Our family law solicitors are asked if it is possible to divorce your wife and keep everything. In this blog, we explain your options if you want to keep all the assets after your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Can a husband divorce his wife and keep everything?  It is technically possible for a husband to divorce his wife and keep everything but most divorce solicitors will tell you that it is an unlikely outcome in financial settlement negotiations or financial court proceedings unless your circumstances are unusual. If you are a husband your best bet to keep all your assets after a separation or divorce is to sign a prenuptial agreement before your marriage or a postnuptial agreement after your marriage. Even if a wife has signed a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement the document is not legally binding on a spouse under English law. The agreement will carry weight provided both husband and wife took independent legal advice on the contents of the agreement and there was no coercion to sign the document and completion of the paperwork only took place after husband and wife disclosed their assets. If these safeguards were not put in place the court may disregard the terms of the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Even if you ticked all these safeguarding boxes, the court may conclude that if the wife gets nothing, as you are keeping everything, the outcome is unfair because the wife’s needs are not being met. The court may therefore disregard the terms of the agreement. A prenuptial agreement solicitor will normally recommend that your prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement does not allow you to keep everything as it is better to have an agreement that works and therefore one that gives your wife a modest financial settlement that meets her financial needs rather than sign a prenup that says you will get to keep everything if you divorce but the prenup then doesn’t work in practice if you split up from your wife. [related_posts] If my wife agrees that I will keep everything, can I get a financial court order? The court can be asked to make an agreed financial consent order. The agreed order is lodged by your divorce solicitor after your conditional order of divorce has been pronounced. The order must be accompanied by a standard court form (called a statement of financial information) summarising the details of your marriage and your personal and financial circumstances. If this prescribed form is not completed the court will not approve your financial court order. If, for any reason, the figures provided in the form are wrong (for example you say your company shares in a family business are worth £10,000 rather than a more realistic 1 million) your wife will be able to reopen her financial claim at a later date because of inaccurate financial disclosure that led to the financial court order being made. Your ex-wife could ask the court to make another financial court order giving her a reasonable share of the assets. Therefore, inaccurately valuing assets on the form does not give you the financial security you need. If the shares in your family business continue to increase in value, then by the date of your wife's further financial settlement application, your company shares could be worth 10 million.  Providing inaccurate information in the court paperwork could cost you a lot of money if your ex-wife is advised to reopen her financial claims. If you complete the prescribed form to accompany your application for an agreed financial court order and include accurate asset figures, and the document shows you will be keeping everything and your wife will be getting nothing, the judge may refuse to make the agreed order. The judge may ask questions in an email or letter to your divorce solicitors or may invite you and your wife and your family lawyers to a court hearing so the judge can understand the rationale behind the making of the financial court order.  You may think that the answer to keeping everything lies in making a deal with your wife that she doesn’t get anything but neither of you ask the court to make a financial court order. However, you then run the risk of your ex-wife deciding to apply for a financial court order at a later date and asking for money or property or a share of your pension. This could work against you if your property or other assets have gone up in value from the date you agreed with your wife that she would walk away with nothing whilst you keep everything. What should you do if you want to keep everything after your divorce?  If you want to leave your wife with nothing the best option is to talk to a family law solicitor about whether you can achieve this and how to do so. Your family lawyer may tell you that it will be an uphill task and that you may be better off focussing on a lowball offer that meets your wife's reasonable needs but is pitched at a level where you can get a clean break financial court order from the family court.  A clean break court order means your wife can't come back later on and ask for more spousal maintenance or a share of your pension or equity in your house. That’s why it’s crucial to secure a court order to give you future financial security so you can plan for your future and not have concerns that your wife years later could come back and ask for money because she had nothing at the time of your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

Cohabitation rights are in the news as many family law solicitors expected the new Labour government to include a Bill on cohabitation rights in the King’s speech. There was no announcement although in its manifesto the Labour party pledged to reform cohabitation law with rights for unmarried partners. Although law reform may be on the cards in future King’s speeches cohabitees will have to wait for change. That’s why in this blog our family law solicitors are looking at the current laws on cohabitation and your options if you are in an unmarried relationship. For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.  What are your rights as an unmarried partner?     Your cohabitation rights as an unmarried partner depend on whether you have children under the age of 18 who are dependent on you. If you don’t have children your cohabitation rights are linked to property and trust laws. If you do have children your rights also include the ability to apply for financial orders under the Children Act 1989 and for child support from the Child Maintenance Service. Property and trust rights Property and trust rights can apply to the family home, investment property, a second home or other assets. The property can be owned jointly with your partner, owned by your unmarried partner or by you in your sole name. The easiest way to sort out a property claim is where there is a jointly owned property and the couple has given thought to whether they own the property as joint tenants or as tenants in common and have signed a deed of trust or cohabitation agreement saying how the equity will be split if they separate. The hardest cohabitation rights cases to resolve are where the family home is owned by one partner and the other says they have a beneficial interest in the property relying on property or trust law because they did not sign a cohabitation agreement when they moved into the property or when the property was bought in the sole name of their partner. In property and trust cases the partner claiming a share of the family home needs to show that they have a beneficial interest in the property through promises made by their partner or financial or ‘money’s worth’ contributions. For example, the partner could have paid the mortgage or used an inheritance to pay for an extension to the property or done DIY and put in a new kitchen and bathroom. In some cases, the owning partner accepts that their unmarried partner has a beneficial or non-legal interest in the family home but they cannot agree on the amount the non-owning partner should be paid to ‘buy off’ their interest or what percentage of the equity they should get when the property is put up for sale when a couple split up. If an agreement cannot be reached through solicitor negotiation or family mediation the court must resolve the cohabitation dispute using property and trust law principles. [related_posts] Resolving cohabitation disputes   It can be hard for couples to resolve unmarried partner disputes for several reasons, including: The legal owner of the property does not accept that someone can claim a share of their property as the non-owning partner is not on the title deeds One unmarried partner does not accept that their share of the equity in the family home won't be worked out using principles of fairness and needs. If you are married the court has wide discretion under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to make a financial court order based on both parties' needs rather than analysing property and trust law. The family court must adopt the opposite approach in a cohabitation dispute over a family home A cohabitation property dispute often involves looking at historical paperwork to see how much of the mortgage was paid by the claimant or in working out the cost of the extension when many of the trades were paid in cash or invoices have been mislaid One partner may think that they have acquired cohabitation rights as a common law husband or wife because of the length of their relationship. In English law, there is no concept of common law cohabitation rights     Family law solicitors always recommend a cohabitation agreement so there is less scope for a dispute over cohabitation rights and no need to go to court if you split up from your unmarried partner. Cohabitation rights if there are dependent children   If there are dependent children in an unmarried relationship then you may have parenting arrangement disputes as well as financial disputes. Parenting arrangement disputes include: Disputes over which parent the children should live with after the separation  Contact arrangements Applications for child arrangement orders to sort out residence and contact issues Disputes over the exercise of parental responsibility, such as religious observances or choice of school International family issues, such as one parent wanting to move overseas with the children and the other parent objecting to the move abroad Financial disputes include: If child support should be paid and the amount. If care is shared neither parent receives child support even if one parent earns more than the other. If child support cannot be agreed an application normally needs to be made to the Child Maintenance Service. The Child Maintenance Service assessment amount will depend on the average overnight stays the children have with the parent they don’t live with    Top-up child support through a court order. This is only relevant where the parent paying child support is a high-earner  School fee orders to pay for private school fees. The court can order one parent to pay all the fees or a proportion of them Requests for lump sum orders to meet the needs of dependent children. For example, if the child is musical and needs a musical instrument  Requests for housing for children whilst the children are still at school or university. If the court orders housing to be provided the property does not belong to the child or the parent living in the property with the child. A Schedule 1 Children Act order means the child and parent can live in the property until the child reaches a specified age and the other partner then gets to sell the property or do what they want with it Cohabitation rights and the death of a partner If an unmarried partner passes away then their cohabitee is not their legal next of kin. Their children will be or the situation will be more complex if the deceased partner also had children from a prior relationship or is survived by parents or siblings. Anyone in a cohabiting relationship should have a Lasting Power of Attorney in case they lose the capacity to make their own decisions. They also need a Will to protect their partner. Without a Will, the cohabitee could make a claim under intestacy rules but the process is stressful at a time of bereavement and might involve an estate dispute with step-children or with the cohabitee’s parents or siblings. You should not assume that a cohabitee will automatically get the family home as this only applies if the property was jointly owned as joint tenants rather than as tenants in common.  The complexities of cohabitation rights and the death of a partner can be resolved with a bespoke Will and a review of your financial and personal circumstances to check that any pension or insurance nominations are up to date. Next steps  If you are in a cohabiting relationship you need to speak to a family solicitor about a cohabitation agreement. You can sign one even if you have already bought a property and are living together. You also need to think about Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney. If you are separating from a partner and you are not married it is vital to talk to a family law solicitor about your rights as an unmarried partner so your interests can be protected. For expert family law advice call our team for an appointment or complete our online enquiry form. 

Getting divorced with neurodiversity or divorcing a spouse with neurodiversity brings special challenges. With one in seven people in the UK diagnosed as being neurodiverse, neurodiversity is something that our family law solicitors have experience in when helping couples get divorced and when reaching financial settlements and parenting arrangements. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Is neurodiversity relevant to your divorce? Nowadays couples in England can get a no-fault divorce. There is no need to blame your husband or wife for the marriage breakdown and certainly no need to list examples of your spouse’s unreasonable behaviour in the divorce application.  Although no-fault divorce proceedings try to take the conflict out of the divorce process, divorce is still a stressful and emotional experience for anyone going through it. Some quickie online divorce websites will minimise that aspect of the divorce by telling you that a no-fault divorce means you don’t need to go to a court hearing to get your final order of divorce. That’s true but it is also equally true that divorce can be a very hurtful experience, whether you are neurodiverse or not. If the reason you are splitting up is down to your neurodiversity, or your partners, it is worth looking at whether couple or individual counselling would help you. Individual counselling can help a neurodiverse person but it can help their partner learn to come to terms with their spouse’s diagnosis and how neurodiversity affects them or how to find coping strategies. If you decide that you want to go ahead with your separation and divorce then a spouse’s neurodiversity may also have an impact on any financial settlement negotiations or parenting arrangements. That’s why it is best to be upfront with your family law solicitor and tell them about the diagnosis of neurodiversity and how it affects family life. Without that information, your family law solicitor may not understand why negotiations are not working or why you are not prepared to agree to a financial settlement or proposed parenting arrangement. How does neurodiversity affect family law negotiations and proceedings? Neurodiversity is a wide-ranging concept covering conditions such as ADHD, being on the autistic spectrum, dyslexia or having OCD.  All these conditions affect people differently.  For example, a parent with OCD may have a cleaning compulsion that was effectively managed whilst the family lived together in order to reduce the impact on the children but the other parent is now concerned about the neurodiverse parent having overnight contact and the child becoming increasingly involved in the parent’s cleaning rituals. The concern of the non-neurodiverse parent may be shared by the neurodiverse parent but their separation has led to a breakdown in communication or a willingness to find a solution that allows both parents to enjoy spending time with their child.   For example, a wife with ADHD may be anxious about going to family mediation as she thinks that she will be overwhelmed by the length of the session and unable to cope. For example, a husband may be embarrassed to mention his severe dyslexia meaning his family law solicitors don’t realise that he is struggling to digest all the paperwork they have sent him to review or why he is so worried about his ability to get another job following a redundancy. Does the family court take neurodiversity into account? If it is relevant, the court will take neurodiversity into account in either child arrangement order applications or in financial settlement court proceedings.  Take the example of a parent with OCD. If their cleaning compulsion extends to cleaning their hands with bleach then there could be a concern about the parent’s ability to care for their child during contact, especially if the parent’s hand cleaning compulsion extends to the child. That doesn’t mean that the court will say that there should be no contact but they will look at ways that the relationship between parent and child can thrive whilst keeping the child safe from any accidental physical or emotional harm. In financial settlement proceedings, a spouse’s ADHD may need to be considered when deciding on the appropriate financial court order to make. For example, the diagnosis of ADHD and how the condition affects the husband or wife may affect their earnings capacity and the need for a spousal maintenance order. The court can consider the impact of ADHD on the one spouse because the court makes financial court orders after assessing several criteria, including the needs of both parties to the marriage, their health and respective earnings capacities. Next steps If you want to find out more about how our family law solicitors can support you through your separation and divorce, we offer a fixed fee initial consultation. In this first meeting, we can discuss the legal and practical aspects of your separation and assess the best way forward for you. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

Family arbitration is just one of several ways you can resolve a family law dispute without making a court application to get a family law judge to decide the disputed issue. At Evolve Family Law we are receiving more inquiries about family arbitration. That’s because of a change in court rules that places more emphasis on spouses or separating partners using a non-court dispute resolution option before starting a court application for a financial settlement or child arrangement order. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  What is family arbitration? The best way to describe family arbitration is that it is like using a private judge as the arbitrator is paid by you to resolve your family law dispute. The funding is normally joint but it does not have to be if one of you does not have the funds to pay. The arbitrator is chosen by your family law solicitors from a list of qualified arbitrators. The choice of arbitrator will depend on their specialism and location. For example, if you have a complex asset base and family business and require an arbitrator who not only is an expert in divorce financial settlements but also understands how companies work. Once your family arbitrator is chosen and agrees to act as arbitrator you will be asked to sign an arbitration agreement so you and your spouse or partner understand the rules of arbitration.  The arbitration then goes ahead with preliminary matters resolved, such as the evidence and reports the arbitrator requires. An arbitration date for the final decision is then arranged and after reading the evidence and hearing from you and your ex-partner the arbitrator will make a binding decision. In a financial claim, the arbitration decision is called an award. In a child-related dispute, the arbitrator’s decision is called a determination. One arbitrator can make both types of decisions if you are not able to reach an agreement on residence or contact or on how your assets are split. [related_posts] Is family arbitration more expensive than making an application to court? Family arbitration can be cheaper than making an application to court even though you are paying an arbitrator and you do not have to pay a family law judge for their time (although you do have to pay court fees if you make an application to the family court). Why is it cheaper if you are paying for the arbitrator? There are 2 reasons: The arbitration process – the family arbitration process can be adapted to your circumstances so it can be more flexible than court applications. This means you may need fewer arbitration hearings than if you made an application to court so you spend less on legal fees  Speed – in the family court system there are significant family court backlogs meaning you have to wait longer for a decision. The delay can cost you if you are waiting for a financial settlement decision on whether the family home should be sold or a pension sharing order made Why you need to consider family arbitration You need to consider family arbitration and the other non-court based dispute resolution options because of a change in the Family Procedure Rules. In April 2024 the rules changed to move the emphasis on just using family mediation to resolve your family law dispute before making an application to the court to consider all potential dispute resolution options. In most family court applications, the new Family Procedure Rules require you to sign a statement of truth to explain what non-court dispute resolution options you have tried before applying to court and to explain why if you have not done so.  Our family law solicitors will advise you if your first option should be court because there are situations where an urgent court application is the only advisable route. For example, if you need a child arrangement order and prohibited steps order as you fear child abduction by your ex-spouse or if you need an injunction to stop your spouse from selling assets to defeat your financial settlement claims.  The new rules allow a family law judge to adjourn your family law application to try non-court dispute resolution even if you do not ask for the adjournment. In NA V LA [2024] EWFC 113, a family judge ordered an adjournment of a financial application for the couple to use non-court dispute resolution. The judge concluded it would be of emotional and financial benefit to the couple as well as to their children to reach an agreement outside of court. The judge stayed the proceedings for dispute resolution to go ahead. Talk to Evolve Family Law about family arbitration Our family law solicitors can help you work out whether family arbitration is a good route for your family to resolve your family law dispute so you can move on with your life. We will discuss your alternative options, such as: Using our One Lawyer Amicable Divorce Service Collaborative law  Family mediation  If you decide that you would like to use family arbitration, we can help you with: The choice of arbitrator Representation during the arbitration process Implementation of the arbitration decision For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

As divorce solicitors, we are sometimes told by a husband or wife that there is a property deed of trust that sorts out ownership of the family home. The relevance of a deed of trust in relationship breakdown and divorce can be a bit complicated. Our divorce solicitors can advise you if you are a husband or wife looking for financial settlement advice or if you are a parent who contributed towards the deposit on your child’s family home but the child is now separating or getting divorced. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Who owns the family home? A divorce solicitor can check who legally owns the family home by obtaining what are called office copy entries from the land registry. The office copy entries say who is the legal owner of the family home. Ownership could be sole or joint.  When a property is jointly owned the owners could be the husband and wife as joint tenants or tenants in common or they could have agreed to a parent being a co-owner if the parent or parents helped with the deposit. In some cases, joint owners will enter a deed of trust to set out how the property is owned and how the net proceeds of the sale will be split if the family home is sold. In other cases, ownership of the family home is a bit more complicated. The legal owners could be the husband and wife but: A father or mother lent money towards the house deposit or paid for renovations and protected the borrowing with a loan agreement or A father or mother agreed that their child and spouse would be the legal owners of the property but they would have a beneficial interest in the property to reflect their deposit contribution, protected by a deed of trust Are you in an unmarried relationship or married? If a couple has a deed of trust that sets out the legal or beneficial ownership of the family home between them then the status of the deed of trust on relationship breakdown depends on whether they are living together in a cohabiting relationship or married. If you are unmarried If the couple is in an unmarried relationship the deed of trust is very important as the court will decide property ownership using property laws rather than assessing the needs of the husband or wife or considering fairness.  If you are unmarried but have a dependent child you may be able to make a claim for housing under the Children Act 1989 but that type of claim does not give you extra property rights over the family home. If you are married If the couple is married the court will look at a range of factors to decide on an appropriate financial settlement and financial court order.  The court has the power to order the sale or transfer of the family home despite the terms of the deed of trust. The court will make its decision after assessing the factors contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act. These include the needs of any children as well as both parties’ housing and other needs and their ages, health and financial and other contributions.  If you are married, the relevance of your deed of trust will depend on factors such as:  Did you sign the deed of trust before you got married and has a lot changed since then? For example, the arrival of children or a 20-year marriage  Did you sign a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement? Is the agreement consistent with the deed? Did you both get advice and provide financial disclosure when you entered the prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement? If so, the family court will start from the premise that the agreement should be upheld in full if the terms of the agreement are fair Was the home owned by one of you before the relationship started? For example, was it inherited? This may be relevant in a short marriage without children  What are your respective needs and can they be met whilst respecting the contents of the deed of trust? [related_posts] If parents entered a deed of trust If parents or in-laws entered a deed of trust as joint legal or joint beneficial owners of the family home as they contributed toward the deposit they can ask to be joined as parties to a financial court application between a husband and wife. They are called intervenors in the financial settlement application. Parents may not need to intervene in the financial court application between their son or daughter and their spouse if the married couple agrees that the parents are entitled to what is said in the deed of trust. The divorce court can then decide what should happen to the rest of the equity in the family home using the factors in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act. Representing husbands, wives and intervenors At Evolve Family Law, we can represent you in negotiations and in property or financial court proceedings if you are unmarried or married and if you are a parent who contributed towards their child’s family home and signed a deed of trust. We have substantial experience in divorce, property law and deeds of trust.   In an April 2024 Trustpilot review client Chris wrote: I used Robin Charrot to help in a family member's divorce proceedings and a deed of trust that had been written. He was extremely helpful and gave very good guidance on how my particular problem could be resolved. He got back to all emails very quickly and compared to lawyers in London his fees were very reasonable. The support staff I dealt were very efficient and I would highly recommend the firm. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

Most people realise that there are often no winners in a family law dispute. That is why it is so important to try to reach an agreement when you separate or divorce. In this blog, our family law solicitors outline the changes to the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) and explain how the rule change may affect whether you make an application to the court to resolve your family law dispute or choose a non-court based option to help you reach an agreement. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The Family Procedure Rules  The Family Procedure Rules (FPR) set out the rules relating to making a family law court application. They must be followed by family law solicitors and barristers as well as litigants in person, professional experts, CAFCASS officers and the family law judge. On 29 April 2024, the FPR was changed. The reason for the change was to encourage non-court dispute resolution to reach a family law agreement over your financial settlement or child custody or contact dispute. The FPRs already required the applicant and respondent to most family law court applications to try family mediation before they went to court and asked the judge to resolve their family law dispute. There were a limited number of exceptions when you did not need to try family mediation before you made a family law court application. Those exceptions have been narrowed and reduced. The other major change to the rules is an emphasis on other non-court dispute resolution options, rather than just requiring most couples to try family mediation. Non-court dispute resolution options Whilst most people have heard about family mediation there are several other non-court dispute resolution options. They include: Family arbitration Collaborative law Private judge or financial dispute resolution hearing One lawyer divorce service A family law solicitor will go through each of these options with you to work out which one would suit you best and help you reach an agreement. Once an agreement is reached your lawyers can help you convert it into a binding court order from a family law judge. It is worth discussing your options with a family law solicitor as you may have ruled out family mediation or an alternative option. A family law solicitor can arrange family law mediation sessions where you are not in the same room as your ex-partner if there are concerns about this. Alternatively, if you do not want to negotiate in family mediation you may find that solicitor-involved family mediation works for you. If that does not suit you then using a one lawyer divorce service or a private judge may be your best option. Some might rule out using a private judge as being too expensive but it can be a cheaper and quicker option than court. Our family law solicitors will highlight the advantages and the disadvantages of the various non-court options so you can make an informed decision. [related_posts]  The Family Procedure Rule changes on non-court options   Couples in family law disputes now need to set out their views on the use of non-court dispute resolution options with a signed statement of truth. The statement is intended to highlight the importance of considering the non-court options. There may be implications if you decide not to engage in any non-court dispute resolution and you do so without good reason. For example: A judge could adjourn your family law application for non-court dispute resolution to be tried A judge could order that you pay some of your ex-spouse’s legal costs associated with the financial settlement court hearing because you refused to engage in any non-court based dispute resolution and the judge thinks money was wasted by taking it to court or a final hearing There are several reasons why applying to court and not using any non-court dispute resolution first is a sensible approach. For example: You need an injunction order to protect you from domestic abuse You fear your ex-partner is going to take your children overseas without your agreement Your spouse is transferring assets or money to other people and if you wait to bring a financial court application the money may have disappeared and your financial settlement claim will have been defeated by your spouse’s underhand behaviour Your ex-spouse is refusing to give you any financial disclosure so you cannot reach a fair financial settlement using any non-court resolution option as you do not know the extent of their assets Our family law solicitors can discuss the reasons why you think a court application should be started rather than look at a dispute resolution option so we can help you work out the best solution for you. The Evolve Family Law one lawyer divorce service Our one lawyer divorce service may be suitable for you and your ex-partner and this is one of the options we can explore with you. With this service, one divorce lawyer advises you and your former partner and prepares all necessary legal documents on behalf of you both in your divorce and financial settlement. The benefits of one lawyer divorce are that it can save time and money but it is not the right format for every couple. For example, if there is a power imbalance and you would prefer to have your own lawyer then collaborative law or arbitration might be a better fit for one of you. Next steps We offer a fixed fee initial consultation in which we can discuss all legal and practical aspects of your separation and assess the best non-court dispute resolution option is the best route for you to take. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

If you are separating from your partner the thought of living with them in the family home whilst you get divorced and sort out a financial settlement can be distressing. Our family law solicitors look at your options if you want your partner to leave the family home. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Family home rights If you are married or in a civil partnership your right to stay in the family home after you have separated does not depend on whether you are the legal owner or a joint owner. If you are not a legal owner of the family home you still have rights. You cannot be forced out of the family home but nor can your partner unless: You or your partner agrees to leave One of you gets an injunction order forcing the other to leave – injunction orders are temporary A financial court order states that you or your partner should keep the family home or that it should be sold There are two issues here. First, injunctions are a short-term fix and do not transfer ownership of the property. The second is that it can take a long time to get a financial court order so you may need an injunction before you secure your financial settlement. It isn’t always easy to move out of a family home when you or your partner don’t have family living nearby or friends willing to put you up for what could be for over a year or until you can find somewhere to rent. When you look at the price of renting a property on Rightmove and the limited availability of rental property you can start to appreciate that your partner may struggle to rent somewhere suitable or, if they pay rent, they may not be able to pay towards the mortgage or pay spousal maintenance. You may want to look at timescales to see if you can speed up the process of reaching a financial settlement so you know where you stand with the family home and to make staying together in the property easier for both of you until the house is sold or the property transferred. It is possible to reach a financial settlement quickly and to record your agreement in a separation agreement. In any later divorce proceedings, the agreement can be converted into a financial court order. A family law solicitor will talk to you about the information you need to help you reach a quick financial settlement. For example, you will need to know how much the property is worth, the amount outstanding on the mortgage, the monthly mortgage figure, if your mortgage company would agree to either you or your partner taking the existing mortgage on, and if the mortgage company would lend you more so you can pay out your partner an agreed sum as part of an overall financial settlement. The payment needs to take into account the value of pensions and any savings. It is also sensible to look at rehousing costs for you and your partner so you know how much you would each need so you can work out if staying in the family home on a long-term basis is the best option for you. [related_posts] Occupation and ouster orders If your partner refuses to leave the family home while you are going through divorce proceedings and sorting out the financial settlement you cannot force them out, even if they are not a legal owner. You may be able to apply for an injunction order. An occupation order gives you the right to stay in the family home until a specified date. The order can give you exclusive occupation or say you can use parts of the house or share it all with your partner. An ouster order excludes or ousts your partner from the property. They cannot return to live at the property until the order ends. Applying for an occupation or ouster order You need to apply to the family court for an injunction order. The court will grant you an occupation or ouster order if it thinks it is just and reasonable to do so after considering all the circumstances and factors such as: Your housing needs and housing resources and those of your partner and any relevant child  Your financial resources and those of your partner The likely effect of any order, or the effect of not making an order, on the health, safety, and well-being of you, your partner, or any relevant child Your conduct and the conduct of your partner The court must also consider the likelihood of significant harm and the 'balance of harm'. This means the court must weigh up the likelihood of significant harm to you or your partner and any relevant child if an order is made, balanced against the likelihood of significant harm if an order is not made. If the court considers there is significant harm to you or any relevant child, the court should make an injunction order unless your partner or any relevant child is likely to suffer significant harm if the order is made, and the harm is as great or greater than the harm likely to be suffered by you or any relevant child (because of your partner’s behaviour) if the order is not made. If the court concludes significant harm is not likely, it is not obliged to make the injunction order but may do so. Getting help with an occupation and ouster order application Our family law solicitors can help you apply for an injunction order, start no-fault divorce proceedings on your behalf, and negotiate a financial settlement for you. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

Do you need protection from domestic abuse or coercive and controlling behaviour? Are you worried about your estranged husband or wife transferring money to their parents or siblings to try and hide money from your divorce solicitor? If you need help with applying for an injunction order our family law solicitors can assist and guide you through the injunction application process. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is an injunction? An injunction is an order from the family court telling someone to stop doing something. An injunction order can stop: An ex-partner verbally harassing you A spouse from physically or sexually assaulting you A partner from exerting financial control over you A spouse from psychologically abusing you The other parent from emotionally abusing or otherwise abusing your children A partner from stopping you from returning to the family home A husband or wife or civil partner from transferring the house or the savings to their relatives to defeat your divorce financial settlement claim If you are not sure if you need an injunction order the best thing to do is call one of our family law solicitors to see how we can help you. Do I need an injunction order or to call the police? In an emergency, we would always recommend that you call the police. If they arrest and charge your partner and impose bail conditions you may decide that you do not need to apply for an injunction order as the police can arrest your partner again if he or she breaches their bail. If you do not want to contact the police, they will not get involved as they say it is a ‘civil matter’, or they do not give you the sort of support you were looking for, then you may need an injunction order. For example, a police officer may tell you that you need to apply for a child arrangement order if you and your ex-partner are arguing about where your child should live. For example, the police may just warn or caution your partner about their behaviour. If your concerns are money-related, the police will advise you to talk to a family law solicitor about getting a freezing or family law money injunction. [related_posts] Common myths about injunctions There are a lot of misconceptions about injunctions. Here we dispel some common ones: You don’t need to be married or in a civil partnership to apply for an injunction Men or women can apply for injunctions If you are in a same-sex relationship you can apply for an injunction order An injunction order does not change legal ownership of the family home but the order may give the injunction order applicant the right to live in the family home until the end of the injunction order or until the court makes a financial court order An injunction order can be enforced by the police You can apply for an injunction even if you did not report the domestic violence to the police You do not need to have been physically assaulted to apply for an injunction – if you have experienced any type of domestic abuse you can apply to the court for an injunction order You can apply for an injunction order even if the police have arrested or charged your partner You do not need to own your home to apply for an occupation injunction order. You can also apply if you rent your house or if your partner is the sole legal owner You do not need to have started no-fault divorce proceedings before you can apply for an injunction Applying for an injunction Applying for an injunction involves filing a court application with a statement in support and paying a court fee. If your application is urgent the court can agree to hold a first hearing without giving your partner notice of the hearing. If the court makes an injunction order at a without-notice hearing your partner will have the opportunity to object to it and put their case at another injunction hearing. The court can make an injunction order that prevents your ex-partner (and if relevant other family members or their agents) from continuing to abuse you. This type of injunction is called a non-molestation order. A court may make a non-molestation order at a without-notice hearing but list your application for an occupation order injunction at a hearing when your partner is present. An occupation order or ouster injunction order says if you can occupy the family home and if your partner can be excluded from all or part of the property. The injunction order does not transfer ownership of the family home – you will still need to negotiate a financial settlement or ask the court to make a financial court order.  Family law help As well as needing help with an injunction application you may also need assistance with: Sorting out residence and contact arrangements for your child – if you are concerned about your child’s safety or your ex-partner’s ability to prioritise your child’s needs you may need to apply for a child arrangement order or prohibited steps order Reaching a divorce financial settlement or a property settlement if you were in a cohabiting relationship A new Will because of your separation from your spouse or partner For expert family advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.