Family & Divorce Law

Herrington Carmichael is a full service law firm offering legal advice to UK and international businesses as well as individuals and families.
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Family & Divorce Law

Meet your Family & Divorce Law team

Dedicated professionals ready to assist you.

Aadil Khan PNG
Aadil Khan
Senior Solicitor, Family
Madelyn Wellstead PNG
Madelyn Wellstead
Senior Apprentice Solicitor, Family
Alexandra Hawkes PNG
Alexandra Hawkes
Trainee Solicitor
Paul Wild PNG
Paul Wild
Partner, Head of Family
Sarah Speed PNG
Sarah Speed
Partner, Family

Family & Divorce Law Services

Child Law

Parental responsibility is the legal term used for the obligations and rights parents have in respect of their child. You and your former partner are likely to share parental responsibility for the child, whatever the living arrangements. This should mean you are both involved in all major decisions such as those about the child’s health, education, and religion.

Mothers automatically have parental responsibility for their child. A father has parental responsibility if he:

  • Is married to the child’s mother
  • Is named as the child’s father on their birth certificate
  • Has obtained a court order which grants him parental responsibility
  • Has entered into a parental responsibility agreement stating that he has parental responsibility

In most circumstances, same-sex partners will both have parental responsibility if they were married or civil partners at the time of the treatment which lead to conception. For same-sex partners who aren’t married or civil partners, the second parent can obtain parental responsibility by either applying for parental responsibility, or by becoming a spouse or civil partner of the other parent and making a parental responsibility agreement.

Cohabitation Agreements

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  • Term loan facilitates
  • Revolving credit facilitates
  • Invoice financia facilitates
  • Bridging loans
  • Acquisition financia
  • Project financia
  • Asset backed lending

Divorce

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  • Term loan facilitates
  • Revolving credit facilitates
  • Invoice financia facilitates
  • Bridging loans
  • Acquisition financia
  • Project financia
  • Asset backed lending

Domestic Abuse

Lorem ipsum dolor, consectetur, et adipiscing elit upon omnes genera financia transactiones across a varietate sectorum, ranging from technologia, healthcare to financia servitia. Tales transactiones saepe habent multi-jurisdictional features. Consilium quod providemus also includes advising upon supporting securitas documentation such as debentures, share charges, legal charges, et charges over IP). Nostra banking reputatio et skillset has resulted in nostra appointment to numerum bankarum panels, including those of Metro Bank plc, National Westminister Bank plc & Svenska Handelsbanken AB. Nostra banking et financia expertise includes advising upon:

  • Term loan facilitates
  • Revolving credit facilitates
  • Invoice financia facilitates
  • Bridging loans
  • Acquisition financia
  • Project financia
  • Asset backed lending

Mediation Services

Lorem ipsum dolor, consectetur, et adipiscing elit upon omnes genera financia transactiones across a varietate sectorum, ranging from technologia, healthcare to financia servitia. Tales transactiones saepe habent multi-jurisdictional features. Consilium quod providemus also includes advising upon supporting securitas documentation such as debentures, share charges, legal charges, et charges over IP). Nostra banking reputatio et skillset has resulted in nostra appointment to numerum bankarum panels, including those of Metro Bank plc, National Westminister Bank plc & Svenska Handelsbanken AB. Nostra banking et financia expertise includes advising upon:

  • Term loan facilitates
  • Revolving credit facilitates
  • Invoice financia facilitates
  • Bridging loans
  • Acquisition financia
  • Project financia
  • Asset backed lending

Pre & Post Nuptials

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  • Term loan facilitates
  • Revolving credit facilitates
  • Invoice financia facilitates
  • Bridging loans
  • Acquisition financia
  • Project financia
  • Asset backed lending

All Family & Divorce Law Services

Sound Familiar?

Worried about the children and the house?

If you have children, their wellbeing will naturally be at the heart of every decision.

Asset splitting?

Divorce can raise difficult questions about what the future holds, especially when it comes to finances. The thought of standard of living declining post separation will be of concern.

Scared of court costs spiralling?

Any form of separation and divorce can be a challenging time, both emotionally and financially, but resolving disputes doesn’t always have to involve lengthy and costly court proceedings.

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Capital Gains Tax and the Family Home: What Happens When You Move Out Before Divorce?

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Which type of Mediation is best for me?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to your most pressing questions about our services and processes.

In order to divorce in England and Wales, parties must have been married for at least one year. In the event that you have been married for less than one year but you wish to formally record your separation and any agreement you have reached in relation to your finances, one option is to enter into a Separation Agreement which can remain in place until such time as you can divorce.

Yes. Same-sex couples can obtain a no-fault divorce in the same way as heterosexual couples.

At the meeting we will run through your assets and explain to you what further financial disclosure you might need to be able to make an informed decision about settlement. For example, this might include property valuations where a property value is in dispute; an independent accountancy report if there are business assets which are disputed or a pension sharing report to understand the pensions and how they might be divided between you. We will also explain what factors the court will take into consideration if the court was being asked to make a decision and the various orders that can be made. We will also run through the various options available to you and your spouse/civil partner to reach a financial settlement. Insofar as possible, we will work with you to negotiate a financial settlement with your spouse or their solicitor without the need to attend court. We take a pragmatic, realistic and commercial approach to settlement for all of our clients. Where court proceedings become necessary, however, our team are able to advise effectively on the strategy to ensure a fair outcome for you. We can also discuss with you alternative options to dispute resolution.

In most cases, you will have to ask a judge’s permission to appeal. The judge will only grant this permission if they think the appeal has a real chance of succeeding or in family proceedings, there is some other valid reason for your appeal to be heard. If you are considering making an appeal, we would recommend that you seek independent legal advice from a family law solicitor.

If you would like to protect an inheritance, you may wish to consider entering into a nuptial agreement (a pre-nuptial agreement and/or a post-nuptial agreement). This would not prevent the court from making an order on divorce that your inheritance be shared (where needs required it) but would strengthen your case against sharing. If you do not want to share your inherited capital, it will be crucial that you do not mingle it with matrimonial assets. For example, do not use it to reduce the mortgage on a jointly owned property or to pay off joint debt. Keep it separate. And if you do invest it in joint or otherwise matrimonial assets, obtain written agreement from your spouse that they acknowledge that they have no interest in the inheritance. However, even with such an agreement, the court will retain the ultimate decision-making power as to what is to become of it on divorce. If you expect to inherit money or assets in the future, you may also wish to consider appropriate trust planning.