Local, personal and professional service

DIVORCE - General Information: To have a divorce, you must have been married for more than 12 months. You also need to choose one of the following:

DIVORCE - Time Scale & Court Fees: Normally, if the divorce proceeds without any delays, the Decree Nisi can be pronounced within five months of the issue of the Divorce petition, and the Decree Absolute (final order) six weeks after that. If your spouse does not agree with the allegations he or she may want to defend the divorce and put in their own divorce petition. This can extend the proceedings by at least a further six months. The current court fees for divorce are:

CHILDREN - General Information. Parental Responsibility: Parental Responsibility is the right to be consulted on aspects of your child's welfare. This includes your child's name, where your child lives, education, medical care, and religion. The natural mother of your child has automatic Parental Responsibility, but the natural father only has Parental Responsibility if:

When Parental Responsibility is given, the person who had Parental Responsibility before does not lose it. Parental Responsibility can be shared by more than one person. Where both parents have Parental Responsibility, the person with the care of your child can make a decision independently of the other person with Parental Responsibility if it is an emergency (e.g. to take the child to the doctor).

Where there is a Residence Order in force, the person with the Residence order can take your child out of the country for up to 4 weeks without the other parent's consent, even if the other parent has Parental Responsibility.

Where both parents have Parental Responsibility and there is no residence order, both parents should get the other's written consent to take your child out of the jurisdiction, even for a holiday.

If a person with Parental Responsibility is not happy with the way the other person with Parental Responsibility is exercising their responsibilities, a Prohibited Steps or Specific Issue Order can be applied for. Even where only one parent has Parental Responsibility, it is best to obtain the other parent's agreement before changing your child's name.

CHILDREN - General Information. Contact (formerly access): A Court will not make an order if there is agreement. A Contact Order is an order requiring the person with whom your child lives to allow your child to visit or stay with another person. It is best, for the sake of your child, for collection and return times to be punctual and for arrangements to be kept to, so that your child has a regular routine. The arrangement should not be changed at the last minute, and should be changed by agreement. Contact is for the benefit of your child. Your child should be properly dressed for the contact, with an overnight bag where necessary, and should be returned clean and fed. Your child should not have to witness any disagreements or be involved in working out contact and should not be questioned to find out information about the other parent.

CHILDREN - General Information. Residence (formerly custody): A Residence Order states where your child lives. A Residence Order is only made when it will benefit the child more than no Order. A Residence Order does not affect Parental Responsibility. In some circumstances, the Court can make a shared Residence Order.

CHILDREN - Time Scale & Court Fees: Normally, once proceedings are issued, the first hearing is four to six weeks later. In the County Court, the First Hearing is usually a Conciliation Hearing. If no agreement is reached at the First Hearing, a CAFCASS (Court Welfare) Officer is often instructed to prepare a report, which usually takes three months. In the meantime, you are normally asked to prepare statements, and then a further Hearing takes place to see if any agreement can be reached, failing which, the case is listed for a Final Hearing.

The current court fee is £200.

CHILD SUPPORT (CHILD MAINTENANCE) - General Information: The CSA (Child Support Agency, now officially the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC)) is responsible for assessing an absent parent's financial obligation to your child where no agreement can be reached. It is up to you to contact the CSA directly if you want them to be involved.

FINANCES - General Information. Property: If you or your spouse own a property, you must ensure that either your name is on the title or that you have registered your right to the property officially. Please ask me about this if we have not already discussed it. If you hold property as joint tenants and your partner dies their share of the property will automatically pass to you. If you do not want your share to go automatically to your partner then you should ask me to organise severing the joint tenancy. You will then hold the property as tenants in common, and can leave your share to someone else in your will. You should ask me to organise making a will for you.

FINANCES - General Information. Ancillary Relief: Ancillary Relief is the resolution of finances by the Court following a marriage breakdown. The Court can adjust the way all the assets of both parties are held, both income and capital (including pensions). Because of the uncertainty of the Judge's final decision and the costs involved, it is always better to try to resolve matters by agreement. Where you are married, no final Court Order can be made about the finances until the Decree Nisi has been made, although proceedings can start before then, once the Divorce Petition has been issued. Where you are unmarried or do not want to divorce yet, a Deed of Separation can be prepared. You should not reach a final agreement without taking advice, and should not carry out an agreement without a signed Consent Order or Deed of Separation. If approved by the Court, the Consent Order will make an agreement legally binding.

Where an agreement provides for a transfer of a property, it is up to you to check that the Building Society who has the mortgage will agree to the transfer. It is also up to you to seek independent tax and investment advice on the consequences of any agreement.

FINANCES - Procedure, Time Scale & Fees: Where there is no agreement, you can apply for ancillary relief. A first Appointment is around 14 weeks after the initial application. Five weeks before the First Appointment, both parties file and simultaneously exchange standard Sworn Statements outlining their financial position, and one week before the First Appointment queries are raised about the other side's Statement and requests are made from the other party for documents. These time limits are strict and failure to comply with them can result in financial penalties. At the First Appointment, the Judge decides what further evidence is needed and sets further time limits for the parties to agree a date for a Financial Dispute Resolution Appointment, where the Judge tries to help the parties to settle. Where there is still no agreement, there is a final hearing at which oral evidence can be given. As can be seen above, the time scale is initially very strict, and so there is a real incentive for the matter to be finalised in a few months.

The current court fees are £240 for the application, £7 swear fee, and £45 for an agreed order.

VIOLENCE - General Information: You should report incidents to the Police, press charges and obtain an incident number. The Court will normally not get involved unless the Police fail to take any action. The Court can make Orders preventing violence, harassment, threats and pestering (Non-Molestation Injunction) and requiring someone to leave a property (Occupation Injunction). In emergency situations, the Court can make Orders without the other party being warned first of court proceedings (ex parte). Such an Order will only be made for a short period of time, and the other party will be given an opportunity to give their version of events at a later hearing (on notice). Where an On Notice Order is made, it will usually last for six months, and can be renewed within that time if necessary.

Instead of making an Order, where the person is present, the Court may be willing to accept a promise from them to the Court to behave in a certain way (an undertaking). This can be given without any admission of the behaviour alleged. However, where the Court feels there has been violence in the past, it usually does not accept an Undertaking and makes any breaches of the Order subject to immediate arrest. Such breach is a criminal offence, for which imprisonment is possible.

VIOLENCE - Time Scale & Court Fees: Normally, the hearing is two to four weeks after the application. There can be further hearings if it is defended.

The current court fee for an application is £70.