Family Law

A family law solicitor will work with you to resolve issues arising in relation to relationship breakdown, often in respect of finances, divorce or child arrangements.

In relation to the finances, the job of your family lawyer is to help work out what there is to divide (the disclosure process), how it might be fairly split between the parties (subject to any legal arguments in relation any assets which might be ring fenced for various reasons), and finally assist with implementing the terms of the order.

In so far as child arrangements are concerned, your family lawyer will try to work with you in the first instance to see if it might be possible to agree proposals for child arrangements with your ex partner, in the hope that you can enter into a Parenting Plan. If that isn’t possible, your solicitor with assist in a referral to mediation, and then, if necessary, initiate court proceedings for the court to intervene.

Going through a separation or divorce process, and resolving difficulties in relation to child arrangements, is very often an extremely challenging period of anyone’s life. It is also an intrinsically personal situation to deal with, and so it is therefore essential that you trust your family lawyer.

It will not be helpful in the long run for you to receive the advice that you ‘want to hear’, rather than the advice you ‘need to hear’. It is much more sensible to have a realistic gauge at the outset of your case so that the margin of disagreement or difference between you and your ex partner can be managed as sensibly as possible.

It is also essential to bear in mind that family lawyers are likely to have a host of professional contacts and connections who can be introduced to you; such as family therapists, divorce ‘concierges’, financial planners and wealth advisers. Selecting a family lawyer who can outsource and utilise their connections in this way is likely to streamline your costs, be more efficient in the long run, and assist in supporting your family through the process if at all possible.

It is very common for family lawyers to take instructions from clients based throughout the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Indeed, many clients are also based aboard. It is not necessary to consult with a solicitor local to you. Meetings can be conducted online, and instructions taken and advice given on an ongoing basis by telephone and email. The only situation where this makes more of a difference is if court proceedings are initiated and the hearing held in person, but most family lawyers will be very happy to travel to support you.

Family law covers all issues in respect of divorce and partnership dissolution proceedings. It also encompasses the associated financial arrangements arising from divorce or dissolution, both in a final sense, but also interim maintenance provision where necessary, pending the final order.

Family law in England and Wales can support international clients with sufficient connections to this jurisdiction, where they have been involved in international divorce proceedings, but have not received adequate financial provision.

As its name suggests, it also covers all aspects of family child arrangements when one family household is separated into two on a domestic basis. It also covers issues arising when one parent seeks to move abroad, or return home to an overseas country, and wants to take the child/ren with them. There are complicated and intricate issues involved which require specific and tailored advice.

Some family lawyers can also advise in relation to surrogacy issues and adoption, and issues arising with the Local Authority, and in accordance with Legal Aid provision, but these are not services that we offer at Edwards Family Law.

Mediation is a voluntary process. It is a way to ‘mend’ relationships when there is a disagreement between the parties.

It is not a process which judges who was right or wrong in the past, but looks at how to agree on working together in the future. It’s a process which works well to talk through the financial arrangements and the things that are important to either person, but is also an excellent forum for working through the child arrangements.

Mediation is often:

• less formal
• flexible
• voluntary
• confidential;

Discussions and ‘agreements’ reached during the mediation process are not usually legally binding until the parties have each taken legal advice and the ‘understanding’ reached is confirmed in correspondence between the solicitors. Mediation works most effectively as a process with five players; the parties, their always advising in the background, and the mediator

Family law is complicated because the law is broad to encompass and ensure that the wide spectrum of cases seen by the family courts can be adequately supported in law. The wide discretion makes it very difficult for litigants in person (clients without legal representation) to adequately assess their own case. The experience of a family lawyer is essential to determine the likely outcome of a case.

If costs are a concern, it is always possible to take some early advice, perhaps enter the mediation process, but retain the option of taking legal advice alongside as the case progresses to ensure that the case is on the right track.

Mediation is held by a neutral person (a ‘mediator’). The mediator is impartial. This means they do not take sides. They are there to help everyone involved find a solution they can all agree to and live with. Often the ‘least worst’ outcome for both parties.

Most mediators practicing in the family law world are legal trained, which ensures that the mediator has a good understanding of the parameters of the law, in order to best assist and ‘steer’ the conversations and discussions surrounding the issues in a direction which is helpful and narrows the issues with a view to assisting the couple in reaching their own resolution.

Some mediators are also qualified to meet the children of the family in direct consultation to assess their wishes and feelings. This information can then be used in the ongoing mediation process with the parents, if all involved have consented.

Family law cases are currently always conducted in private and proceedings are not open to the public. There is a move at present for court judgments to be published without the parties’ names and details being anonymised, but debate is ongoing and the judiciary divided as to how this issue is to be handled.

If privacy is paramount, arbitration is a totally confidential process which can ultimate facilitate an equivalent outcome to the court in the event that the parties cannot otherwise agree the issues.