Family Law across England & Wales

Welcome to the family law service at divorceuk. Please contact us for positive support to resolve your issues. Our list of services in relation to fixed fee divorce, DIY divorce and financial issues is available here.

Grounds of divorce in England & Wales

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behaviour
• Two years' separation with consent of the other party
• Five years' separation – no consent required
• Desertion by the other party for two years

Financial and property basics

• The first step is always to ascertain the assets and liabilities of the parties. Quite simply you need to list all your assets, and those of your spouse and then list all your debts including any mortgage, credit card debts etc.
• The second step is to decide how these will be divided. The starting point should be an equal division.
• More details

The matrimonial home

• This is likely to be the biggest asset of the parties and often merits special treatment.
• A common example would be where one party remains in the property to bring up the children. This is not always affordable.

Maintenance of spouse

• There is no hard and fast rule about maintenance for former spouses, but this would be viewed along with all the circumstances when coming to a final settlement.
• It makes sense to try reaching an agreement about maintenance through mediation or negotiation.

Maintenance of children

• If agreement cannot be reached on the level of maintenance payable, the CSA rules will apply.
• A basic guide is 20% of income net of tax and national insurance contributions for two children while they are in full time secondary education.

Child Contact and Residency

• If the parties cannot agree who the children of the marriage should live with, a residence order can be applied for.
• The Court will make its decision based on the best interests of the child.
• In the case of very young children, the Court assumes that they are better off living with the mother unless proven to the contrary. However, the individual merits of each case will always be considered.
• The parent who does not have residency can apply to the Court for a Contact Order. The Contact Order will specify the amount and type of contact that a resident parent must allow the non-resident parent.
• There is a strong presumption that contact with both parents is in a child’s best interests and in the absence of exceptional circumstances the court will make a Contact Order to ensure that contact takes place.

My contact details are: Donald Wright International Family Lawyer Tignet Ltd, UK Tel: +44 (0)131 555 8443 info@divorceuk.com