Expertise
We understand the sensitivity of Family Law and take utmost care in this department to ensure the best outcome can be achieved when you instruct us.
We frequently handle the below matters. We remain open, however, to discuss any service not listed below so long as we feel it is within our expertise.
- Divorce and separation
- Financial settlement
- Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
- Cohabitation agreements and disputes
- Child arrangements (residence, contact and parental responsibility)
- Child abduction cases
- Civil partnerships and dissolution
- Domestic abuse injunctions and protective orders
- Child maintenance and Child Support Agency (CSA) matters
Main Stages
- Pre- Action: Taking initial instructions, reviewing key documents, liaising with the other side’s solicitor (be it a spouse, partner or ex-partner and advising you on the strength of your legal position
- Issuing/Responding to a Family Law application: drafting and issuing an application in the appropriate court or, if defending against one, we will be getting instructions from you
- Judgment: applying for the relevant application(s) or defending against one
- Enforcement Evaluation: advising you on the enforcement actions available to you in financial settlement cases and the ongoing monitoring and conditions that must be adhered to in Family Law applications
Pricing
Fee Structures:
All costs given on our website are only indicative of a typical case. We will assess each case based on its own complexities, merits and foreseeable costs.
Our most common fee structure in this department is ‘fixed fee’ and you will be advised based on your case strengths and/or complications.
Should the work we conduct exceed this amount, our ‘hourly rate’ will be engaged at our solicitor’s rate of £300 + VAT in line with HMCTS guidance for solicitors’ with more than 8 years’ experience.
Alternative fee structures can only be explored with consideration of your specific case. Rest assured, you will be advised on whether are alternative methods available to you when you seek to instruct us at a consultation with the solicitor.
For information purposes after initial work has been conducted on a fixed fee basis the remainder work could be charged on the following basis. This is, in all likelihood, going to be the case in financial settlement cases ONLY:
- Damages-Based Agreement – in which you pay an agreed percentage of the settlement recieved from the other side either by agreement or a court award.
Timescales
You may be wondering how long your matter will take from first instructing us until the conclusion of the case.
This short answer is that the timescale of your case will depend on the stage at which the conclusion takes place.
If the case settles prior to issuing court proceedings and during the ‘out-of-court settlement’ phase then it is likely to resolve within 6-12 weeks.
However, if the court claim is issued but settles at judicial mediation then the case may take up to 6-9 months.
In the event that the case proceeds to a fact-finding and final hearing, it is likely that your case may take up to 1 year (or longer depending on when the family court can accommodate a hearing date for your case).
Of course, the timescale is not rigid and will depend on many factors including the complexity of the case, the nature of claim, the response from the other side, the number of allegations involved and potentially other factors.