DIVORCE LAW –
We can provide assistance to help you work through the divorce process and work with you to get your life back to normal.
Handling a divorce correctly can make going through it much less stressful. You may feel worried about the future. Our professional solicitors will help you manage any concerns and do our best to make it less complicated.
Divorce can have a life changing impact on your family and finances.
When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be.
Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
If you’d like more information about getting a divorce, please download our free guide.
WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE?
You must prove ‘irretrievable breakdown’ as this is the current ground for divorce.
To get a divorce it must be proven with evidence that the marriage has broken down due to one of five reasons including:
• Adultery: you must offer evidence that your spouse has had sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex
• Living apart for two years: a divorce can be permitted if both parties agree
• Living apart for five years: a divorce can be permitted even if only one party agrees
• Desertion for at least two years: when one partner has been absent for more than two years without the others acknowledgement or agreement
• Unreasonable Behaviour: any unreasonable behaviour that is deemed to be the cause of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
If you have been married for less than a year, you cannot get a divorce but you can apply to get your marriage annulled.
Divorce can have a life changing impact on your family and finances.
When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be.
Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
ARE COURT HEARINGS REQUIRED TO GET DIVORCED?
Normally you do not need to go to court to get divorced.
Processes to reach a settlement to avoid going to court include:
• Mediation: using an impartial specialist to help you reach an agreement or settlement (without actually seeing or speaking to your ex-partner if that’s what you wish)
• Negotiation: discussing issues to reach an agreement
• Arbitration: this is an out of court process whereby you, your ex-partner and a neutral third party sit down and discuss all issues to come to a fair settlement
How long is the divorce process?
Getting a divorce finalised can take between 6-12 months. It varies depending on how quickly you and your partner agree on things and how quickly paperwork is returned. However, rushing decisions could cause other problems, so it is important to think every decision through in order to move on with your life.
Divorce can have a life changing impact on your family and finances.
When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be. Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
FINANCES: HOW ARE FINANCES DEALT WITH DURING DIVORCE?
The aim of dealing with finance is to obtain a fair settlement for each party, looking at all the circumstances and resources each partner has.
Resources include:
• Savings
• Investments
• Properties
• Pensions
• Income
• Financial commitments
• Business interests
Financial Agreements
Dealing with the financial side of divorce can be very difficult and this can seriously affect you, turn your life upside down, impact your daily activities and take its toll on your family and your loved ones.
If a fair division of assets is not agreed we will suggest a process of mediation. An impartial specialist can help you agree a settlement (without actually seeing or speaking to your ex-partner). This can simply help you reach a resolution much faster and can make it cheaper for you.
Factors that are considered include:
• Your future earnings potential
• How much property and money you have
• Your pension
• Role within the home such as breadwinner or a stay-at-home parent
• Your respective ages
The court always put your children’s interests first when making judgements on a financial settlement as they require proper housing and financial support. Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd are here to help you, by providing assistance to work through the financial agreement process and work with you to get your life back to normal. Formal financial settlements have to be reached whether you kept your finances separate within a marriage or civil partnership or not.
At Dylan Nair Solicitors we can help you divide your assets as fairly as possible. Although agreements are not completely required, if a settlement is not agreed your partner could possibly make a financial claim against you later on. A formal agreement known as a consent order should be put in place to ensure protection for both parties and to ensure they maintain their agreement.
Financial disagreements can have a life changing impact on your family and your finances and if finances cannot be agreed you may have to attend court to ask the judge to help you reach an agreement. When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be.
Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
CHILDREN
The family law team at Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd are here to help you, by providing assistance to work through any problems related to children and work with you to get your life back to normal. It is important to put the child or children’s best interests first to provide them with a happy future despite everything that is going on.
What is a Child Arrangement order?
The most crucial part of a divorce, involving children, is to make child arrangements by considering where they will live and how the time spent with each parent is divided. If an agreement can be made, making sure your child or children’s best interests are the centre of the arrangements, then attending court is not necessary. However, if an agreement cannot be reached then either ourselves or a mediator can help.
How can arrangements be reached if parents cannot agree?
We understand and appreciate that emotions can be high during a divorce. Trying to agree on child arrangements can make it worse, especially when both parents are adamant to get what they want.
We can help with a range of issues within the topic of child arrangement including:
• Custody: where your child should live, and time spent between parents
• Financial maintenance: child maintenance, school fees and housing
• Access: contact with each parent
• Grandparents rights: allowing legal access to grandchildren
• Specific issues: involving changing a child’s school or surname
If you cannot agree, you must attend Mediation. This involves using an impartial specialist who can help you reach a resolution (without actually seeing or speaking to your ex-partner, if that’s what you wish). A Mediation Information Assessment Meeting is necessary before you can apply to the court for a Child Arrangement Order.
A welfare checklist may have to be completed and this involves:
• Age, level of understanding and maturity of the child as well as sex, background and relevant characteristics that the court needs.
• Their physical, emotional and educational requirements
• Potential harm or suffering to the child or risk of this
• If the carers are suitable to meet the child’s needs
At Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd we offer free advice on how to agree on an issue related to children and provide support throughout the process.
When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be.
Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
COHABITATION AGREEMENTS
Cohabitation is a great way of showing your commitment to each other. Many people believe that living together for a number of years gives you the same rights as ‘common law’ spouse, however this is not correct.
Unlike married couples or those in a civil partnership, separating cohabitees will normally have no claim to any property or assets in the other person’s sole name. Assets in one person’s sole name will be presumed to be owned by them alone, unless it can be proven otherwise. Any joint assets will usually be split 50/50.
It could be useful to have a cohabitation agreement and a Will in place.
Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd are here to help you, by providing assistance to work through the process of entering a cohabitation agreement. If you are not married or in a civil partnership, then you have little or no protection over assets.Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd offers free support and guidance to obtaining a cohabitation agreement effectively.
What rights are given to those with a cohabitation agreement?
Although having a cohabitation agreement may not seem like the most romantic thing to do when moving in together, it protects your future and can make things fairer and offer some form of security.
Most cohabitation agreements include:
• Legal shares within your home/property
• Paying mortgages and other property costs
• Pension schemes
• Settling debts
• Splitting shared savings
• Custody of family pets
• Dealing with shared businesses
• Temporary arrangements while you deal with separation
What is the law with children while cohabiting?
The law is the same regarding children whether you are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting. The resident parent is entitled to receive child maintenance from the other parent. Unmarried mothers automatically have parental responsibility and unmarried fathers only have this under certain circumstances.
What rights are given if a partner dies without will?
Without a will you have no automatic rights to benefit from their estate. You can attempt to claim using the Inheritance Act 1975. However, all claims will be considered by the court making it a long and expensive journey.
Is spousal support available after a breakup?
Sadly, cohabiting couples don’t have the same financial responsibility as married couples because the legal position isn’t the same. Child maintenance can still be paid to contribute towards child costs although this isn’t the same as getting maintenance for your own benefit.
When you are experiencing difficulties within your family, the Dylan Nair Solicitors Family Law team will give you as much FREE advice as you need to help you to decide what to do.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be. Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
ENTERING A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP
Entering a civil partnership is a great way of showing your commitment to each other and allows you to have many of the same rights as a married couple. Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd are here to help you, by providing assistance to work through the process of entering a civil partnership
Civil partnership can be entered on the terms that you are the same sex, over 18 years old and not currently marriage or in another civil relationship. Parental consent is needed for those who want to enter a civil partnership aged 16 or 17.
Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd offers free support and guidance to entering a civil partnership effectively.
What rights are associated with civil partnership?
• Being recognised as each other’s next-of-kin
• Being treated as a married couple in terms of life insurance
• Additional employment and pension benefits
• Inheriting each other’s property automatically if one partner dies with no will subject to the intestacy rules and other claims on the estate
• Applying for parental responsibility for children
What other agreements are needed?
It’s advised that clients considering a civil partnership should put pre- or post-partnership agreements in place which are the same as pre/post -nuptial agreements.
Partnerships entered later in life may have substantial pensions or property assets in place which may want to be passed on to children from a previous relationship. Therefore, other agreements such as these allow protection of assets and can prevent conflict in the event of the partnership breaking down.
At Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd we offer free advice on how to enter a civil partnership and provide support through the process.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be. Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS
Pre-nuptial agreements are a great way of showing your commitment to each other and allows you to protect your future. Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd are here to help you, by providing assistance to work through the process of getting a pre-nuptial agreement.
Prenuptial agreements are the best way to ensure conflict over money and property is reduced in the event of a marriage ending. They are made between a couple before they get married allowing a premade settlement to be agreed in case the marriage breaks down and offer honesty from the beginning of a marriage making it a good start.
Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd offers free support and guidance to getting a pre-nuptial agreement effectively.
Why should you get a prenuptial agreement?
• You have a large amount of wealth to protect
• You run a business and need to protect its future
• Ring fencing assets for children from a previous relationship
• If you’re marrying someone from abroad and want to be protected from financial awards in another legal jurisdiction
At Dylan Nair Solicitors we can help you decide if you wish to get a prenuptial agreement but are unsure whether this is right for you.
Are they legally binding?
In the UK, they are not legally binding. However they are considered in court if a disagreement on money and/or property occurs between both parties. It’s important that prenuptial agreements are signed well before marriage as it makes it clearer to the court that no last-minute pressure was applied, and it was entered based on free will.
Can you get a prenup after marriage?
Post nuptial agreements can be made if both parties are willing to. This allows clarity about money and property and distributing assets fairly well into a marriage, so you don’t have to worry about your future in terms of finance in the event of a divorce or separation.
At Dylan Nair Solicitors Ltd we offer free advice on how to get a pre-nuptial agreement and provide support through the process.
It is free for you to find out what your next steps should be. Call us on Preston 01772 494366 or fill in our contact form.
DYLAN NAIR SOLICITORS LTD.
Registered Office: 55 Garstang Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 1LB