't be listed before the judge who gave their settlement views at the FDR hearing. Any offers or concessions made at the FDR hearing cannot be brought to the judge’s attention at the final hearing. Do you need a court financial dispute resolution hearing to reach a financial settlement? You only need to start financial proceedings if you can't reach a financial agreement amicably. Ways to reach an agreed financial settlement include: A private financial dispute resolution arranged outside of the court process Solicitor negotiations Roundtable meeting Family mediation Arbitration Using the One Lawyer Service at Evolve Family Law Reaching an agreement using collaborative law Direct discussions between husband and wife A family law solicitor can briefly discuss each option and recommend the one they think would be best for you. For example, if your ex won't give financial disclosure the recommendation will be to start financial court proceedings as the court can order financial disclosure and enforce the order. What is a private financial dispute resolution? A private financial dispute resolution is like a court-based financial dispute resolution hearing but instead of waiting for a court date, the FDR takes place with a private judge (a jointly appointed barrister) in their chambers or at another agreed venue. In a private FDR, you and your husband or wife pay privately for the services of the FDR judge. In addition to these fees, you also pay the cost of your divorce solicitor and any barrister instructed on your behalf. [related_posts] Preparing for a private financial dispute resolution You and your family law solicitor need to be well prepared for the private FDR to ensure that it has the best chance of helping you reach a financial settlement. This is achieved through: Financial disclosure by husband and wife Asking any extra relevant questions about the financial disclosure and getting answers Any necessary valuations obtained. For example, a valuation of the family home, business or pensions Any necessary reports obtained, such as on the tax implications of the sale or transfer of assets Checking things like your housing needs, mortgage capacity, job prospects or other relevant factors Looking at what you want to achieve from the private FDR so you go to it understanding the FDR process and knowing what you are prepared to compromise on and what your ‘bottom line’ is What are the advantages of private financial dispute resolution over a court FDR hearing? The advantages of a private FDR are: A private FDR is quicker than a court FDR hearing. Court delays and backlogs mean there could be a substantial wait for a court hearing date. You may want to reach a decision quickly so you can sell the family home or shares in a family business A private FDR is more civilised. At court, you may be negotiating outside the courtroom in the corridor because of a lack of interview rooms or feel rushed because the FDR judge has several other cases. That doesn’t happen with a private FDR. Improved facilities and time together with separate consultation rooms improve the prospects of your being able to reach a financial agreement With a private FDR the divorce solicitors select the FDR judge. At a court-based FDR, you will be allocated a judge to hear the FDR. The judge at a court FDR may not have specialised in family law before becoming a part-time or full-time judge. In a private FDR, your divorce lawyers jointly select the person who will conduct the private FDR. This can be particularly helpful if there are complex aspects to your financial settlement or if you need your private FDR judge to have experience in a particular area of family law What happens if you reach an agreement at a private financial dispute resolution? If you reach a financial agreement over how to divide your assets at a private FDR your family lawyer will either prepare a document called a ‘heads of agreement’ or a draft financial court order. The financial consent order will be sent to the family court for approval together with a financial statement of information. The statement of information gives the court sufficient information for the judge to decide whether to make the requested order. The court normally makes the agreed order without raising any questions and without the need for a court hearing. Why do you need a financial court order after reaching an agreement at a private FDR? You need a financial court order from the court after reaching an agreement at a private FDR for several reasons: If your agreement includes pension sharing the pension administrator will require the sealed court order and final order of divorce before they can implement the pension sharing order Some mortgage companies need a copy of a court order before they will agree to remove one spouse’s name from the mortgage. Alternatively, the mortgage company may require the order as proof that one spouse is receiving spousal maintenance and therefore has sufficient income for their planned borrowing If the agreement cannot be implemented you need a financial court order to be able to apply to court to enforce what was agreed If you have questions about financial settlements after a separation or divorce our specialist Northwest divorce solicitors can help guide you to reach a financial settlement and secure a financial court order. For information on private financial dispute resolution hearings or advice on divorce or family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Although the Child Maintenance Service uses a mathematical formula to calculate child maintenance many parents prefer to negotiate child support and want to know how overnight stays affect child maintenance. In this article, our North West family law solicitors look at how overnight contact affects the amount of child support under the Child Maintenance Service rules. However, child maintenance solicitors who are negotiating child maintenance on behalf of parents don’t have to stick rigidly to the CMS rules as a parent may want to agree to child maintenance payments as part of an overall divorce financial settlement and parenting arrangement. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Equal day-to-day care of a child There is no child support liability under Child Maintenance Service rules if there is shared equal parenting. That’s the case even if one parent earns double or triple the amount of the other parent. If the parents are married the court can order spousal maintenance. The court can also award the lower-earning parent more equity in the family home to help them rehouse themselves. The parents can also negotiate and agree that child support will be paid despite the child’s care being shared. If parents are unmarried the court cannot order spousal maintenance. The court also cannot divide the equity in the family home in a way that it thinks is fair in an unmarried parent property dispute. Instead, the court must use property and trust laws when working out how the equity in an unmarried property dispute will be split or the judge can use Schedule 1 of the Children Act to provide a home while the children are dependent. When the court is asked to make a child arrangement order and one parent wants equal care and the other parent is opposed to shared parenting the court makes its decision based on its assessment of what contact arrangements are in the best interests of the child rather than purely on the impact of overnight contact on child support. The impact of overnight contact when care isn’t equally shared Under the Child Maintenance Service rules if a parent has overnight contact their child support liability is reduced as follows: Overnight contact    Reduction in the amount of child support  52 nights per year     1/7th 104 nights per year   2/7ths 156 nights per year   3/7ths 175 nights per year   50% The overnight contact rule throws up some odd consequences. A parent can look after their child all day but they don’t get a reduction in their child support payments unless the child stays overnight with them. The overnight contact is calculated by reference to a year rather than a week or month as a shorter period might give a misleading picture. Parents should keep a record of overnight contact if they are concerned that the annual amount of contact might tip over into the next level of reduction in child support. That way there is some evidence if there is a dispute. If you have more than one child and there are different overnight contact arrangements you need to record both arrangements. The annual overnight contact figure includes holiday contact. That applies whether the parent takes the child away on holiday or stays at home on a staycation. [related_posts] What does child maintenance cover? Child maintenance is meant to cover the cost of caring for a child. That isn’t just the child’s food and school uniform costs but also a share of the cost of housing (mortgage or rent), heating and all the associated household expenses, such as water rates or TV licence. The Child Maintenance Service doesn’t work out a fair division of the cost of caring for a child. Instead, it uses its mathematical formula. Parents paying child support and parents receiving child maintenance often perceive this formula as unfair and very arbitrary. For example, a mother looking after a child as the primary carer has the same monthly mortgage payment whether her ex-husband has overnight contact on 155 or 157 nights per year but his having two extra nights of overnight contact a year could make a big difference to the amount she receives in child support and to her ability to pay her bills. Likewise, a father who only gets to see his children on 103 nights per year as his ex-wife has moved hundreds of miles away still has to pay for a house that’s big enough to comfortably house the children when they come to stay with him. The father will still be liable to pay child support even if he is the lower earner and even though he didn’t agree to his ex-wife’s decision to move away with the children. Although child support is meant to cover all the things children need, child maintenance lawyers are frequently told that a parent objects to paying child maintenance because the money given as child support appears to be being spent on the receiving parent’s clothes and activities and not on the children. There is no requirement for the receiving parent to provide evidence that the child support payment is being spent solely on the child and their living costs. What things affect child maintenance? The amount payable in child maintenance isn’t just affected by the level of overnight contact. If the paying parent decides to make voluntary extra pension payments this reduces their gross income on which the child maintenance calculation is made. That policy seems to prioritise long-term retirement goals over the child support needs of children. Other criticisms of the child support system include the deductions allowed if a paying parent has other children living in their household. The rigid formula approach takes no account of the fact that the parent receiving child support can end up with a sudden reduction in child maintenance because of family decisions made by the paying parent. Negotiating child maintenance Most family lawyers see the child maintenance formula as a useful starting point. If parents want to negotiate child support so the figure is higher or lower, the child maintenance solicitors' focus should be on ensuring that the agreement reached is fair and workable. That involves reality testing your divorce financial settlement so you know that the full financial deal stacks up from the share in the equity in the family home to the split of pensions and of course spousal maintenance and child support. Your agreement then needs to be incorporated into a binding financial court order so you can enforce it if necessary. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Statistically around half of marriages end in divorce in the UK. The information from the Office for National Statistics doesn’t tell the whole story though. Our North West family law solicitors answer your questions on marriages ending in divorce in the UK. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The ONS marriage and divorce statistics in the UK The Office for National Statistics is the place for reliable marriage and divorce data. The website reveals that: In 2021, there were 113,505 divorces granted in England and Wales The divorce rate increased by 9.6% increase compared to the figures for 2020 Divorce rates in 2021 were 9.3 for men and 9.4 for women per 1,000 of the married population. These figures include same-sex marriages In opposite-sex couples in 2021, females were more likely to start divorce proceedings than men. Just over 63% of divorce applications were started by women For opposite-sex divorces in 2021, the average duration of marriage at divorce was 12.3 years For couples married in 2011, less than 1 in 5 marriages end in divorce by the 10th wedding anniversary Should we rely on the 2021 ONS divorce data? The problem with relying on the ONS data is: The latest figures are for 2021 and not 2024 The ONS statistics are for marriages but a large percentage of the population are in cohabiting relationships. Statistics for cohabitation relationship breakdown are not recorded The headline data figures do not show regional variances but in the North West of England the place with the highest divorce rate in 2021 was Blackpool The headline statistics of 113,505 divorces in 2021 do not indicate if the divorces were first, second or third marriages Family court statistics Family court statistics give us some statistical information for 2024. The family court figures for the period January to March 2024 reveal there were: 27,908 divorce applications made, equating to an 11% deduction from the same period in 2023 21,662 final orders of divorce granted, equating to an increase of 19% from the same period in the previous year Starting divorce proceedings in 2025 Although the historical 2021 statistics show a rise in divorce proceedings the reality is that if you are in the difficult position of applying for a divorce in 2025 then the statistics will mean very little to you. Your focus will be on navigating your divorce. With the introduction of no-fault divorce, the court proceedings are streamlined and less adversarial. You no longer have to say that your ex-spouse behaved unreasonably or committed adultery. However, a divorce still takes around six months to obtain. That’s because court rules require gaps at two stages in the divorce process to give time for reflection. Those gaps can't be avoided. Two of the main divorce stressors are not the decision to start divorce proceedings but: Reaching an agreement on the parenting arrangements for your children Dividing your assets, reaching a financial settlement and obtaining a financial court order Our divorce solicitors can guide you through the no-fault divorce process. We can also help you reach a parenting agreement and financial settlement. It's important that the childcare arrangement is recorded in a parenting plan and your financial settlement gets converted into a binding financial court order. Reaching an agreement on parenting or your finances does not necessarily mean that you must apply to the court for a child arrangement order or ask the court to make a financial court order. Our North West family lawyers can help you through: Legal advice in between family mediation sessions Converting a memorandum of agreement negotiated during family mediation into a binding court order Helping you reach an agreement through our one-lawyer divorce service Assisting you resolve parenting or financial issues through family arbitration [related_posts] Divorce consultations You may be worried about the legal aspects of your divorce. Many people have questions about: Should they start the divorce proceedings or allow their spouse to do so? Can they stay in the family home after they start the divorce proceedings? Will the children have to be co-parented on a 50/50 basis and how will that work practically with jobs and other commitments? Will a 50/50 parenting arrangement affect child support? Will spousal maintenance be payable and for how long? Who will keep the family home? Will they be able to get a mortgage on their own so they can buy another house? Can they keep their inheritance, pension or business? Will the prenuptial agreement stop their ex-spouse from making any claims? If the children don’t want to see a parent, will the children be forced by the court into a 50/50 split of their time between both parents' homes? Will the children be able to continue in private education after the separation? Who will have to pay the school fees? Our specialist family lawyers can answer all your questions. We may not be able to answer them all at the first meeting as we may need more information about things, such as the transfer value of the pension or your potential earnings capacity if a situation where you are worried about whether you will be able to get a mortgage or rehouse yourself without spousal maintenance payments. Relationship breakdown initial review At Evolve Family Law, our experts understand that you want and need answers to your questions, including pressing questions about whether your ex will have to pay the mortgage if they leave the family home. We provide a relationship breakdown consultation for a fixed fee. This involves one meeting with a qualified lawyer regarding all legal and practical aspects of your separation and advice. If you decide that you would like us to start divorce proceedings on your behalf there is a separate divorce fixed fee. We also try to offer fixed-fee services for other legal services, such as converting your financial settlement into a binding financial court order or making a new Will after your separation. All our experienced family law solicitors are committed to helping you through your divorce proceedings and assisting you in reaching a parenting agreement and financial settlement as quickly as possible. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

There's a lot to think about when you are getting divorced. One of your priorities when separating will be the living arrangements for your children followed closely by your financial settlement and whether you will stay in the family home or get a share of your spouse’s pension or business. Your Will may be low on your list of priorities when you are in the middle of no-fault divorce and financial settlement proceedings. Our Will solicitors understand this but can quickly and efficiently sort out a new Will for you when you are ready to do so. In this article, our Will solicitors explain how a divorce affects your Will and why it's important to prioritise a new Will. For expert Will advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form. Does divorce cancel an existing Will? Divorce does not cancel a Will made during your marriage. However, divorce has an impact on your Will. If you are unaware of the automatic effect of a divorce on your Will you need to speak to a Will lawyer for advice and a new Will. Divorce does not: Revoke a Will made during your marriage Reinstate a Will made before your marriage Leave you without a valid Will – but depending on the terms of your Will all your estate could pass under intestacy rules despite your having a valid pre-divorce Will Divorce does: Leave you with a valid Will but your ex-husband or former wife is treated in law as if they died when the marriage ended by divorce Leave you with no or one less executor if you appointed your former spouse as an executor of your Will Leave all or part of your estate to be dealt with under the intestacy rules if you left all or a share of your estate to your husband, wife or civil partner and you did not say in your Will who would inherit if they died before you Many Wills made during a marriage or civil partnership appoint a spouse as the executor and leave the entire estate or most of it to the spouse or civil partner. This type of Will is worthless after divorce and needs to be updated quickly. Why do you need a new Will when you divorce? Separation or divorce should always trigger a review of your Will. You should not assume that if your former spouse won't inherit under your Will the intestacy rules will allow your preferred family member to inherit your ex-spouse’s inheritance. If you want your children to inherit your estate instead of your former spouse you may need to appoint trustees if your children will potentially be aged under 18 when they inherit. Making a Will allows you to decide the age when your children will receive their inheritance. You may want your children to receive their legacy at age 25 with a clause in the Will to give your trustees the power to advance income or capital to your children for agreed purposes, such as a house deposit or to help fund university fees. If you have a blended family with a new partner and children from previous relationships and step-children it is essential to consider signing a new Will. Under intestacy rules, unmarried partners and stepchildren don’t inherit a share of your estate. If you don’t sign a new Will there's a greater risk of the Will made during your marriage being challenged. For example, if your new partner won't inherit anything because the money left to your ex-spouse in your Will now passes to your wealthy parents under the intestacy rules. A Will prepared by a specialist Will solicitor can reduce the risk of your Will or the intestacy provisions being subject to an estate challenge and court claim alleging that reasonable financial provision was not made for a claimant. [related_posts] Can an ex-spouse claim a share of the estate even though they no longer inherit under the old Will made during the marriage? Depending on the financial settlement reached with your former spouse an ex-spouse can potentially claim a share of your estate by saying the Will and the intestacy rules don’t make reasonable financial provision for them. Ex-spouses can potentially make a claim on the estate if you did not obtain a clean break financial court order. In many divorce settlements, a clean break financial court order is inappropriate. For example, when there are young children or after a long marriage and there isn’t enough capital or equity in the family home to achieve a clean break. The court order may therefore include spousal maintenance. To reduce the risk of litigation against your estate your Will solicitor can advise you on how best to prepare a new Will. For example, you could include a trust in your Will and write a letter of wishes to your trustees so they have your guidance but the trustees can exercise their discretion to resolve an estate claim as cheaply as possible. The ability to settle a claim leaves more of your estate available for your intended beneficiaries. At Evolve Family Law our Will solicitors will ensure you get estate planning advice that is tailored to your personal and financial circumstances and are happy to advise if you think your existing Will needs reviewing because of a separation, divorce, new relationship, remarriage or a change in your beneficiary’s circumstances. For expert Will advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.