Law can be complicated and confusing at the best of times, and when you are experiencing the distress of a relationship breakdown, expert assistance is invaluable.
At F Barnes, we have a recognised and highly respected specialist Family department dedicated to providing a personal and professional service to help resolve your situation in a straightforward and pain-free manner as possible.
We offer a 30-minute free initial consultation to understand your requirements and advise you on how we can help, including the likely costs involved.
Our divorce law expertise includes:
- Divorce proceedings (preparing and responding to divorce petitions)
- Divorce finances
- Arrangements for children
- Separation for unmarried couples
What our divorce lawyers can offer you:
We believe in offering our clients a high level of bespoke advice and attention, so we are selective about the work we take on. Your divorce will be dealt with by a qualified and highly experienced lawyer from day one, ensuring exceptional client service throughout.
We have particular expertise in the division of high value and complex finances, including in relation to trusts, property portfolios, pensions and investments.
Our Managing Director and Head of Family, Tiina Juhanson, was one of the first solicitors in the area to gain Family Panel accreditation with the Law Society and is a Resolution Accredited Specialist in Finance.
Our divorce solicitors tailor our approach to your situation and the things you are concerned about. We are equally competent at seeking an amicable agreement on the details of your divorce or separation as we are in pursuing court proceedings, with our team including a number of highly respected litigators.
Contact our divorce lawyers in Essex
You can contact us during our office hours of 9am-5pm at your local branch in Romford, Gidea Park or Collier Row by giving us a call on:
- Romford – 01708 745183
- Gidea Park – 01708 333711
- Collier Row – 01708 743727
Alternatively, contact us at any hour of the day by filling in our online enquiry form, and we will get in touch.
We endeavour to return all enquiries the same or next working day, and you will be able to speak to someone within our Family Law team straightaway.
Our divorce advice services
Divorce proceedings
If you and your partner have come to the decision that your relationship has completely broken down, you can formally end the marriage by issuing divorce proceedings.
Divorce proceedings from beginning to end will normally take between 8 to 12 months. Some people choose to act in person and issue their own divorce proceedings. If you are not familiar with the process and in particular where your partner is not cooperative, it can be easy to hit a stumbling block. There are a lot of advantages to instructing an experienced divorce solicitor who can ensure that the process is a less stressful experience.
Divorce finances
In family proceedings, finances are known as Financial Remedy. It is very important to instruct solicitors to advise you on a financial settlement. It is rarely as simple as dividing all the assets equally between you. Many different factors need to be taken into consideration in deciding on what is a fair division. Many things that clients think is important, such as the other party’s conduct, are not taken into account by the Court in a financial settlement. It is essential to take advice.
Ideally, agreement can be negotiated through solicitors. We also encourage parties to attend mediation in the hope that an agreement can be reached through that service. If an agreement cannot be reached, then Court proceedings are issued. Rarely does it go to a final hearing, and agreement is normally reached in between.
Once you have made an agreement, whether it is through mediation or solicitors, it needs to be approved by the Court to be binding. An agreement needs to be drawn up by the solicitors, which are quite complex and then submitted to the Court for approval.
Our divorce solicitors are experts in the field of financial settlement. Tiina Juhanson has been conducting financial settlement proceedings for over 25 years and is an accredited specialist.
Arrangements for children
Where a separating couple has children, their continued care and wellbeing should always be of the highest priority. Parents will need to decide where children will live, how much time they will spend with each parent and other key issues that may need to be resolved, such as where children will go to school.
In most cases, these matters are resolved amicably through private negotiation or mediation. This is generally in the best interests of children as it allows new arrangements to be put in place as quickly as possible. It can also help to keep the relationship between parents more positive.
However, if it is not possible to reach a sensible agreement privately, it may be necessary to apply to a Court for a Child Arrangements Order. Our team will be happy to advise you on the process for this and can support you through making a Court application, although we will always seek to reach a settlement out of court wherever possible.
For more information, please see our Children Page.
Separation for unmarried couples
More and more couples are choosing to live together without marrying, including often having a mortgage and children together.
However, contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a “common law marriage”, and the law does not recognise such relationships in the same way it does marriage. There is, therefore, little protection for unmarried couples when such a relationship ends. In such an instance, your rights would only be similar to those of two people that are flat-sharing.
How assets and responsibilities are divided between parties when a cohabiting relationship ends is a very complicated area of law. F Barnes can provide you with specialist advice and help you to negotiate an amicable agreement on these issues or initiate Court proceedings where necessary.
Our divorce solicitors’ fees
We offer a free 30-minute interview so we can get to know your requirements and provide advice about our legal fees.
Where possible, we will quote fixed fees, allowing you full certainty over how much your case will cost with us. However, we can provide tailored information about our flexible funding options when you contact us.
Unfortunately, we are unable to take on legal aid funded divorce cases.
Contact our divorce law solicitors in Essex
Get in touch with our friendly divorce lawyer to talk about how we can help you.
You can contact us during our office hours of 9am-5pm at your local branch in Romford, Gidea Park or Collier Row by giving us a call on:
- Romford – 01708 745183
- Gidea Park – 01708 333711
- Collier Row – 01708 743727
Alternatively, contact us at any hour of the day by filling in our online enquiry form, and we will get in touch.
We endeavour to return all enquiries the same or next working day, and you will be able to speak to someone within our Family Law team straightaway.