Frequently Asked Questions

Divorce is the process which legally ends a marriage. You cannot issue a petition for divorce unless you have been married for more than 1 year and are able to prove to the court that you have reasons (or “grounds”) for saying the marriage has “irretrievably broken down”. The court will accept one or more [...]

Divorce is the process which legally ends a marriage. A petition for divorce cannot be issued unless you have been married for more than 1 year and your husband or wife are able to prove to the court that they have reasons (or “grounds”) for saying the marriage has “irretrievably broken down”. The court will [...]

The Children Act 1989 governs the law relating to children. Any disputes over the welfare of a child which are not brought by a local authority social services department are termed private law Children Act proceedings.
Parents who are separating or already separated and who cannot agree the arrangements for the children should consider attending mediation [...]

Issue of application

Applications are usually started in the County Court but are occasionally started in the Family Proceedings Court (Magistrates Court). In a divorce or dissolution case the proceedings are started in the same court as the divorce or dissolution.
Once the application has been issued the applicant must serve a copy of the application together [...]

The CSA is now administered by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC). CMEC has set up the Child Maintenance Options service to help parents understand the full range of options and choose the child maintenance arrangement which best suits their particular circumstances. This service is available by phone ( 0800 988 0988) online (www.cmoptions.org) [...]

During or after a divorce or dissolution the court’s assistance may be necessary to settle a financial dispute or to approve the terms of an agreement reached between the parties. The making of a financial order is known as ‘ancillary relief’. The court can make one or more of the following orders:-

Avoidance of disposition order
This [...]

During or after a divorce or dissolution you will need to consider the financial implications of ending the relationship and if there are assets how they will be divided between you. For simplicity the expressions ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ in this fact sheet will also mean
civil partner.
We will not be able to advise you on terms [...]

Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 contains the matters to which the court is to have regard when deciding how to distribute assets between parties.
Section 25 (1) requires the court to have regard to all the circumstances of the case, first consideration being given to the welfare of a minor child of the [...]

When considering a financial settlement the police pension is an asset, which is taken into account when dividing the finances. Usually in police cases, the pension is the second most valuable asset in the marriage/civil partnership after the family home. In some cases it is the most valuable asset. For simplicity in this fact sheet [...]

A pre-nuptial (also referred to as a pre-marital agreement) is an agreement entered into by a couple before marriage and sets out their intentions as to the division of the assets in the event that the marriage breaks down.
Although pre-nuptial agreements are not specifically enforceable in English law they may have evidential weight when the [...]

There are occasions when, for a variety of reasons, a couple do not want to divorce at the time they separate. Many of those couples do, however, want to formalise any agreement that they may have come to in relation to the children and property. Sometimes couples are able to reach agreement between themselves, and [...]

The Family Law Act 1996 (FLA1996) provides a civil remedy and protection for people who experience domestic violence within a family relationship. Under the FLA 1996, the court can make either an occupation or non-molestation order or both.
Occupation orders
An occupation order regulates the occupation of the family home to protect any party or children from [...]

There are many reasons why a person may want to change their name, whether it be as a result of a breakdown in a relationship, to have a surname that matches that of someone else, or simply because they do not like their current name and wish to use an
alternative. You have the right to [...]

The introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 paved the way for the first civil partnership ceremonies in December 2005, and same sex couples entering into a civil partnership now have parity with opposite sex couples who enter into a civil marriage, on a variety of legal matters.
Civil partners now have far more rights, but [...]