Amicable Divorce and Separation

Many people want to divorce as amicably as possible, especially when the marriage has broken down because they have grown apart and not because of bad behaviour or a relationship with a third party.

We can help you achieve this. Instructing a solicitor should not be seen as a hostile act but as an essential part of making sure you are doing things in the right way.

There are some things you should be aware of to help you understand why we recommend that you go through certain steps:

1. Considering the timing of the divorce order so that you do not lose out on pension benefits in the event of your spouse passing away prior to your financial settlement being secure.
2. Exchanging financial information so you both have a clear picture of the other’s financial position, and nothing has been missed or under-valued.
3. Looking at your financial needs for housing and income. An equal division of the assets may not be fair. You might get a bigger or smaller share of the assets to achieve parity in your financial positions.
4. Checking if there are any other matters to consider. These can include assets built up prior to the relationship, inheritances or family gifts, business interests, health problems or disability and third-party interests.

Once you know what you have and what issues need to be addressed, you can look at what is fair and reasonable and how you are going to reach an agreement about the division of your finances. There are various options for doing this and you can see the options ­here.

When an agreement is reached you need to make sure that the agreement is “water-tight” to give you peace of mind for the future. We will draw up an agreement for you.  If there are divorce or dissolution proceedings the agreement can be submitted to the court for approval by a judge. This doesn’t usually involve you having to go to court, it is all done on-line for you.

There is, of course, a cost to having a solicitor help you through these steps but without having that help you may not be confident that the financial arrangements are right for you nor will you have the peace of mind of knowing that any arrangements made are binding and that there cannot be further claims later.