Divorce Solicitors

Financial matters post-separation can be some of the most contentious and unsettling aspects of the divorce process. No situation is the same, and our team have experience acting for clients from a wide spectrum of backgrounds. We can help you navigate the process of coming to a financial settlement with discretion and empathy.

Assets that have accrued during the course of the marriage and are a product of the parties’ joint marital partnership are matrimonial assets, with the tentative starting point that they should be shared equally. Non-matrimonial assets are those that have derived from an external source, either being brought to the marriage by one of the parties or received during the marriage from an external source. As a starting point they are not to be shared equally. Navigating this issue can be complex, and our team of specialist divorce solicitors are on hand to assist you in reaching a financial settlement that takes account of matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets.

Pensions are considered part of the matrimonial ‘pot’ upon divorce and are therefore taken into consideration with all other financial assets. Despite usually being one of the largest assets in a divorce settlement, pensions are often overlooked. Their division can be impacted by factors including pre-marital contributions, the age of each spouse as well as any health conditions. Our expert team can help you understand your position and, if appropriate, guide you through the different methods of dividing pensions including pension sharing, pension attachment and pension offsetting.

When spouses own a business – either jointly or separately – the division of business assets in divorce is a complicated one and it is important to seek advice from a divorce solicitor as early as possible. We can help you navigate the various factors to consider, including whether the business was built prior to or during marriage, the value of the business and the tax implications of the various settlement options.

The division of assets placed in a trust is a complicated matter, with outcomes depending on the type of trust involved, with common examples of trusts being Declarations of Trust, Life Interest Trusts and Discretionary Trusts. Disputes can arise as to whether the assets of the Trust are considered part of the matrimonial ‘pot’, or regarding whether the Trust was created with legitimate intentions or as a way of frustrating the financial settlement process.

Discussing circumstances around potential separation can be a sensitive issue if you’re happily married or planning a wedding. However, like an insurance policy, prenuptial agreements (entered into before marriage) and postnuptial agreements (entered into at any time after marriage) are sensible to consider, even in the hope that they’ll never be needed. These documents outline how assets will be divided in the event of divorce, and our team of specialist lawyers can help guide you through the process. These agreements can take away the uncertainty of divorce financial settlements and save costs, stress and worry in the longer term.

If the other party fails to adhere to or breaches the terms of a divorce financial order, known as a consent order or financial remedy order, there are various options for enforcement proceedings depending on your situation, and our divorce solicitors have the specialist expertise to secure compliance of the order.

Divorce financial orders are intended to be final. In some cases however, circumstances can arise after an order has been made that make it appropriate for the court to reconsider the terms of an order. Applying for variation of an order can be quite a technical and potentially expensive process, so it’s important to discuss this with a divorce law specialist to consider the merits of variation application.

A freezing order is an interim injunction that the court can impose on a spouse preventing them from disposing of assets. This ensures fairness in the financial proceedings by avoiding matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets being hidden or sold. The order will mean these assets cannot be moved or tampered with during the time that the order is active, which is typically until the divorce is finalised.

The event of a third party claiming an interest in disputed property or assets during financial remedy proceedings is known as an intervener claim. These are quite unique situations that can bring additional complexity and stress to what are often already challenging circumstances. Our experienced divorce solicitors can support you with discrete and practical advice.

Whether selling the family home and sharing the proceeds or one party looking to buy out the other, the division of assets upon divorce or separation and determining who is entitled to what is a complex matter. Our experienced divorce and separation solicitors can provide clear and pragmatic advice regarding your position and represent your interests throughout a property dispute.

A cohabitation agreement is a legal document between couples who are unmarried or not in a registered civil partnership. It outlines each party’s rights and responsibilities and sets out financial, property and child arrangements during living together, as well as in the event of separation, illness or death. It can also be known as relationship agreement or living together agreement. Our matrimonial lawyers can support you in ensuring legally binding cohabitation agreements, or representing your interests in the absence of any such agreement when a dispute arises.

There is only one ground for divorce in England and Wales, the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. A petition for divorce can be presented after a period of one year post-marriage. Our specialist team have extensive expertise in the breakdown of marriage and can help with completing or responding to a divorce application, ensure you provide the relevant information, and help with resolving any disputes or conflict.

You are able to apply to the court for the dissolution of a civil partnership after a period of one year. To begin the process, you need to prove the relationship has irretrievably broken down. Our specialist team have extensive expertise in the breakdown of civil partnership and can help with completing or responding to an application, ensure you provide the relevant information, and help with resolving any disputes or conflict.

If you believe that your marriage was not legally valid, you may be able to formalise your separation through annulment. A Ward Hadaway divorce solicitor can help you determine whether you have grounds for annulment and can support you through the process of submitting a nullity petition.

Couples not ready for the finality of divorce and seeking more flexibility can pursue judicial separation. In these cases, couples do not need to have been married for more than a year and, since the inception of no-fault divorce legislation in April 2022, can formally confirm their separation without the need to prove an irretrievable breakdown of their relationship.

If you or your partner were born or have any connections to England, you may be able to divorce through the English Courts. However, the legal complexities on divorce, finances, child arrangements (custody) as an expat mean you need a solicitor experienced in divorce in Dubai or UAE at your side. Our leading team of expatriate divorce lawyers have advised numerous Expats and are on hand to answer any questions you have, and, to support you every step of the way.

Our specialist family and children solicitors can support with a variety of sensitive matters concerning child arrangement. This includes determining who the child lives with and who they spend time with (formerly known as custody), disputes over specific issues of a child’s upbringing such as choice of school and consent to medical treatment, as well as relocating domestically or internationally with a child.

Divorce can be an extremely difficult time for the wider family. Grandparents, as with anyone without parental responsibility, do not have automatic legal rights when it comes to their grandchildren. However, the court’s primary concern in any separation where children are involved is for the wellbeing of those children, and the court recognises the significant role that grandparents often have in their lives. If divorce-related disputes are preventing you as grandparents from seeing your grandchildren, our highly experienced family solicitors can help you apply to the court for contact by way of a Child Arrangements Order.

Following a separation, parents will  live in different homes but are equally responsible for financially providing for their child or children. Whoever is deemed the non-resident parent will have a child maintenance obligation. Our lawyers have vast experience in child maintenance issues and can help you through the process of organising a child maintenance agreement and support with resolving disputes.

Reforms were implemented to the family court system in 2024 to streamline cases for those that genuinely need judicial intervention and to promote less adversarial approaches. These reforms encourage couples to engage in non-court dispute resolution (NCDR). These out-of-court dispute resolution methods include mediation, arbitration, collaborative law and the One Lawyer model. Our divorce lawyers are highly experienced in advising clients through the various avenues of NCDR.

Designed for couples who are committed to reaching an amicable agreement — who want to part respectfully, stay in control and save costs – our One Lawyer, Resolution Together approach offers a simpler, more collaborative way to separate. A single, specialist trained solicitor works with both separated parties, giving the same advice to both at the same time. Our team at Ward Hadaway has two specialist, One-Lawyer-trained solicitors who can guide you through this process.

This is a process where the parties each appoint a collaboratively-trained lawyer and make a commitment to resolve the issues outside of court. The parties and their lawyers meet as a group and work through the issues face to face and work with a team of multi-disciplinary professionals to amicably resolve all the issues flowing from their separation. Our team at Ward Hadaway has two specialist collaboratively-trained solicitors who can guide you through this process.

A non-molestation order is a family law injunction that can be obtained to protect you from harassment. It can prevent someone from contacting you, coming to your property or place of work and can be vital during a hostile divorce or separation. An occupation order is a type of injunction which regulates who can live in or enter a property or certain parts within it. It provides a short-term solution prior to coming to a final settlement in situations of domestic abuse in a relationship that has broken down. If you find yourself in such a situation, a Ward Hadaway family law solicitor can provide the support needed to obtain an occupation order or a non-molestation order.