Family Law Divorce - Child Arrangements - Financial

Family law breaks down into 3 key areas. Divorce & Separation, Financial Claims and Child arrangements, at Faith Williams Law our dedicated Family Law team specialises in all 3 of these areas, as well as offering a specialist Mediation service.

What can I expect?

Typically we act on matters such as divorce and separation; child contact and adoption; Local Authority care orders; and financial settlements. We will take initial instructions after a free consultation, that in some circumstances can be arranged immediately depending on the situation due to emergencies such as emergency child care hearings or domestic violence and non molestation orders.

When we act on your behalf, we will be engaged in taking initial details, gathering evidence, preparing the necessary documentation, negotiating settlements and contact or residency for children, referring to mediation, and advocating for the client in hearings. The work may also include instructing Counsel, and attending Counsel at court. We may also represent parties in care proceedings: for example, acting on behalf of parents or children. There is also a real possibility of needing access to financial records in some circumstances like matrimonial finances, this is done with the upmost care con consideration given to your privacy and your information is always protected to the highest level.

Current Challenges in Family Law

There has been a lot of changes in the law in recent years, we have seen high profile multi-million pound divorce cases at the same time as changes to Legal Aid removed support for a lot of family work with the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. The Children and Families Act 2014 also placed a requirement on parties to attend mediation before certain applications are made to the court, and we have seen landmark rulings on same sex marriages and civil partnerships for heterosexual couples. There has also been a rise in the importance of pre-nuptual agreements since the formation of the single Family Court. All of this can be explained in plain and simple English by our vastly experienced family law team.

Child Custody
After a divorce, making the right decisions for any children of the marriage – including child custody – becomes paramount. It is clearly essential to concentrate on what is in the children’s best interests.
Coercive Control
In talking about domestic abuse, the first thing that tends to spring to mind is physical or sexual abuse. However, another very common, but lesser-known form of abuse is coercive control.
Restraining Order
A restraining order is issued by the courts to protect a person against the actions of another individual where those actions amounted to domestic violence, stalking, harassment or sexual assault.
Divorce Process
Understanding the divorce process – Divorce can be a stressful time for both parties and so it is important to understand the divorce process and the various stages it involves.
No Fault Divorce
In the light of recent much-publicised cases, there have been calls for reforms aimed at introducing a no fault divorce procedure.A marriage breakdown is a difficult time for all concerned, particularly when children are involved.
Child Maintenance
When a relationship ends, if you are the parent who does not have responsibility for the day-to-day care of your child or children, you may have to pay money to your former partner. This is known as child maintenance.
Parental responsibility
Parental Responsibility describes adults who have legal responsibility for a child. This includes choosing where they live, go to school and a host of decisions regarding their upbringing.
Divorce Settlement
Divorce Settlement – Arranging a divorce settlement can be a painful and difficult process, particularly when children, property and finances are involved.