Divorce & Family Law

Pre-nuptial and Pre-civil partnership agreements – With ever more couples wishing to protect their wealth in the event of the breakdown of a relationship, prenuptial agreements are becoming increasingly common. Prenuptial agreements are not necessarily legally binding at present, case law means that the court will uphold them providing they satisfy certain requirements.

Post-nuptial agreements – These agreements give couples the financial autonomy to regulate their marriage going forward and to decide for themselves what should happen if it comes to an end. Postnuptial agreements provide security as well as autonomy for the parties.

Cohabitation agreements – Cohabiting couples are the fastest growing family type. When unmarried couples separate, significant issues can arise over the ownership of property and the provision for any children. Ideally, any discussion of property ownership should be had at the beginning of the relationship and recorded in a cohabitation agreement.

Financial provision on divorce – The breakdown of a marriage is often a difficult and emotional time for a family and we appreciate that a divorce can be the most important financial transaction of an individual’s life. From the outset, Grosvenor law will give you clear and realistic advice about what you can expect and how claims for financial provision can best be resolved for you. We will use simple and straightforward language to ensure that you understand what can be a complex process. We will help you decide which jurisdiction is most favourable to you, ensure that your spouse has fully disclosed their assets and, where necessary, we will trace any assets that have been dissipated in anticipation of the divorce. We are committed to getting the best results for our clients and we have a track record of doing so.

Financial provision for children non-married couples – The team at Grosvenor Law can help you make, or respond to, a financial claim for financial provision on behalf of the children of unmarried couples. Provision can be made under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989. The orders that can be made can include: child maintenance, a capital lump sum and/or the provision of property. Again, we aim, wherever possible, to resolve these claims sensitively. However, where this is not possible we have considerable experience in resolving these disputes through the court process.

Dealing with the impact of separation or divorce on the children of your family can be the most delicate and sensitive of the roles that we undertake and, wherever possible, we aim to help couples resolve these arrangements themselves. We frequently help couples resolve issues relating to where children should live, the division of time that the children spend with each of their parents as well as other issues such as which schools children should attend. Often we will work with mediators to assist you, the parents, reach an amicable and consensual outcome.

Throughout the process, we will listen carefully to your concerns and help you reach an outcome that is in your children’s best interests. However, in the event that an agreement cannot be reached we have considerable experience in resolving the arrangements for children through the court process. We will help you navigate this process, working as a team in your children’s best interests.

We have particular experience and expertise for acting in situations where one parent wishes to permanently relocate to another country with the children of the family. In these cases, as well as in cases where the courts of another country may have jurisdiction we can rely on the assistance of our network of overseas lawyers to assist.

Domestic abuse is an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour. The family team at Grosvenor Law has experience in obtaining orders to protect the victims of domestic abuse.

The court can order Non-molestation Orders in order to prevent a partner or former partner from harming you or your children or, if required it can prevent the individual from contacting you or going near you. If a person breaches a non-molestation order, it is both a criminal offence and a contempt of court –  potentially leading to a fine or term of imprisonment. A non-molestation order can be applied for without notice and on an urgent basis.

The court can also make an Occupation Order which governs who lives in the home and can be used to exclude the individual who threatens or uses violence. If the occupation order is breached, the perpetrator can be fined or imprisoned. An occupation order can be applied for without notice and on an urgent basis.

Mediation – Mediation is a voluntary process that is encouraged by the courts. Mediation is not binding but it can help encourage dialogue and narrow the issues of dispute between the parties. If an agreement is reached within mediation, it is recorded in heads of agreement which can then be ratified (made binding) by solicitors.

Arbitration – You can choose a qualified arbitrator to adjudicate on your dispute. The primary difference between arbitration and mediation is that arbitration is binding on the parties. One of the advantages of using arbitration is its confidential nature. Arbitration also has the benefit of being both quick and efficient, the parties only have to wait for the arbitrator to become available rather than waiting in the courts’ congested list.

Our team includes members of the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (“IFLA”) and can advise on how best to approach arbitration or act as the arbitrator for couples with disputes.