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Our specialists have a wealth of experience and knowledge in handling all aspects of family law and its complexities. We understand that needing a family lawyer will likely be the most important legal advice you will ever seek. That’s why our expert, friendly team can offer you confidential, informative advice and assistance, in an environment you can trust.
At Fosters Solicitors, we can guide you through the process, whether you are applying for the dissolution or responding to your civil partner’s application. Indeed, we will draft all the necessary legal paperwork and offer you clear advice at each stage.
We are able to advise you on the most suitable way forward, taking into account your particular circumstances. If there are assets within the civil partnership, we can advise you in relation to the best settlement – if necessary by way of an application to the court to deal with the financial side. If you are facing an application by your civil partner, we are equally in a position to offer you sound advice on how best to respond.
We appreciate that the legal process associated with the breakdown of a relationship can appear complicated, especially at what can be an emotional and difficult point in one’s life. Our Family team can help you understand and support you through the entire process of divorce – and aim to provide you with clear, sound and practical advice.
Whether you wish to begin the application yourself, or you are the respondent to the application, we aim to provide our clients with tailored and comprehensive advice. We are able to advise you on the most suitable way forward, taking into account your particular circumstances.
Couples may have joint assets or assets in their own name, which need to be settled when their relationship comes to an end – either through divorce, dissolution or separation.
Our specialist Family team can help advise and support you in understanding your legal rights and responsibilities, and can provide expertise with regard to settlements in the case where agreement can be reached, or when it can’t and court representation is required.
We work with our clients closely to fully understand their individual circumstances and needs to be able to advise and support them in the best way possible. Making financial arrangements can be complicated and result in disagreement. Our experts are experienced in assisting and mediating between parties to try and deliver the best possible outcome for our clients.
For those couples who wish to separate but not formally divorce or dissolve their partnership, we can provide advice on the options available to them. When a relationship breaks down, there is no requirement for parties to pursue a divorce or civil partnership dissolution, however there may be financial or children matters to deal with.
Our experts are experienced in helping negotiate and draw up separation agreements and support our clients through the process. Our Family Law team work with our clients to understand their personal circumstances and seek to safeguard their best interests.
When parents or other relatives cannot agree arrangements in respect of children that they care for, or with whom they wish to see – there is often a need for urgent legal advice and support. Our experienced and empathetic Family Law team aims to deliver child-focused solutions to the following types of child-related issue:
If a dispute cannot be settled through negotiation or mediation, then our specialists will represent you in an application to the court to resolve the matter. If you require more advice about disputes involving children, please contact us for a confidential no obligation chat.
In certain circumstances, social workers with children’s services at the local authority become involved with some families. This can often leave parents, grandparents and other family members feeling powerless, uncertain and even frightened about what might happen in the future. We offer clear and direct advice designed to assist and help you understand and be part of the process.
If the local authorities decide to hold formal meetings you may qualify for free representation by a solicitor in those meetings, to ensure the meetings are fair. If the local authority decides to start care proceedings, one of our experienced advocates will represent you at court – helping you through the process and ensuring that your voice is heard with the view to trying to achieve a successful outcome. Wherever the proceedings are taking place in the country, we can provide you with expert advice and arrange for you to be represented at court by carefully selected local lawyers.
Domestic abuse can be physical, emotional, psychological, verbal, sexual, financial or related to coercion and/or control. If you have been subjected to such abuse by a partner, ex-partner, family member or someone who knows you, we can provide immediate and practical help. Our experienced team of experts are available to provide confidential support and advice whenever you need us. Assistance can range from a warning letter, liaising with the police or, if need be, an application to the court for protection by way of an injunction.
Legal aid is available in these circumstances, which will meet your legal costs.
For emergency, out of office hours advice, please telephone 07775 947944.
We offer a mediation service to couples and families coping with the breakdown of their relationships, and who wish to work together in a series of meetings with a family mediator to sort out their future arrangements.
Mediation is ideal for people who can no longer live together, but still need to be able to communicate in a neutral and calm way. You do not necessarily have to meet. The mediation can be together, in separate rooms or via video link, whichever is most appropriate. Mediation can be fast and cost-effective, achieving a huge saving in legal costs.
Problems for discussion might include arrangements to do with children, housing, money and pensions. Mediation can also be used to resolve other disputes such as difficulties between relatives, perhaps over children or an inheritance. We offer an introductory session to each of you who wish to be involved. Then if each party and the mediator decides that mediation might be helpful, we can plan from there. If you start using mediation and then change your mind you can stop whenever you choose.
Our partner, Iain McClay, heads our Family & Mediation team and has over 30 years of experience in supporting families as an experienced family lawyer, court advocate and mediator. He is a registered accredited mediator by the Family Mediation Council and a member of the Family Mediators Association.
For those couples who are not married or in a civil partnership, in the event of separation or death they do not have the same legal rights as married/civil partnership couples, regardless of the number of years they have been together or whether they have children. Cohabitation agreements are legal documents that can be drawn up between unmarried couples or those who wish to live together, such as friends or siblings.
These can set out arrangements and create legal obligations between parties concerning finances, property and children while you’re living together and if you separate, become ill or pass away. Our Family team can work with you to understand your personal situation and draft a cohabitation agreement.
While we appreciate it can be ‘unromantic’ to think about the possibility of separation, if it was to happen and you were left in a worse, or unfair, financial position compared to your ex-partner, contesting the division of assets can cost an enormous amount of money to fight out in court.
We work with couples to discuss and draw up their agreement to help give them peace of mind.
Couples are able to attempt to plan and make provision for the division of their assets in the event of the breakdown of their relationship, either before or after they get married or enter a civil partnership. Our Family Law team can help negotiate, draft and advise you on suitable terms for both pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
Both agreements can set out ownership of all belongings (including money, assets and property) and try to explain how they will be divided in the event of divorce or dissolution. This is a very complex and fast-moving area of law. If you are entering, or have entered into a marriage/civil partnership with unequal financial contributions, you should seek legal advice urgently.
When a marriage or civil partnership breaks down, the starting point will be to consider the division of assets. Our experts are here to help advise you about what would be an appropriate division, taking into account a variety of factors, such as the length of the marriage/partnership, your respective needs, and looking at your circumstances – and in the absence of an agreement, what kind of order a court would make.
You may wish to consider a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement, the purpose of which is to manage your financial circumstances upon separation, and how you would wish to divide your assets. Our team will provide advice regarding the preparation and completion of these agreements, together with advice regarding their enforceability.
We have a wealth of experience in helping create and support child care arrangements, as well as in supporting people to find solutions to their relationship challenges.
Whether you require child-focussed solutions or are looking to navigate the beginning or end of a partnership, we can help you with friendly and confidential legal support.
The Law Society awards accreditations to legal practices and solicitors who meet the highest standards of technical expertise and client service in specific areas of law. Our Partners, Lucy Simpson and Clare Sharpe, hold the Children Law Accreditation, highlighting their specialism in dealing with legal issues related to children, such as child protection and arrangements for children following family breakdown.
Recognised by The Legal 500 UK, our Family Law team is “very understanding and listens well”.
Our Family team is comprised of compassionate and skilled legal professionals dedicated to supporting you through the most sensitive and personal legal matters. With extensive experience in all aspects of family law, including divorce, child custody, and financial settlements, our team is committed to providing clear, empathetic, and effective guidance, ensuring that your needs and those of your loved ones are carefully addressed throughout the process.
