Family Law Articles & Advice

According to the latest research householders over the age of 50 own about 75% of the country’s homes. That’s a lot of equity tied up in property and can create a generational divide with parents and grandparents having too much space and newlyweds looking to start a family not able to afford to buy a first property without assistance or separated couples not being able to create 2 homes for themselves and their children after a divorce. Our private client solicitors are often asked about estate planning when writing Wills and our family law solicitors are asked for innovative solutions in divorce financial settlements. In this blog, we answer some questions on sharing property wealth with the next generation. For expert advice on family law and estate planning call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Housing options As private client and family solicitors, we come across these types of housing issues on a regular basis: A husband or wife is getting divorced and can’t afford, on their own, to take over the mortgage to stay in the family home An older couple wants to make sure that their son or daughter can get on the housing ladder but is concerned about their deposit being kept safe from their child’s partner A family is thinking of moving in together so there is a three-generation household A person is thinking of buying a house and doesn’t know if their partner should be a joint owner or not An older person is thinking of downsizing and either transferring their house to a child or gifting money to a child or grandchildren [related_posts] Property solutions No two families are the same and so one solution doesn’t fit every family. Generally, there are several property solutions, for example: If a husband or wife can’t afford to stay in the family home after a divorce either because they can’t afford to take over the existing mortgage or to borrow more money to buy off a former partner then a parent or other family member could stand as guarantor to the mortgage If a couple want to get their child on the property ladder, they could lend the child money with the loan secured against the house. The loan can suit the family, for example, interest may or may not be payable or interest could be accumulated and only paid if the house is sold If three generations are moving in together the property could be jointly owned by all the adults with a deed of trust setting out the details of property ownership or the mid-generation couple could be the legal owners with the older generation having a right to occupy the house A person buying a house could either buy jointly with their partner or on their own – if the property owner is in a relationship, they should sort out a cohabitation agreement whether or not their partner is a joint owner or lives at the property with them If a person is thinking of giving property or money away, they can do so during their life through what is known as lifetime gifting. Gifts can be made outright or money can be put in trust for family members. Alternatively, the gift could be made outright but protected by the family member receiving the gift asking their partner or spouse to sign a cohabitation agreement or post-nuptial agreement What property and estate-planning solution fits? The right ‘’property solution’’ is down to a number of factors, for example: Inheritance tax implications of making a gift or putting money into a trust The need to protect family money from potential financial claims on the separation or divorce of a family member Family circumstances and personal preferences Given the range of options, it is always sensible to ask for help from specialist private client, estate planning, and family solicitors before gifting money to family members or moving in with a partner. Early bespoke assistance can make sure that you make the right decisions for yourself and your family and protect your loved ones. For expert advice on family law and estate planning call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Evolve is delighted to announce that family law solicitor Ellie Stokes has joined the team at Evolve Family Law.   Ellie previously worked in Staffordshire where she maintains strong ties and plans to continue to work with family law clients in Staffordshire as well as with new clients in Cheshire and the Greater Manchester area.   As a new recruit who professes to enjoy quizzing, we quizzed Ellie about her reasons for joining Evolve Family Law and her career plans:   Why Evolve Family Law? I was looking to join a niche family law practice in the North West and Evolve Family Law fit the bill as I wanted the opportunity to gain experience from senior family lawyers. With founders Robin Charrot and Louise Halford’s nearly 50 years of combined legal experience and the friendly supportive team at Evolve, I had no hesitation in saying yes to the move.   The first week at Evolve has already been insightful and I feel like I am learning so much directly from my colleagues. Judging from my first week, I just know I am going to learn so much and enjoy the variety of family law work at Evolve.   Your path to becoming a solicitor? My working life started at McDonalds flipping burgers but with a degree in International Management with Spanish I knew that I needed to find a career that suited a tidy and organised mind whilst allowing me to get to meet people. A career in law seemed to combine the two. Time spent as a legal intern in the USA working at the California Innocence Project confirmed that qualifying as a solicitor was the right career path for me. The internship was challenging and combined both legal know-how with helping those incarcerated who had nowhere else to turn to for help. I learned a lot and think that my time in the USA made me the advocate that I am today; feisty and prepared to stand up for what is right. Why family law? Whilst training as a solicitor, I worked in a variety of departments, some of which I enjoyed, others less so. However, I was still yet to find an area of law which I found resonated with me most as a person. Just by chance, I was asked to sit behind a barrister on a contested final hearing in relation to an application for a child arrangement order. Within 15 minutes of that hearing, I knew family law was for me and luckily, I was able to do my final seat in family law and qualify as a family solicitor. I’ve always been passionate about making a difference in people’s lives in my work or making people’s lives easier during potentially the most awful times of their lives. I feel like family law fits the bill in that sense. What areas of family law do you specialise in? I advise on the full range of family law because I love the variety but I have particular expertise in financial claims on relationship breakdown and in helping resolve the financial and property claims of non-married couples, LGBTQ+ partners, and married and civil partners. As a family lawyer, I am keen to get the message across that your legal rights are very different if you are in a cohabiting relationship rather than if you are married or in a civil partnership. Cohabitees have to rely on property rights. However, if you are married or in a civil partnership the court has wide discretion to make orders that meet your needs rather than orders based on property and trust law. In the LGBTQ+ community, there is a particular need to understand your family law rights and options, such as the use of cohabitation agreements, civil partnership and prenuptial agreements, as well as the need for specialist children law advice on topics such as parental responsibility for your children or achieving parenthood through international surrogacy. In every family law matter, you are helping someone at an important point in their life whether that is: New relationships – with cohabitation agreements, declarations of trust, prenuptial agreements, or changes to their Will Extending the family – with advice on parental responsibility and child arrangement orders, surrogacy, and parental orders Relationship breakdowns – by trying to help couples reach a property or financial resolution that works for them by providing constructive legal help focussed on what can be agreed to enable both of them to move on with their lives What gets you up in the morning? Other than my 5 alarms, a large cappuccino is my answer to getting going and seated at my desk. Once I am at work, I am kept busy with lots of client calls, meetings, document preparation, and court hearings. No 2 days are ever the same and that is what makes life as a family law solicitor so interesting. I’m at the start of my career but I look forward to the day when I am advising on international surrogacy using my Spanish language skills as I have a keen interest in this subject.  Until then I generally find myself knee-deep in financial disclosure trying to unravel complex financial paperwork. For example, when 1 party to a marriage or civil partnership has moved money or assets or is a director and shareholder in a family business and there is a need to understand movements and discrepancies in a director’s loan account.   Is there life outside Evolve Family Law? There is definitely life outside of Evolve and family law. Whilst I live in Staffordshire, I am an ardent Liverpool football fan and I get to all the matches I can. I combine my love of football with being a lead guitarist in a local band and being a quiz buff. My claim to fame is winning ITV’s tipping Point and being cast for ITV’s The Chase. My ultimate quizzing goal is to be an Egghead though I have got some way to go in achieving that ambition.   For expert advice on family law call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. [related_posts]

At Evolve Family Law we believe in being upfront about charges. That helps you and us. Being open about legal charges means you know how much your family lawyer or private client solicitor is charging you. In this article, founder Robin Charrot offers insight into some of the outmoded charging structures used by most law firms and explains how the Evolve pricing philosophy is different. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Units of time For work that is charged on a ‘time spent’ basis, all other law firms that Evolve’s lawyers have ever come across charge per hour, but using 6-minute ‘units’ of time. So, if a phone call takes 2 minutes you get charged for 6 minutes of your solicitor’s time and with a 7-minute call you get charged for 12 minutes of your lawyer’s hourly rate, and so on. That may strike you as unfair. We agree. Evolve has been charging in ‘units’ of 1 minute since we started in business set up our offices in Holmes Chapel and North Manchester. That means if something takes a minute, you only get charged for a minute of our time, with the charge based on our published hourly rates. Fixed fees or units of time billing At Evolve Family Law we offer some of our services on a fixed fee basis and other services are charged on a time-spent basis. Evolve was one of the first law firms in the country to publish our fixed fees and hourly rates on our website. Some of our family law and private client work is particularly suited to fixed fee charging, such as: Divorce Agreed financial court orders Standard Wills Lasting Powers of Attorney Preliminary advice on prenups or postnups For a full list of our fixed-fee services take a look here. Other types of family law work are not possible to charge on a fixed fee basis. For example, some child arrangement order applications involve 1 or 2 hearings whilst others involve the instruction of experts and several more court hearings, such as a finding of fact hearings and a welfare hearing. Likewise, a contested divorce financial settlement hearing may take a day or a week of court time for the judge to decide on the appropriate financial court order because of the complexity of the assets and the parties’ circumstances. As every family situation is different it isn’t possible to devise a fair fixed fee structure for all types of family law work as the couples who decide to settle early or limit the points in dispute would be penalised as the fixed fees would need to encompass the whole range of straightforward or complex children law or financial court proceedings. In addition, it isn’t always readily apparent when first instructed, just how complicated matters are. For example, a spouse may try to hide assets in financial settlement court proceedings or a children’s law application for a child arrangement order may involve allegations of parental alienation. [related_posts] How does unit of time billing work? We welcome questions about how our fees work as we believe it is best to be clear and upfront about costs so you know how the unit of time billing works and can budget for legal services. Our family law solicitors and private client lawyers’ hourly rates are published on our website and contained in our client care information. Each minute is charged at the fee earners’ hourly charge-out rate. When you first contact us, you may have been recommended to a particular solicitor or you may be happy to be guided by us as to who would be best placed to help you so we match your needs with the most cost-effective fee earner for you. Although you will always have a named solicitor working for you, we make sure that if we can delegate work to a junior fee earner we do so. For example, whilst you may need the knowledge and experience of a specialist child abduction solicitor who has handled lots of complex children law proceedings there is no reason why they should be preparing a court bundle when it is cheaper for you if one of our junior solicitors or paralegals assists with this type of task. At Evolve Family Law we are acutely conscious that unit-of-time billing works to the advantage of slow solicitors who take their leisure over completing legal paperwork. We don’t operate like that. Whilst we deliver an excellent standard of legal help we don’t ponder whilst the clock ticks away. We are efficient because we know that our clients have a right to expect that when they are paying by the minute. Our efficiency and level of client service are rewarded not just in prompt payment but by clients recommending us to their friends and family. For expert help with divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney? Everyone needs a Lasting Power of Attorney and no one can afford to not have one in place. Sadly, most of us don’t realise how important a Lasting Power of Attorney is until there is an accident or decisions need to be taken to help an elderly relative. For expert advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney call our team of specialist LPA lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is a Lasting Power of Attorney? A Lasting Power of Attorney authorises nominated members of your family and/or trusted friends to act on your behalf if you are not capable of making your own decisions. There are 2 different types of Lasting Power of Attorney: Health and welfare – this type of Lasting Power of Attorney allows your nominated family or friends (called attorneys) to make decisions about your medical treatment and care needs if you are not able to do so because you lack capacity Property and financial affairs – this type of Lasting Power of Attorney allows your attorneys to manage your financial affairs (for example to manage your bank account, pay bills, or sell your house) if you lack the capacity to make your own decisions You can do one or both types of Lasting Power of Attorney – the decision is yours. The Lasting Power of Attorney is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. A health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney won’t be used unless there comes a time when you lack the capacity to make your own decisions. Provided you have the capacity you can cancel a Lasting Power of Attorney or nominate new attorneys. Do I need a Lasting Power of Attorney? Most people think that an elderly relative might need a Lasting Power of Attorney but don’t think that they need one. However, no one knows when you might need an attorney to quickly act for you, either temporarily (after a ski or car accident) or permanently. That is why everyone needs a Lasting Power of Attorney to cover the what-ifs. What you can’t do is wait until you or your relative has lost capacity (either as a result of an accident, health scare, or dementia) and then ask an LPA lawyer to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney. To give an example of why a Lasting Power of Attorney is important take the example of a business owner, keen on winter sports and skiing off-piste, who was separated from his wife and living with a new partner. If he were to have an accident and lose capacity then without a financial Lasting Power of Attorney his business might quickly get into trouble as there would be no one with the power to handle matters temporarily (to pay bills and salaries) or long term basis (to employ a manager or sort out a sale of the business). Without a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, the man’s next of kin would be his estranged wife, rather than his girlfriend, parents, or siblings. Lasting Powers of Attorney are essential to give peace of mind. [related_posts] What happens if there is no Lasting Power of Attorney and capacity is lost If capacity is lost before a Lasting Power of Attorney is in place an application can be made to the Court of Protection for a deputy to be appointed to look after the affairs of the incapacitated person. The appointment of a deputy costs more in legal fees than drawing up a Lasting Power of Attorney. In addition, there is likely to be a delay between the Court of Protection application and the appointment of the deputy. During that period your friends and family won’t be able to access bank accounts to help manage your financial affairs and pay essential bills or make health or care decisions for you. A Lasting Power of Attorney is a bit like a Will; everyone needs one at any age, even if none of us like to think of accidents, dementia, or death. How much does a Lasting Power of Attorney cost? A bespoke Will and Lasting Power of Attorney drawn up by an experienced and regulated solicitor isn’t as much as you might fear. Very few law firms publish price information on their websites. Evolve is one of the first law firms to publish fixed fees for the preparation of Powers of Attorney so you have an idea of our charges before making a call or emailing us. Take a look at Our Prices | Standard Fixed Fees. The Evolve Family Law fixed fees mean you get private client Lasting Power of Attorney assistance tailored to your personal situation, based on what is best for you in return for charges that are affordable and you can understand. Everyone’s personal and financial circumstances are different and that is why it is so important that everyone has protection in place to protect themselves and their family. For expert advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney call our team of specialist LPA lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When a family member passes away, with or without leaving a Will, the process of sorting out the personal and financial affairs of the deceased can seem overwhelming. This is often not helped by the need to obtain probate before the family can access funds and distribute the estate in accordance with the Will. In this article, specialist private client lawyer, Chris Strogen, offers guidance on what probate is and how to go about applying for it. For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is probate? When someone dies their assets and property (known as their estate) are left in limbo until someone gets the legal right to deal with their property and possessions by applying for probate and obtaining a grant of representation or letters of administration. How do you apply for probate? Normally, the probate application process involves these stages: Check and see if there is a Will – the Will may be kept with other important papers, at the bank or a solicitor’s office. If there is a Will the people authorised to sort out the deceased’s financial affairs (known as the executors) will apply for probate. If there is no Will then family members can apply for the grant Estimate the value of the estate – this is necessary so you know if inheritance tax is likely to be payable by the estate Pay any inheritance tax due – this needs to be sorted out before applying for probate Complete and submit a probate application form and where necessary an inheritance tax form What happens after probate is granted? The executors will need to: Pay any remaining inheritance tax that is payable Pay any debts Collect any property, for example, selling a share portfolio or a family home or investments Distribute the estate, either under the terms of the Will or, if there is no Will, under the intestacy rules Do you have to get probate? Sometimes it is possible to sort out a deceased’s financial affairs without applying for probate. For example: If the deceased person did not own any property or property was jointly held and passed automatically to the survivor The deceased held a joint bank account with a husband, wife, or partner so the savings or bank account passed automatically to the joint account holder The deceased’s bank may consider the account balance small enough to release without the formality of probate [related_posts]  Is getting probate straightforward? The complexity of the probate process depends on how complex the deceased’s estate, family dynamics, and Will is. Sometimes getting probate is straightforward but there are often things to sort out or check such as: Entitlement to bereavement allowance Whether it is in the family’s best interests to change a Will after death (known as a deed of variation). Executing a deed of variation  can result in inheritance tax savings Resolve any inheritance claims by family or dependants who want to challenge the Will or do not think that they will receive reasonable financial provision under the intestacy rules Obtaining a presumption of death certificate Sorting out life insurance and pension claims – these benefits may or may not pass under the terms of the deceased’s Will Sorting out the creation and administration of any Trusts created in the Will Changing the appointment of Executors How much does probate cost? Some people have complex finances and businesses and there is therefore a lot of legal work to do to get probate. However, even if the deceased’s estate is not complex, it often pays for executors to get specialist legal help to make sure that the estate does not pay more than it needs to in inheritance tax and that the estate is distributed correctly. If you need help in applying for probate call Chris Strogen at Evolve Family Law for a quote. For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

As divorce solicitors, we are bound to say that yes you need a divorce solicitor if you are separating or planning on starting divorce proceedings. That’s because using a good divorce solicitor makes the legal process of separation and divorce less stressful than going it alone and the lawyer will ensure you understand your children law rights and help you achieve a fair divorce financial settlement. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Choosing your divorce solicitor Choosing the right divorce solicitor for you is the key to a successful working relationship between you and your lawyer. It is a difficult question to ask but what do you want from your divorce solicitors? Expert legal advice is a given but what else? There should be an element of trust as you are putting negotiating the parenting arrangements for your children and your financial future in your lawyer’s hands. When your divorce solicitor tells you that the divorce financial settlement you have discussed in family mediation is a fair one that should be agreed upon and converted into a binding financial court order in the divorce proceedings you need to be able to trust your lawyer’s judgment and experience and know that they have your best interests at heart. [related_posts] Working with your divorce solicitor If you don’t like your lawyer, or if you don’t trust them to always do the right thing for you, it is hard to place confidence in the legal advice they give you. Unlike any other area of law, the relationship between a family lawyer and their client is fundamental to the outcome of a case.   It is an unfortunate reality that many people have a deep set distrust of the legal profession based on the stereotypical fat cat solicitor who is only interested in maximising legal fees, who makes money out of other people’s misery, costs a fortune and who has an ego the size of a house. That couldn’t be further from the ethos at Evolve Family Law. Founders, Robin Charrot and Louise Halford have many years of legal experience in large commercial law firms and so sadly recognise the stereotypical ‘fat cat‘ lawyer image. It was precisely those experiences that led to them opening a family law firm that was a bit different. The focus is on helping clients and building trusted relationships between divorce solicitor and client that can last well beyond their ‘case’. Evolve Family Law opened in 2015 with the vision of being the most trusted and first-choice legal advisor for people going through relationship changes. At Evolve, clients are at the heart of all our divorce solicitors do. The focus is on listening, understanding, helping, and giving practical, strong, sensitive, and commercial legal advice. Our divorce lawyers don’t tell our clients what they want to hear, we tell them what they need to hear. If that legal assistance means we lose fees, we are fine with that. It is this approach to getting the best outcome for clients whilst offering value for money and transparency that has enabled Evolve to grow, with the vast majority of new work coming from existing or former clients, or their friends and contacts. If you are going through a divorce or relationship breakdown, ask yourself whether your divorce lawyer truly thinks as we do at Evolve. If you aren’t sure, then maybe Evolve Family Law a call. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

You may question why you would remarry your ex but remarrying your former husband or wife is a growing trend. Some unkindly refer to it as yo-yo or boomerang marriages but as divorce solicitors, we understand that what attracted you to a person in the first place can reignite despite your separation and divorce. For expert help with divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The legal implications of remarrying your ex Once you get divorced your legal relationship is at an end although some financial ties may remain unless you obtained a clean break divorce financial court order. This type of divorce financial settlement severs any financial obligations. On remarriage, you are husband and wife again with the same marital legal relationship as the first time around. That marriage relationship brings with it financial obligations. Those obligations are not covered in your financial court order obtained after your first marriage and subsequent divorce. What that means for you is that if you remarry your ex and it does not work out the second time around either of you can apply to the family court for a financial court order. The size of the financial award will depend on several factors, including the length of your second marriage and your respective needs. [related_posts] The importance of a prenuptial agreement when remarrying your ex It is understandable to be a bit wary about getting remarried, especially if you went through an acrimonious divorce financial settlement first time around. Even if you were able to reach an agreed financial consent order after the end of your first marriage you are right to be cautious about getting remarried to your ex and the financial implications for you. This is especially true when you are in a financially stronger position than the ex you are re-marrying, perhaps because you were more careful with your share of the assets from your first divorce financial settlement. How can you protect yourself financially whilst still enjoying a second marriage with your ex? The answer is a prenuptial agreement tailored to your circumstances. That’s because on re-marriage it is as if you are back to square one, with all the financial claims that a husband or wife can bring on a second divorce. For some couples that means that they are both more comfortable with living together in a cohabiting relationship with a cohabitation agreement in place to sort out and record their agreed property and financial arrangements. Others prefer the security of marriage but with a prenup agreement drawn up prior to their second wedding. There isn’t one legal solution that’s right for everyone who decides to get back together with an ex-spouse. Normally there are legal pros and cons to the options of living together without remarriage or marrying for the second time, with a prenuptial agreement in place. Putting romance and family feelings aside, for inheritance tax reasons, a couple’s adult children might well thank their parent’s decision to remarry rather than cohabit with one another but there is a wealth of legal and financial considerations with each option. The legal advice will all depend on what the couple agreed on the first time around about property ownership and the split of pensions and their current financial circumstances. Most couples who are marrying a second time around see a lot of sense in signing a prenup agreement. The document means that there is less risk of acrimonious and expensive second divorce proceedings. The beauty and practicality of a prenup agreement are that it can be as detailed or as broad as the couple requires provided that certain legal requirements are met. For those preferring to cohabit together, it is just as important to draw up a cohabitation agreement as few couples realise that even if they don’t remarry and don’t jointly own a house together that property claims can still be made if a relationship breaks down. For expert help with divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Concerns about the impact of living with a new partner and how it will impact your divorce financial settlement are not unusual. As divorce solicitors, we help answer your questions on how your planned cohabitation with a new partner or your ex-spouse’s decision to spend a large proportion of their week with their new partner will affect the divorce financial settlement. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Does forming a new relationship affect the divorce financial settlement? Forming a new relationship may affect your divorce financial settlement. It isn’t possible for divorce solicitors to give a definitive answer without more information about your personal and financial circumstances and those of your ex-spouse. Although it is commonly assumed that the presence of a ‘’third party’’ will make a massive difference to a financial settlement that isn’t necessarily correct. That’s why it is best to speak to a divorce solicitor about your situation, and that of your ex-spouse, and to make sure that you don’t let the presence of a new partner adversely affect your judgment. If you do then it can be harder to set your feelings and emotions aside to focus on reaching a reasonable split of the family assets. It is especially hard to come to terms with an ex-spouse meeting a new partner when the ex-partner has hidden the new relationship from you and you have found out about the new boyfriend or girlfriend through the backdoor. For example, from children, family friends, or, as is often the case, from posts and pictures on social media or from disclosure and questions within financial settlement court proceedings. Is your ex-spouse cohabiting with a new partner? If there is a new partner on the scene the first question, from a family law solicitors’ point of view, is whether the spouse is living with his or her new partner or if they are at an early stage of a new relationship and not cohabiting. Sometimes there are disputes about whether a couple are living together or not because: Of the financial consequences of cohabiting and The ex-spouse and their new partner are not living together on a full-time basis as they each keep a separate home base although they spend a lot of their week together and present as a couple Working out if an ex-spouse is cohabiting with a new partner is important because if cohabitation can be established: Your ex-spouse may find it a lot more difficult to ask for spousal maintenance for themselves If there is already a financial court order in place you may be able to apply back to the family court to stop the spousal maintenance or to reduce the amount you pay If you are negotiating a divorce financial settlement, or you are involved in court proceedings, your ex-spouse may find it harder to argue that they need the same amount of money to rehouse themselves [related_posts] Proving that your ex-spouse is cohabiting with a new partner It is not uncommon for there to be a dispute about whether an ex-spouse and their new partner are living together as a cohabiting couple. Whether you are negotiating a divorce financial settlement by agreement or involved in divorce financial settlement court proceedings you and your ex-spouse are both under an obligation to provide full and frank financial disclosure. This includes disclosing your relationship status and the impact of your relationship on your housing and outgoings. For example, if you are living with a new partner are they sharing the rent and other outgoings? For example, if you plan to buy a new house with your partner does their savings and earnings capacity affect your ability to secure a bigger mortgage? Financial disclosure and new relationships The requirement to provide information about new relationships is contained in the court document (called a Form E) that needs to be completed by both a husband and wife in divorce financial settlement proceedings. Most family law solicitors also ask you to complete a Form E if you are negotiating a divorce financial settlement. In addition to disclosing the existence of a new partner that you are living with (or plan to do so), you also need to provide details about the new partner’s financial circumstances. This requirement can be a cause for concern especially if a new relationship is in its early stages or a new partner is unwilling to provide information that may be used against them or may result in them being drawn further into acrimonious divorce financial settlement proceedings. Non-disclosure of relevant personal matters or financial non-disclosure could be a basis for setting aside a financial agreement or a financial court order. If the non-disclosure is discovered during negotiations then trust can be lost making it harder to reach a divorce financial settlement. If the non-disclosure is revealed through questions asked during financial court proceedings the judge could draw adverse inferences against the person who hasn’t provided full and frank disclosure. The relevance of a new relationship to a divorce financial settlement There is often an argument that two homes are being maintained by the spouse and the new partner. It is then a case of establishing if, despite the two physical homes, the couple is in reality cohabiting because of the amount of time spent together and the financial links between the two of them. In some situations, it can be in the financial interests of a spouse to say that they do have a new partner they are living with and have taken on financial responsibility for. That is because that may mean they have larger outgoings and therefore an argument to say that they can’t afford to pay as much spousal maintenance each month or they need to spend more on rehousing. It is important to take objective family law legal advice on the relevance of an ex-spouse forming a new relationship when sorting out the financial division of property and assets. That’s because a lot of emotional and financial time and energy can be spent on exploring whether a separated spouse is in a new relationship and then whether, in reality, they are cohabiting together. The job of a family finance solicitor is to quickly assess whether a new relationship will have an impact on the financial settlement or the financial court proceedings. Although a new partner can be a hot topic it can either be a red herring or one of the key factors in your negotiations or in the family court deciding how money and assets are divided. The relevance of a new partner all depends on individual family financial and personal circumstances. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.