We can advise you about whether any agreement is likely to be considered fair by a court, and whether it meets your needs.
Divorce, Dissolution & Financial Arrangements
Whether you are already talking about divorce or dissolution of your civil partnership, beginning to think about it, or your partner has initiated the conversation, the process can be daunting. You need a good lawyer by your side to make sure that navigating the legal process doesn’t make it even more upsetting.
We work with every one of our clients with skill and sensitivity, to minimise the emotional and financial cost of a family or relationship breakdown. We have a wealth of experience within our team to ensure that you receive expert advice every step of the way. Our aim is to achieve the best possible outcome for you and your family.
Divorce and Dissolution
If you have made the difficult decision to start divorce proceedings, then the next step is issuing your application. You no longer have to blame your husband or wife for the breakdown of the marriage, even if you want to start proceedings straight away, and all divorces are now handled online. You can usually apply for a divorce or dissolution yourself but there are circumstances where you might need us to provide you with help and advice:
- If your partner/spouse does not co-operate or does not want the divorce/dissolution to proceed;
- If you need to delay the final divorce order for legal and tactical reasons;
- If there are likely to be difficulties in serving (delivering) the application on your spouse/partner;
- If there are international issues, you may need advice on the appropriate jurisdiction in which to issue the proceedings;
- If you are not confident with using the online portal;
- If we are already assisting you with dividing your money and property - in our experience this actually saves you legal costs because we can co-ordinate the divorce with the financial process more efficiently.
Dividing your money and property on divorce/dissolution
Most people need to divide their money and property on divorce and dissolution of civil partnership. We understand that this is often a very difficult and worrying time for both parties and clients need expert advice and guidance at this stage.
At Selby Lowndes Solicitors we are experienced in dealing with these issues and clients can be reassured that they will receive the highest quality of advice and expertise. We deal with clients from all walks of life, with different and varying financial resources, and we strive to ensure that every client is treated with the same care and professionalism.
How do you reach a settlement about the division of your money and property?
You may not want to deal with your spouse or their solicitors directly as this can be difficult and distressing. In these circumstances we will help you to reach a settlement, and deal with all the paperwork and financial disclosure that is required.
If you think you could negotiate your own settlement with the help of a neutral third party then mediation may be appropriate for you.
If you and your partner can’t negotiate your own settlement and don’t want to go through court proceedings, then there are still a number of options available to you, such as arbitration and private ‘court proceedings’. We can help you identify, where appropriate, the NCDR process that is best suited to your case.
Although we try to settle cases whenever possible, there are circumstances where court proceedings are needed. If this happens we will advise and support you through every step of the process. We will always fight hard for our clients but we don’t encourage litigation unless it is necessary. Examples of situations where court proceedings might be required are.
- you can't reach a settlement through negotiation or other types of dispute resolution and you need the court to make a decision for you
- the other party refuses to engage with the non court dispute resolution process
- the other party issues proceedings
- there are concerns that one party may try to dispose of assets to stop the other receiving them, in which case the court may need to step in and make what is known as a ‘freezing order’ to prevent the disposal of assets
- a 3rd party, for example another family member, has an interest in assets owned by you or your spouse which may also be considered to be matrimonial property
- there may be tactical reasons to issue proceedings where there are complex international issues and it would be better for your financial arrangements to be determined by a court in England and Wales
Then what happens?
This depends on whether your settlement is reached through agreement or a decision is made for you by a judge or an arbitrator. If you reach agreement then it is very important that this is carefully drafted by a lawyer into a legally binding document known as a financial consent order, and submitted to the court along with the necessary financial disclosure forms.
We can help you with this process and usually charge a fixed fee for this work.
Why is having a properly drafted consent order important?
- To ensure that your spouse cannot make any further financial claims against you in the future;
- To achieve a share of your spouse’s pension ensuring financial security in retirement;
- To deal with tax issues that may arise on divorce/separation;
- To ensure that you receive what you are entitled to. If one party refuses to comply with any of the terms of the order, then it can be effectively enforced by the court. See Enforcement of Orders
If you have a decision made for you by a judge or an arbitrator you may still require a lawyer to draft the fine detail of the award into a legally binding document known as a 'financial order' or a 'financial remedy order'. You won't have to complete any additional forms containing your financial information because you will already have done that.
Complex Cases
Some cases can be particularly complex and require specific knowledge and experience to deal with them effectively. SLS Family Law has particular expertise in cases involving:
- High Net Worth individuals and complex asset structures including offshore trusts
- Inherited/non-matrimonial assets
- Farms and agricultural land
- Business assets
- Military pensions
- Cross jurisdictional/international cases
- Cases which are urgent
Where appropriate we will work with our established network of experts including accountants, tax advisers, financial advisers, pension advisers to obtain the best possible outcome for you.
Highlights
Acting for the husband in a highly complex case which ultimately went to the Court of Appeal concerning the validity of a Syrian marriage
Read the law report
Advising a client on the validity of their marriage where one party’s sexual identity had been incorrectly declared at the ceremony.
Acting for a client whose spouse had fraudulently stolen assets and made himself bankrupt - involved careful forensic assessment of the history and finances to ensure the client received a fair settlement.
Acting for a client in complex financial remedy divorce proceedings involving the official solicitor due to the client's spouse being deemed by the court to lack the capacity to conduct the proceedings himself - this case required sensitivity and an detailed knowledge of the law.
How much will it cost?
What People Say
They were straight talking, and dealt with things with speed and attention to detail. They were also very good listeners, understanding my needs and concerns.
Generally, I feel anxious and unnerved about everything most of the time but I always feel better when I have seen you!
A solicitor with excellent judgement and a real commitment to his clients.
I always knew where I stood because of the clear advice even when I did not want to hear it.
I had such an amazing result from my case. I really appreciate all the work and thought that you put in.
I am writing to thank you and your legal colleagues for recommending Selby Lowndes LLP legal team who helped me through these proceedings. Their dedication, tact and perseverance are laudable. They have been very supportive throughout, and never failed to deliver to help me out in most difficult times.
A great person to have on your team; he fights hard for his clients but is pleasant to deal with.
I cannot thank you enough for your help, support and encouragement. When I first came to see you I was absolutely petrified and really did not think I could go through with it. Your advice, calm manner and belief that this was possible, enabled me to summon the strength to escape what was a nightmare for so many years.
Brings a wealth of experience in family work.
I just knew I could put my trust in you and you would always make the right decisions for me and my girls. You made me feel at ease and … you explained things so well and in detail.
I wanted to write to say a big ‘thank you’ for being such a great solicitor and helping me get through these difficult processes as well as I can imagine someone could. I am really appreciative of the style with which you did this and that you sometimes lightened it all with your sense of humour!
I didn’t realise what a difficult job you had. You’ve done an amazing job having to deal with my lying, cheating muppet of an ex-husband! If it hadn’t been for you then I would have ended up with nothing. My children and I will be forever grateful to you. Thank you for all your help and advice.
It’s been a long and difficult journey but your support and advice throughout has been exceptional. So glad you took my case.
Dear Jane, Thank you very much for your email, I am so glad it did go well and for now is over! I wanted to thank you for all your support and work for the last couple of years and to say how much I appreciated it. You made me feel so heard and seen which is something priceless.
Dear Jane, Thank you for your advice and assistance over the last year. Most importantly I’m so grateful for the compassion you showed me which shone through when I was at my most vulnerable.
Dear Ms. Crumpton, I have approved the order. I hope you receive some recognition from your firm for your diligent work on this unusual case.
Dear Kelsey, Thank you for all your valuable help. I really appreciate it. I don’t want to sound big headed, but I was right when I said you’ll be going places with your talent! Much as I think you’re brilliant, but… nothing personal… I hope I don’t have reason to use you again! We all deserve a break! Surely though, I will recommend you and William to others as the dream team.
I wanted to thank you for your guiding hand throughout this process. You have been reassuring, pragmatic, kind and supportive and I am deeply grateful that I had you on my side.
Excellent judgement.
Experienced and obviously very competent.