Family Law Articles & Advice

When you are a separated or divorced parent it can be hard to reach an agreement over aspects of your child’s parenting. The importance of a child’s education can be a trigger point for family law disputes with each parent holding equally strong views about the schooling and education choices that are best for their child. In this article, children law solicitor Louise Halford helps parents understand their options when there is a family law dispute over schooling. For expert family and children law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. School-related family law disputes Parents can get involved in a range of school-related children and family law disputes including: Whether a child should be privately educated or state educated The choice of private school – with disputes over whether a child should board or be a day pupil or the location of the school or its specialism in academic achievements or sports The decision to home school Entering a child for grammar school exams Whether to request a special educational needs assessment or not The decision to request a child attends a mainstream school or a specialist school Attendance of both parents at school sports days or plays or other events The release of information, such as school reports or attendance records, by the school to the parent who does not have daily care of the child Contact arrangements and collection from or return to school One parent taking the child on holiday during term time Parental disagreement over use of school disciplines, such as school detention, suspension, or exclusion Resolving school-related parent disputes It is best to resolve school-related parent disputes as quickly as possible. Ways to achieve that include: Solicitor negotiations Roundtable meeting Family mediation If you cannot reach an agreement then either you or your ex-husband or wife can apply to the court for the court to decide on the issue in dispute. This is called an application for a specific issue order. Alternatively, you may need to apply for or respond to an application for a prohibited steps order or child arrangement order. During any children law proceedings, you will be encouraged to reach a resolution so you do not have to ask a judge to determine the school-related dispute at a contested final hearing. [related_posts] Court proceedings to determine school-related parental disputes Whatever type of school-related parental dispute a judge is being asked to adjudicate on, the court must look at a range of factors, known as the ‘welfare checklist’ when making a decision. The key point is that the court must make a decision based on what it thinks is in the child’s best interests. For example, you may want your child to be privately educated and you may have selected and reserved a place at the best private prep school with an excellent academic record. Your ex-spouse may believe that your child is too young to board or that your child is not sufficiently academic to thrive in your chosen prep school. You may attribute their objections to selfishness on their part or a desire to thwart your long-held ambitions for your son or daughter. A court will consider your child’s wishes and feelings after considering their age and level of understanding as well as their personality and both parents’ arguments.  The fact that a child does not want to go to a new school does not mean that the court will not make a specific issue order as the court will look at what is in the child’s overall best interests. The likelihood of succeeding in an application for a specific issue order in part depends on the homework you and your family lawyer do in preparation for the court case. For example, if there is a dispute over the choice of school, checking Ofsted reports can be helpful. If there is a dispute over whether home-schooling is in a child’s best interests a detailed statement covering why a parent is so committed to home education, their research on available local resources and support groups, the child’s experiences in previous schools, and how the parent can cover a range of lessons, and ensure the child also enjoys activities with friends of their own age such as drama and sport, can be very persuasive. For expert family and children law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

There was a time when few of us had heard of digital assets and cryptocurrency but when you are separating in an age where almost everything is carried out electronically and online it is important that your divorce solicitors understand the range of assets that your husband, wife or civil partner may hold and how to trace them. In this article, divorce financial settlement solicitor, Robin Charrot, answers your questions on divorce and digital assets such as cryptocurrency. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What are digital assets in divorce proceedings? There is no definition of a digital asset in divorce proceedings. That is probably sensible because the world of digital assets can change so fast with the latest developments in tech and online options. Divorce solicitors find it best to outline the type of digital assets that you or your spouse might own to trigger a discussion about what you or your husband or wife might hold digitally. It is important to do that as whilst you may not forget about the existence of a holiday home, a collection of watches, or your partner’s shares in the family business, you may easily forget about an online bank account or the cryptocurrency that your spouse told you seemed like a good investment at the time. Digital assets can include: Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Online share dealing account PayPal account Air miles Online gaming and betting accounts Income-generating social media accounts Sentimental assets such as some types of social media accounts and photo libraries [related_posts] Is cryptocurrency relevant to divorce financial settlements? Digital assets such as cryptocurrency can be family assets in the same way as a property, pension or business can be. Just because something is online and not physical does not mean that it is not relevant to your divorce financial settlement. Reaching a fair divorce financial settlement involves: Working out what assets a husband and wife own individually or jointly or with a third party Tracing assets where there are valid suspicions that assets have not been fully disclosed by the other party to the marriage Getting the assets accurately valued Understanding if the assets should be treated as family assets – even if the asset is not a family asset the court can have recourse to it if it is necessary to do so to meet a husband or wife's needs Negotiating a divorce financial settlement and if that is not possible representation in divorce financial settlement court proceedings Dealing with cryptocurrency in divorce proceedings A good divorce solicitor combines bloodhound tracing skills with technical knowledge and a large dose of pragmatism. For example, an eBay account may not sound significant but it is if it is the prime source of sales in a family business or if a spouse has been squirreling money away by keeping it in a PayPal account. Likewise, everyone talks of cryptocurrency but you need to track down the information to find the investment or be able to show the discrepancies between disclosed assets and lifestyle. Whilst some digital assets, like photos or the dog’s Instagram account, may only have sentimental value they still are important to you so need to be sorted out fairly but without racking up massive legal bills. It is a question of knowing when a forensic digital expert is needed to help track down digital assets and when pragmatism and common sense is the best option to sort out sentimental digital belongings. When dealing with digital assets in divorce proceedings it is important to consider: Drawing up a digital inventory – what you know that you or your spouse holds as digital assets What you suspect and why you suspect it – was the talk of bitcoin hot air or is there a basis to trace assets or gather evidence of their existence Are the digital assets capable of being shared and if not, who will keep them The fairness of one spouse keeping the digital assets and the other keeping non-digital assets. That consideration may be relevant where there is a large online share dealing account subject to stock market fluctuations but an equally uncertain property market if the other spouse is keeping the family home For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

It is trite to say that the world is getting smaller but when it comes to family law, it is true as there is an increasing number of UK families with connections to more than one country. That has led to a rise in the number of requests for help from families with international family law concerns or requiring advice on an international prenuptial agreement. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. International prenuptial agreements As specialist family law solicitors with many years of experience in preparing prenups and postnuptial agreements, we have seen an increase in inquiries about nuptial agreements with an international element, not just from couples who are based in Manchester and the North of England, but also from couples who are based in London and the South East of England wanting expert advice at a competitive cost. That increase in inquiries is down to the following trends: The number of UK residents meeting and marrying partners from other countries The number of couples who own assets overseas such as a holiday home or a business based abroad Couples who are UK based but whose families or family assets are based abroad; normally their families are passing some of their wealth to the marrying couple (to give them a financial head-start, or for tax planning reasons) but the families realise that this wealth is vulnerable to divorce without a prenup in place The number of people who are a beneficiary of an offshore trust The number of overseas families who have settled in the UK but already have a prenup in their country of origin or in the country where they hold assets The law on international prenuptial agreements Although the world is getting smaller divorce law has not been globalised. Divorce laws, practices, and procedures vary widely from country to country. The unwary can therefore falsely assume that having signed a prenup agreement in country A that their agreement will be binding in their spouse’s country of origin B, or if they decide to emigrate to country C. Whenever the prenuptial agreement solicitors at Evolve Family Law are asked to prepare a prenup it is important to ask the right initial questions. For international prenups the questions should include: Country of domicile for both parties to the marriage. This can be different from the country the engaged couple lives in as it is a complex legal concept Countries where any existing assets and property are located Countries where any future assets and property are likely to be located The country or countries that one or both of the couple may relocate to in the future, for example, the plan may be to spend a lot of time in the Florida holiday home To add to the complexities of advising on prenuptial agreements it is important to remember that Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands all count as separate countries. If the answers to any of these questions reveal a foreign connection, it is really important to work out which country the prenup should be based in. For quite a few prenuptial agreements the answer is not England. [related_posts] Getting international prenuptial agreements right Family lawyers should not be wedded to their own jurisdiction and assume that a prenuptial agreement should be prepared in England as that is not necessarily the best decision for a client. It can make a massive difference to how assets are divided if a couple split up without having either signed a prenuptial agreement or if they did not get an agreement prepared in the country that best suits their international links and circumstances. That’s because in some countries prenup agreements are treated as legally binding and in others they ‘are not worth the paper they are written on’. Even if England is the right country for the prenuptial agreement to be prepared in, it is important to think about whether a ‘mirror’ prenup agreement is needed in the other countries the couple are linked to, or at least having a specialist family lawyer in that other country having some input on the wording of the prenup, so that the agreement is executed in accordance with the relevant local law and the agreed country for choice of jurisdiction is recognised. Is an international prenuptial agreement worth signing? With or without international aspects, our family law solicitors are asked if it is worth signing a prenuptial agreement. Invariably the answer is that a prenup is a sensible piece of relationship planning: No one who is getting married thinks their marriage will fail, but almost half do. It is also really helpful for the couple to think properly about their future financial security if things do go wrong. Also, the English divorce courts now rarely go against a prenup that has been put together in the right way. Preparing a prenup includes an element of speculation as who knows what may happen in relation to the couple’s future life together. However, it is normally possible to build in enough flexibility to deal with life changes. If life takes an unexpected course, such as a return to the UK after a marriage abroad with a foreign prenup, it is as well to dust off the document and get some advice on whether it remains fit for purpose. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Many parents who are thinking about a separation or divorce want to make a fresh start overseas with their child. In this article, specialist family law solicitor Louise Halford shares her experience in helping parents apply to move abroad with their children and advising parents on how best to oppose child relocation applications. For expert Divorce and Children Law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Moving overseas with a child after separation or divorce Evolve Family Law has seen an increase in inquiries from parents about moving out of the UK with their children. The inquiries are not just from parents currently based in Cheshire and the North West of England, but from across the UK. The increase in children law inquiries is down to the following trends: The world becoming a smaller place with people meeting and marrying partners from other countries The number of overseas families who came to the UK on work visas and dependant visas and who settle in the UK by securing indefinite leave to remain or British citizenship but, after a separation or divorce, one parent wants to return to their country of origin Emigrating for work as opportunities for working abroad increase International parenting after separation or divorce It is said that being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world. That is particularly true for any parent who is involved in ‘international parenting’ as a result of one parent moving abroad with the child. Most parents find it hard enough to let their child go off for the weekend with their ex-partner, let alone accept that their child should get on a plane to another country to see their mum or dad. Prior to committing emotionally or financially to an overseas move, many parents don’t fully appreciate that if they are successful in relocating abroad with their child that the family court will often order that the child should spend long chunks of time during holidays with the parent who is not moving abroad and who will be missing their weekend contact. It is often said that there are ‘no winners, only losers’ when one parent moves to another country with their child, whether that be back to a parent’s country of origin or as a result of a new job or relationship. However, with communication and imaginative contact arrangements, even airport handovers, can work. If it is a relocation to Spain then the flight from Manchester or Liverpool airport and the child’s handover may be a lot easier than navigating a motorway trip from Cheshire to Cornwall or Guildford. [related_posts] The law on international child relocation Some parents are well-researched on the law on child relocation but for others, it is a whole new arena. The basic principle is that if a child is habitually resident in the UK the child can’t move abroad with either parent unless the other parent agrees to the move or the family court makes an order granting permission to relocate. The law on child relocation and moving abroad with your child can be hard for a parent to get to grips with. If, for example, both parents originate from the US but currently live in the UK with their children this may mean that their children are classed as habitually resident in the UK. Therefore, although all the family members are American citizens, if one parent wants to return ‘home’ to the US with the children, permission still has to be obtained from an English court.  Without specialist legal advice on child relocation law, many parents don’t realise the implications of booking their flight home. The legal and personal costs of not knowing the law on international parenting can have a devastating impact on a parent and their chances of successfully getting a court order to let them take their child abroad or a child arrangement order. Contact arrangements if a child moves overseas As part of one parent agreeing to give permission, or the court making an order allowing the other parent to relocate, the contact arrangements should be recorded. If a court order to relocate is made the court will normally also make a child arrangements order setting out how often the child should see the other parent. The court order can include written contact, Skype, and face-to-face contact. An agreement should be reached and recorded on specific details such as The agreed travel arrangements Who, if anyone, will accompany the child Who should pay for the costs of flights Extended family and grandparent’s ability to travel, time differences with Skype, the child’s ‘best friend’, and key dates such as Thanksgiving and grandad’s 80th birthday should not be forgotten. ‘Small’ details such as these can impact on whether arrangements work for a child. Compromise is also a key factor as if grandparents can’t make a long-haul flight to Australia for Christmas could both parents split the travel and meet in Dubai? It is often those small points that make all the difference in whether international parenting will work for a family or not. Legal advice on child relocation overseas It is always tough to answer a query on whether a mum or dad will get permission to move abroad. That is not just because the law on this subject is so complex but also down to international parenting being one of the hardest things for any parent to contemplate, and therefore for their family law solicitor, to guide a parent through. Invariably a parent is already emotionally, if not financially, committed to their move abroad before they take the step of getting advice and so it is always worth getting an assessment of your family situation and your options before you commit to a move. For expert Divorce and Children Law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

The family law solicitors at Evolve Family Law are regularly consulted about common law marriage rights by unmarried partners and former cohabitees. In this article, we look at the myth of common-law marriage. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is common law marriage? Common law marriage is a myth. In English law, common law marriage is not a legally recognised concept. You do not get rights as a cohabitee because you are in a common-law marriage. An unmarried relationship does not become a common law marriage because of the number of years you have been living together. You do not get common law marriage status whether you have been in a cohabiting relationship for 2 years or 20 years. Cohabitation rights If you don’t get cohabitation rights through the concept of a common-law marriage, how do you get cohabitation rights? Family lawyers say there are ways to get rights but it is best to understand how you can get those rights before you decide to move in together, have children or elect not to enter into a civil partnership or get married. Unfortunately, too many unmarried couples only find out about their cohabitation rights (or lack of them) after they split up from their partner. As an unmarried partner, your cohabitation rights can come through a variety of means, including: Joint property ownership – you can jointly own property either as tenants in common or joint tenants. The way you own property can have a significant impact on what happens to the property if you split up or if one of you passes away. That’s why it is best to take family law legal advice before you jointly buy a property as an unmarried couple Sole property ownership – you can make a claim against a property even if it is owned in the name of your partner. A claim could potentially be made under property or trust law if you can show that you have what is referred to as an equitable interest in the property A cohabitation agreement or deed of trust – if you reach an agreement with your partner, either at the outset of your relationship or during your relationship, you can set out your agreement and rights in a cohabitation agreement (or deed of trust if the agreement relates solely to a specific property) If you have dependent children with your unmarried partner, you may also have the right to claim: Child support through the Child Maintenance Service or the family court if the Child Maintenance Service does not have jurisdiction or if the Child Maintenance Service has made a maximum assessment under their child support formula so you then have the right to apply to the family court for top-up maintenance Lump sum payment to meet a child’s specific needs Housing for the child whilst the child is dependent – this means you would no longer be able to stay in the property after the child reaches the age of 18 or 21 School fee payments if your child is being educated privately Disability-related extra costs of caring for a child with a disability The bottom line is that however long your unmarried relationship lasted for you do not have the same legal rights as a civil partner or husband or wife. For example, you won't be able to claim: A share of the family business – unless you are a shareholder or a business partner or you can successfully say that ownership of all or part of the business was held in trust for you A share of your partner’s pension Spousal maintenance A share of investment portfolios held in your partner’s sole name unless you can argue that the investments were held in trust – something that is very hard to do With unmarried partner disputes, the family court has to follow property and trust law to resolve the dispute over ownership. If you are married or in a civil partnership, the family court looks at a range of factors to achieve fairness. That’s why in divorce proceedings the court can exercise a lot more discretion and there is less likelihood of one partner walking away with nothing after a long relationship. For engaged or married couples who do not like the sound of the family court having such a degree of flexibility in divorce financial settlement proceedings, there is the option of a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement to record how family assets should split if you separate. [related_posts] Cohabitation rights and estate planning If an unmarried partner dies without making a will (intestate) the surviving cohabitant has no automatic right to their partner’s estate. They could claim but this involves court proceedings against the deceased’s relatives who have inherited the estate under the intestacy rules. In a relationship without children, this could involve bringing a claim against the estate arguing that your partner’s parents should not inherit under the intestacy rules because your partner had not made reasonable financial provisions for you as their unmarried partner. This is why it is vital that if you are in an unmarried relationship, you and your partner make a Will and estate plan. Protection for you as a cohabitee Family lawyers understand that financial hardship on the breakdown of a cohabiting relationship is a realistic possibility in many cases because of decisions made by the couple during the relationship about property ownership. If a married couple make the same property ownership decisions during their relationship the family court has the discretion and power to make orders that it thinks are fair to both husband and wife or both civil partners. In a non-married relationship, a family judge just doesn’t have the same degree of flexibility as the court has to divide the assets of an unmarried couple based on property and trust law rather than housing or other needs. The best option for cohabitants who are concerned about property issues and protection if they split up from their unmarried partner is to enter into a cohabitation agreement or living together agreement. This document is a form of contract setting out a couple’s decisions about what will happen to their property on separation. It works in a similar way to a prenuptial agreement and if drafted properly by a specialist family lawyer will be upheld by a court. The cohabitation agreement should be accompanied by both cohabitees signing Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney so their estate and future proof planning recognises the importance of their loved ones. If you would like a cohabitation agreement or need family law advice following a recent separation from your cohabitee then contact Evolve Family Law. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Tax is not normally something that is on your mind when you are thinking about a separation or divorce but divorce solicitors say that capital gains tax has to be considered when negotiating a divorce financial settlement. The government has announced changes to the way capital gains tax is calculated on separation or divorce. In this article, divorce financial settlement solicitor, Robin Charrot, looks at the planned changes and explains the importance of checking out tax on divorce before you agree to your divorce financial settlement. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Tax on divorce   Many people who decide to separate do not realise that the timing of their separation, or their decision to transfer assets to the other spouse or to sell assets, can create tax implications. That is why it is important that a divorce financial settlement solicitor checks any proposed financial agreement to both reality test the financial settlement and to check the net effect of the financial deal. Without legal input, what you think is an equal split may not be a 50:50 division of assets if one spouse is going to end up paying a large tax bill in the future, whilst the other spouse escapes from tax liability. The financial agreement may still be a fair financial settlement but both husband and wife must understand the net effect so they are both comfortable with the deal or can negotiate a financial settlement that does achieve equality if that is their objective.   The current tax rules on separation and divorce   Under the current tax rules, a husband and wife can transfer assets between one another without the transfer is taxable. That’s because the transfer of an asset takes place on a no gain and a no loss basis so the spouse acquiring the asset gets the item at the base cost of the spouse who is transferring the asset to them. In other words, a spouse transfer does not crystalise a gain or loss. The issue with the current tax rules for separating couples is that these capital gains tax rules only give these concessions in the tax year of separation.   That may not sound like a big problem but it is. Take the example of a couple with an investment portfolio or a buy-to-rent property. They may conclude that if the wife is to stay in the family home, then the fair financial settlement is for the wife to transfer her share of the investments or buy to let property to the husband. If the couple decides to split in late March they only have until the end of the tax year in early April to sort out the transfers. If they don’t then one of them could face an unexpected and large capital gains tax bill that they would be solely responsible for.   Even if a couple decides to separate in May (so they have almost a full tax year) they can get caught out if they do not take early legal or accountancy advice. For example, the couple could start no-fault divorce proceedings in June but not start thinking about their divorce financial settlement until many months later giving them insufficient time to give notice to transfer investments or to sort out a new mortgage on the buy-to-rent property before the end of the tax year of separation. The government has acknowledged that tight timeframes on various tax aspects arising from separation or divorce can create difficulties and complexities so the proposed new tax regime is more generous and less restrictive. [related_posts] The changes to tax on divorce or separation   With effect from the 6 April 2023, there will be a new tax regime for separating or divorcing couples. If you transfer assets between spouses on or after the 6 April 2023 the no loss and no gain principle will apply to transfers that take place up to 3 years after the end of the tax year of separation. Furthermore, if the transfer takes place as part of a financial court order there is no time limit for the no loss and no gain principle.   The changes to tax on divorce or separation and the family home   If you sell or transfer a family home as a married couple there is no capital gains tax payable because of principal private residence relief. However, principal private residence can be lost resulting in unexpected tax bills.   The complexities of capital gains tax mean you both need to think carefully through the ramifications of agreeing to a mesher order on the family home. For example, a husband and wife may agree that the family home should stay in joint names until their youngest child is 18 as the spouse staying in the family home can't afford to take out a mortgage in their sole name so cannot get the house transferred to them. In reaching this type of mesher agreement the spouse who leaves the family home can, in some circumstances, lose their principal private residence relief.   The government is planning to make it simpler for couples to agree to mesher orders because the non-occupying husband or wife's share of the property will not be subject to CGT when the family home is eventually sold under the terms of the mesher order. The proposed changes may make mesher-type orders more attractive to some families, especially where there isn’t enough equity to rehouse two families or there is a particular need to delay selling the family home until the children have completed their exams. Capital gains tax and divorce in the future   Even after the new rules come into force capital gains tax will still be payable in some scenarios when a couple separates or divorces. If you are concerned about reaching a divorce financial settlement and the tax implications it is best to get early specialist advice on your family law options.   For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form

Should I make a Will? Won't intestacy rules protect my family? It is important that everyone has an up-to-date Will. I am not just saying that because I’m a private client solicitor who specialises in preparing Wills! I am saying it because, in my job, I see the extra heartache and the legal costs when a loved one dies without a Will or dies with a Will that is not fit for purpose. Why make a Will, aren’t there intestacy rules to say who the money goes to? That is a question that I’m often asked. It is right; if you don’t have a Will then under intestacy rules your money will go to your relatives. However dying intestate means you don’t get a say over who your money goes to. In some situations it can mean that wealthy parents get all your money (creating a bigger inheritance tax bill when they pass away) whereas you might have wanted some of your money to go to a girlfriend, a nephew or to charity. It also means that it is more likely that family members will fall out over the money allocated to them under the intestacy rules. If you make a Will then you decide who gets your money. You can also put conditions on gifts, such as a child should only get their inheritance when they are 25 or older. You can also decide who should sort out your estate by appointing executors and trustees in your Will. The trustees can be given the power to advance money to your children if they need it, for example to pay university fees. In some family scenarios dying without a Will doesn’t create a lot of additional legal complications (although it may still create extra stress for family members). However in some family situations it does, such as: unmarried partners and families; where you have been married more than once; if you have young children who need legal protection, such as appointing a testamentary guardian in your Will ; if you are a business owner. Most of us understand the need to sort out insurance for our family and preparing a Will should be on the same ‘to do’ list as one of life’s essentials. I have a Will, does it need updating because of my marriage? When you marry any existing Will is automatically revoked, meaning that if you die your money passes under intestacy rules. Those rules may produce a very unfair result or a legal dispute between relatives over who should get what. It is therefore vital that you make a new Will when you get married or alternatively say in your Will that the Will is being made in contemplation of your planned marriage. I am getting divorced. Do I need a new Will? If your marriage is ended by a court order (like divorce or annulment) your Will is not void or invalid. What happens is that any gift to your former spouse takes effect as if he or she had died on the date your decree became absolute. That usually means the gift falls back into residue for the benefit of the residuary beneficiaries. Of course, if you had left everything to him or her, then the effect is as if you had died intestate and the rules of intestacy once again decide how your estate is distributed. Similarly, if by your Will you had appointed your spouse as an executor or trustee, the Will still takes effect as if he or she had died on the date the decree became absolute. Even if you had appointed him or her as trustee of a trust for the benefit of the children of both of you, or as a guardian of a child or children, the trust fails. That might not be what you want - although you are divorced, you may still like your ex-husband or ex-wife to be responsible for any children's trust fund. So it is best to make a new Will immediately after your divorce, especially if your spouse or civil partner was a beneficiary or a trustee. However, because your Will does not become invalid at divorce, you can make a new Will at any time after separation but before divorce so that these issues do not occur. You do not have to await the decree absolute. I own a property with my partner. I don’t own anything else so I don’t need a Will. There is more than one legal way to jointly own a house. If you jointly own a house as ‘’joint tenants’’ the surviving partner automatically inherits the property. However many co-owners buy a house with their partner as ‘’tenants in common’’. This type of joint ownership means that their share of the property passes by their Will or if there is no Will under intestacy rules. It is always important to check how you jointly own a house when preparing a Will. Can I write my own Will? Yes, you can but I wouldn’t recommend that you do so. That is because Wills are tricky legal documents. The consequences of getting the Will wrong can be legally expensive and stressful for your family. It can also add to the risk that someone might challenge the Will. The legal Court costs of challenging a Will are high. So , in my view , it is money well spent to get specialist legal advice to make sure your Will is fit for purpose and to get it reviewed when significant life events (such as marriage, the birth of children or grandchildren, divorce, new relationships) occur. [related_posts] How much does a Will cost? A bespoke Will drawn up by an experienced and regulated solicitor isn’t as much as you might think. Evolve is one of the first law firms to publish fixed fees for Wills. Take a look at our online price list so you have an idea of our charges before making a call or emailing us. If you already have a Will then you may want to get us to check and review it. That’s because family and personal circumstances change so your old Will may not be ‘’fit for purpose’’. Some people have complex finances and businesses and need in depth advice on trusts and estate planning or on domicile. However, even if your situation is not complex, it is be easy to fall foul of inheritance tax and that means your estate could pay more than it needs to in tax. Your old Will might have cumbersome tax planning clauses that are no longer needed and future expense can be avoided. You and your family may therefore benefit substantially from tax input. If you need advice on tax structures, trusts or overseas assets then please call me for a quote. Everyone needs a Will and as all of our personal and financial circumstances are different. That is why it is important that everyone takes bespoke advice, at a cost they can understand, to make sure that their Will meets their needs. If you need a Will or a Lasting Power of Attorney or want me to review your existing Will or Lasting Power of Attorney then please contact us.

Do you suspect your ex is hiding assets from you in your divorce proceedings? If your ex is hiding assets there is a real risk you won't achieve a fair financial settlement. If you suspect your ex is hiding assets there is also a strong possibility that you won't be able to reach an agreed financial settlement because of your suspicions. That’s why if you think your ex is hiding assets in divorce proceedings it is best to get expert family law advice on your options. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Is my ex hiding assets in divorce proceedings? Divorce solicitors will tell you that a husband and wife are under a duty to provide full and frank financial disclosure of their assets when negotiating a financial settlement. That’s the case whether you are negotiating through: Direct discussions Solicitor negotiations Family mediation Family arbitration Financial Court proceedings If things are amicable, or your finances are straight forward, you may not want to see reams of paperwork going back years but every family situation is different. You probably know if your ex has hidden stuff from you throughout your marriage or you may suspect that they started to do so when they met someone else or when the marriage got into difficulties and the relationship started to drift apart. If your ex is very keen to reach a financial settlement without providing any paperwork and wants to get an agreed clean break Financial Court Order as soon as possible this may raise a red flag for you or your divorce solicitor as you need some minimum paperwork to check things out. If you feel that you are being pressurised into accepting no or very limited financial disclosure documents, and into accepting your ex’s word for everything, talk to a financial settlement solicitor before agreeing to a division of assets. That’s because whilst your ex might be totally honest and just wanting to ‘cut to the chase’ and get an agreement, you are entitled to see supporting paperwork. It’s important to do so as any financial settlement you reach by agreement can't easily and quickly be unravelled if it turns out that you were right to have your suspicions about your ex hiding assets from you. [related_posts] Why is my ex hiding assets? There are many reasons why an ex may try to hide assets. Divorce solicitors come across these common excuses: It is inherited money It is savings from my income The new house is owned by my new partner so it isn’t really my asset even though the deposit came from me There is no need to get a business or pension or other asset valued as you can take my word for the value Money was owed to a family member and was not transferred to them to hide assets Cash that was put into additional bank accounts was forgotten Property owned abroad or owned before marriage doesn’t count towards the financial settlement so wasn’t disclosed as it isn’t relevant ( in the ex’s opinion) These are all excuses and should not be used as a reason to not provide full and frank financial disclosure. Sometimes an ex will try to hide money that might not be relevant to the financial settlement but you will both spend time and money arguing over the financial disclosure. However, if the asset had been disclosed at the outset your financial settlement solicitor could have advised you about its overall relevance to the financial settlement. For example, a pension accrued before a short marriage with a cash equivalent transfer value of £10,000 may not be of significance and your ex is wasting their time and money by trying to hide an asset that may be of limited relevance because of the duration of your marriage or your ages. However, by failing to disclose the pension, you and the Court may be far more sceptical about how honest their other financial disclosure is, such as, the extent of your ex’s declared self-employed income or the reason they have transferred money to a sibling or new partner. What can you do about an ex hiding assets? If you are separated or getting divorced and you believe your ex is hiding assets you may need urgent financial settlement and injunction representation. That’s because if your ex is hiding assets with the intention of reducing your financial settlement you may need an injunction order to stop them. Examples of when you may require a financial injunction include: Your ex is transferring money or property to a third party Your ex is putting their pension in payment and taking the maximum tax free cash sum to put the money out of your reach Your ex is syphoning money out of the family business by paying a family member for false invoices with a view to making sure the family business has a lower value placed on it as profits will be down Your ex is buying property overseas or transferring assets abroad Your ex is moving money out of joint bank accounts and putting it into cryptocurrency An injunction is a temporary measure to stop your ex from hiding or disposing of assets. It is best to consider a section 37 injunction application rather than assume that in financial settlement Court proceedings a new partner, parent or sibling can be joined into the financial application to try to unravel the transfer of assets. Whilst that is possible it is normally best to stop the transfer taking place in the first place by securing a freezing injunction. If you have not already done so, a divorce solicitor will also advise you to start financial Court proceedings for a Financial  Court Order. Within the financial settlement application, the Court can make financial disclosure orders that your ex will need to comply with. If your ex does not comply with the financial disclosure orders then you can ask the Court to enforce the disclosure orders against your ex or ask the Court to draw inferences. For example, if the Court ordered disclosure of historical bank statements to reveal what happened to the £100,000 after the sale of a buy to let property and your ex flouts the disclosure order you can ask the Court to draw inferences as to why and ask the Court to add back in the £100,000 so you get a greater share of the other family assets. Financial proceedings and ex hiding assets If you have started financial proceedings and you are not satisfied with your ex’s Form E financial disclosure then a specialist family solicitor can review the financial disclosure with you and draw up a list of additional questions and request for extra non-standard paperwork . For example, if your ex is the director and shareholder in a family business and you suspect they have been syphoning money off to their new partner by creative accounting or use of the director loan account, you can ask for a forensic accountant to value the business and look at your accounting concerns as well as asking for an order that your ex disclose statements for their DLA. Alternatively, you can ask the Court to make financial disclosure orders to help you investigate if: Your ex is self-employed and the family lifestyle does not match their declared earnings Your ex has withdrawn significant sums from a business or personal account and that is not their usual pattern of spending Your ex previously mentioned an asset that they said would be a rainy day asset or pension but there is no mention of the asset in their financial disclosure There are lots of ways a tenacious divorce solicitor can ‘get to the bottom’ of financial disclosure, with the assistance of your background information and knowledge of your ex, combined with seeking the right injunction, financial disclosure orders and valuations. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form