Divorce or separation at any point in life can be difficult, but especially so in later life.

We understand that after spending many years with someone such a huge change can be a daunting prospect and the path ahead may not seem clear. If you do find yourself in this position, there are positives to consider too.

Hopefully the assets within the marriage are clear as pensions will have been built up and mortgages reduced or paid off. Accordingly, this will help you to make an informed decision as to what financial settlement is fair. The re-marriage rate for those aged 60+ has also risen and you may choose to enter into a new relationship with the knowledge of financial security and stability.

You are not on your own, our experienced family lawyers are on hand to provide practical advice and we will work with you to achieve a fair outcome. Our aim, and the aim of the Court, is to ensure that any financial settlement will allow you to meet your future needs. The process of divorce can initially appear overwhelming, but we will be with you every step of the way to ensure that you fully understand the process and your options.

Naturally, the older you are, the more likely it is that you own property and have pension assets. Working out what is fair can be complicated, as there may be different types of assets and different need. We would always recommend taking specialist advice to ensure that you receive a fair settlement.

Getting advice from a pension actuary may also be necessary. Professional guidance can be obtained to address division of pension assets and to provide illustrations of the pension income that you need/will obtain. We can help you at each stage of the process.

Is divorce the best option for you?

For some people, the decision to end their marriage may have been made on a joint basis – you want to separate on amicable terms and remain friends. If this is the case and you have no plans to re-marry, you may wish to consider an informal separation rather than a divorce. A Separation Agreement can be utilised to address this; the agreement enables you to share your assets and finances whilst staying married in name only.

Considering re-marriage

On a positive note, travelling on a different path later in life can be liberating. There’s less pressure and you will have life experiences to help you move forward. You will have a clearer idea about what you want, without having to worry about extended family, who are likely to be adults now and leading independent lives. If thoughts lead to re-marriage it is worth considering how best to protect your assets e.g. with a pre-nuptial agreement. You should also consider preparing and/or updating your Will. There are positives to being older and wiser!

If you’ve reached the stage in life where you’d like to discuss separation or divorce; or you’ve met a new partner and want advice about a pre-nuptial agreement, please do get in touch with us.

We offer a free initial consultation and our experienced Family Law team provide a friendly listening ear. Please contact a member of our experienced Family Law team today.

When parents separate their primary concern will be to ensure the wellbeing of their children and to support them through the separation and divorce process.

If parents can work together and focus on the children’s needs initially, a nesting arrangement can be a short-term arrangement which provides security for the children. This then provides the parties with time to consider the bigger picture further to separation.

What is a nesting arrangement?

Essentially the children remain at the family home and the parents share care for example by living at the property for a week on/week off with each party then moving out of the family home at agreed times. They can then live with family, friends or at another jointly sourced property. This can then provide a period of stability for the children whose day to day arrangements won’t change.

Careful thought needs to be given as to how and if a nesting arrangement can work and each family arrangement is different. Trust and communication are key to ensuring that the nesting arrangement works for the benefit of the children and both parties. There would need to be discussion for example as to payment of household expenditure and respecting each other’s privacy.

If you would like further advice as to whether a nesting arrangement would be suitable for you and your family then please contact a member of our Family Law team.

You’ve made the decision to separate and have addressed a wide range of issues which you need to agree upon in order to move forward . One of the main aspects to be clear upon is your financial position within the marriage and in particular pensions.

It is important to ensure that you have a clear picture as to your partner’s financial position. This will then enable you to consider what financial agreement is fair. Many people think this just involves sorting out arrangements with the house. The Court, however, looks at the whole financial position to include pensions.

Often when separating, couples do not realise that they can share the pension of their partner or that they will be expected to share pensions. In a number of cases, this is important, for example when one person has a more valuable pension than their partner ie if one party doesn’t work or works part-time.

Pensions are a really important asset when considering income on retirement and must not be overlooked. There are also different types of pension schemes with public sector pensions having additional benefits which need to be valued.

In some cases, it will be important to ask a pension expert relevant questions so as to determine the value. This will then give you a clear picture to enable you to make an informed decision.

At Awdry Law our team of highly qualified, friendly legal experts will advise you if a report is needed and this will reflect, the type of pension and other relevant factors particular to your needs. There is a cost and it will take time but wouldn’t you prefer to know what you would be giving up before making that decision?

If you have any questions or if we can help in any way regarding any Family Law matter, please click contact a member of our knowledgeable and highly experienced Family Law team today to arrange your free initial consultation.

One of the major concerns for parties is how the financial assets will be divided. The current starting point for long marriages is that there should be an equal division of the assets, unless there is a good reason why one of the party’s should receive a greater share.

However, there is no specific formula as each case depends on individual facts and circumstances and this is the reason why expert legal advice should be sought.

Please do not hesitate to arrange a free initial consultation with one of our Family Law Experts so that we can advise you regarding the particular aspects of your separation or divorce

The Family Team at Awdry Law are acutely aware of the impact that any separation, no matter how amicable, will have upon the children of the family.

As members of Resolution we will always seek to try and resolve issues between separating parents as amicably as possible and ensure that all communication and correspondence is appropriate.

Children love both parents and it is in their best interest to have and maintain a loving relationship with both parents and for both parents to seek to promote this. Children are often generally aware of the difficulties between their parents; they will hear or see things despite the best intentions of all involved.

We also appreciate there may be cases where for a variety of reasons children are estranged from one parent. Even in those cases the Court is clear that unless there are welfare issues to be considered then a relationship is to be promoted.

How can we try to help and support you?

At Awdry Law we seek to encourage all parties to communicate with each other respectfully in respect of arrangements for the children. This also applies to third parties involved with the children such as extended family members.

We appreciate this can be difficult, especially when one parent is upset due to the breakdown of the marriage and has sought support from third parties. It is important however, to ensure that children are protected from negative views of either parent; they shouldn’t be involved in the issues surrounding the breakdown of the marriage or reference to blame and fault.

If parents can co-operate with each other and encourage others to do so, this ensures pressure on the children is minimised and enables them to focus on their future and wellbeing.

You will be involved in their lives for many years to come and think about it from their perspective. How much easier will it be if they can be comfortable with both parents’ being part of their future.

If you have any questions or if we can help in any way regarding any Family Law matter please contact a member of our knowledgeable and highly experienced Family Law team today to arrange your free initial consultation.

If you are living with your partner or are considering doing so in the foreseeable future, you should seriously contemplate entering into a Cohabitation Agreement, and if appropriate, a Declaration of Trust which can provide a safeguard and certainty should a dispute arise upon separation.

A Cohabitation Agreement can also protect assets and gifts from family members and can also protect your children’s future inheritance.

Data collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicates that unmarried, cohabiting couples are the fastest growing type of family, more than doubling from 1.5 million families in 1996 to 3.3 million families in 2017.

In light of this, coupled with the fact that Common law marriage is a myth, it is concerning that according to the *British Social Attitudes Survey in 2019 almost half of us (46%) living in England and Wales still believe that an unmarried cohabiting couple have a “common law marriage” with the same legal rights as a married couple.

At Awdry Law we understand that costs are of paramount importance, even more so in todays’ current climate, where we are feeling financial pressures in all aspects of our lives.

That’s why we do everything we can to help and we start by providing a free initial consultation and clear information from the outset. We’re clear on our costs, we offer fixed fee arrangements, you can pay by standing order or we’ll create a tailored payment plan for you and we can even advise on a “pay as you go” basis.

We do this because we believe that the benefit of having legal advice is to ensure that any financial settlement you receive is fair. You are entitled to financial transparency so that you know at the outset, what financial assets there are. You also need to give yourself time to think about what works best for your families’ particular circumstances.

It might seem stressful for example to delay agreement pending the receipt of pension values but often this asset can be the most valuable. If you then need expert advice, this is to ensure any pension share you receive is appropriate and fair.

Any financial agreement is very particular to you and while there may be short-term cost to instructing a solicitor, see this as a long term gain with the financial settlement you receive.

If you’d like advice about separation, divorce or financial settlements, we are here to offer a listening ear.

The no-fault divorce concept has become law on 6th April 2022 This brings with it long-awaited reforms which aim to reduce conflict and allow couples to focus on their children, property and finances when seeking a divorce, civil partnership dissolution or legal separation.

Previously, when seeking to commence divorce proceedings, unless relying upon a prolonged period of separation there must have been an assignment of blame. You had to prove one of ‘five facts’ to establish irretrievable breakdown of the marriage – unreasonable behaviour, adultery, 2 years’ separation with consent, 5 years’ separation, or desertion.

These ‘facts’ rarely fitted into the actual reasons for the breakdown and left many couples feeling resentful. This then impacted on communication throughout the process.

What's changed:

• It is no longer necessary to rely on one of the ‘five facts’ to prove that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
• The possibility of contesting the divorce has been removed. This means a statement of irretrievable breakdown cannot be challenged or dismissed.
• There is now be an option to make a joint application for divorce, should you wish to do so. This can reduce animosity and acknowledge a couples’ joint decision.
• The language used in divorce proceedings will now be in plain English. Decree Nisi (confirmation that you are entitled to a divorce) will now be known as a Conditional Order and Decree Absolute will be known as the Final Order.
• The new time period from submitting a statement of irretrievable breakdown will be 20 weeks. This allows the parties time to agree practical points surrounding the separation, such as child arrangements and finances. Once 20 weeks has elapsed a Conditional Order (previously Decree Nisi) can be applied for.
• From the date of the Conditional Order there is an additional 6 week period before a Final Order can be applied for. This will then dissolve the marriage or civil partnership.

If you would like advice about separation, divorce or financial settlements, we are here to help. Contact a member of our highly experienced, friendly Family Law team to arrange your free initial consultation and together we can help you begin to move forward and look to the future.

Divorce and Relationship Breakdown – There is no such thing as Common Law Marriage. The law relating to married people who wish to Divorce and unmarried but co-habiting people who wish to separate is entirely different. Our highly qualified legal team have many years of experience and possess the commitment and determination needed to deal with difficult and unreasonable circumstances.

Difficulties tend to lie in resolving the practical issues, such as how to separate, where to live, arrangements for the children and any money matters. The mechanics of achieving a settlement for a relationship breakdown is reasonably straightforward, particularly for couples who are able to continue to communicate and discuss matters together in a sensible fashion.

There is a great legal difference in resolving financial matters between married and unmarried couples for more information please get in touch with a member of our Family Law team today.

Pre-nups might not sound that romantic, but if you’re about to get married or live together, you might have a real mix of assets that you both bring to the relationship from inherited capital, pensions, or the family pet. A pre-nup can help you both be really clear on who owns what and how this would work both now and in the future.

Rather than thinking however, in terms of separation, think of it as relationship planning. Considerable effort goes into planning a wedding or moving in together and shouldn’t your finances be considered in the same way?

The legal position of Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements is changing and so is the social perception of them. It is acknowledged that people feel embarrassed talking about money but wouldn’t this be a good time? Peoples’ views are changing and the legal system is catching up. These agreements will be considered by the Court now, provided that they are drafted correctly and take into consideration relevant factors.

The purpose of an agreement, is to reflect the intentions of the parties and can be used to acknowledge different scenarios such as:

• One side of the family putting money into a property.
• Unequal contribution of capital into a property.
• A pre-existing family business.
• The existence of a trust fund with the release/future anticipation of inheritance monies;
• Entering into a second marriage, where you seek to ensure capital is protected for example, to pass to children from a previous relationship.

Relationship planning can assist in these circumstances and enables you to have frank conversations and both take responsibility within the relationship.

There are lots of things to consider and our friendly and highly experienced Family Law experts can help guide you through. We want to ensure that you have an agreement that works for you both and helps protect both of you, now and in the future.