Family Law

There is no fixed formula to calculate mow much someone is entitled to on divorce. While the "starting point" for assets built during a marriage is a 50/50 split, the court’s primary duty under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 is to ensure a fair outcome based on the needs of both parties. There are a number of factors that the court must take into account, not least the length of the marriage, any significant contributions, age, health and other factors as set out in law. The court must first ensure that the housing and financial needs of any children and both spouses are met before deciding if an equal split is appropriate.

The law views your role as a parent and homemaker as equal to the person who was going out to work and earning. Each case is looked at individually and all the factors that are relevant must be taken into account, with the overarching role of the court being to meet the needs of the children, and then both parties’ needs where possible.

A Clean Break order legally severs financial ties between a divorcing couple, meaning neither of you can claim against the other’s future earnings, inheritances, or lottery wins. Without this order, even years after your divorce is finalised, your ex could potentially return to court to ask for more money. It is therefore our advice that you should finalise financial ties at the time of the divorce so you are protected for the future.

Yes, you can get a financial settlement without going to court, and the law now strongly encourages this. Since 2024, the Family Procedure Rules require parties to consider Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR), such as mediation. If you skip this without a valid reason, the court can now penalise you by ordering you to pay the other parties’ legal costs.

Not necessarily. The Supreme Court in Standish v Standish [2025] clarified that "non-matrimonial" assets, including an inheritance, are not automatically shared. They only become part of the "marital pot" if they were "matrimonialised" (used to buy a family home or treated as shared wealth over many years). However, if your spouse's "needs" cannot be met without these assets, the court can still award them a portion. It must be noted that this particular case involved millions of pounds of assets and moving money for tax planning purposes, whilst actually the funds originated from one party. In cases where the assets are not as significant, the court will need to look at whether to utilise funds from all sources to ensure a fair and reasonable outcome.

The Supreme Court recently clarified that "non-matrimonial" assets such as pre-marital property are not automatically shared. They only become part of the "marital pot" if they were "matrimonialised" (such as being treated as shared wealth over many years). However, if your spouse's "needs" cannot be met without these assets, the court can still award them a portion. The Supreme Court case involved millions of pounds of assets, with money being moved for tax planning purposes. In cases where the assets are not as significant, the court will need to look at whether to utilise funds from all sources to ensure a fair and reasonable outcome.

Pensions are often the most valuable asset after the family home. They are treated as matrimonial assets and can be shared via a Pension Sharing Order. As pensions are taxed differently, we often seek a pension expert (actuarial) report to ensure "equality of income" in retirement, rather than just splitting the current cash value.

The court prioritises the welfare of children. A "Mesher Order" may allow you to stay in the family home until the children finish school, at which point the house is sold and the proceeds split. Alternatively, we can negotiate "offsetting," where you keep the house in exchange for your spouse keeping their pension or other assets.

Cheating or infidelity has no bearing on how much money a party is awarded in a divorce. Following the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, the UK operates a "no-fault" divorce system. The court only considers "conduct" if it is "gasp-inducing" and has a significant financial impact.

No, the current law means your spouse can no longer "contest" or block the divorce just because they disagree. You can file a sole application, and the court will allow it to proceed even without their consent or signature.

Both parties in a divorce have an absolute duty to provide "full and frank disclosure." If your spouse has hidden assets, we can apply for a "freezing order" or a disclosure order. We can also ask the court to draw an "adverse inference" which, in essence, is an assumption that they have more money than they have disclosed and that you should therefore be entitled to a larger share of the visible assets.

If agreed via a Consent Order, a financial settlement on divorce can take 6 to 12 months. However, contested cases involving court hearings often take 12 to 18 months to resolve due to current court backlogs. Using private FDRs (Financial Dispute Resolution) is a popular 2026 trend to bypass these delays.

The term "custody" is no longer used; we now apply for Child Arrangement Orders. Under the Children Act 1989, the court's only priority is the "welfare" of the child. There is no longer a default winner based on gender; the court looks at who has been the primary carer and who can best meet the child’s emotional and physical needs.

50/50 shared care is not law. There’s no automatic legal right to equal time. Although many families agree a broadly shared care pattern, the court’s focus is always on what is safe and best for the child, based upon the specific facts of a case. The Government has announced plans to repeal the statutory presumption of parental involvement.

There is no "magic age" when a child can choose which parent to live with. The "Welfare Checklist" requires the court to consider the child's wishes and feelings. Generally, by age 12 or 13, a child’s view carries significant weight. By age 16, a child can effectively decide for themselves, unless there are extreme protection issues.

Legally, you cannot stop your ex from seeing the children because they don't pay maintenance. Child maintenance (handled by the CMS) and child contact are two entirely separate legal issues. Withholding contact because of missed payments is seen unfavourably by the court.

The 2025/2026 legal reforms have placed a massive emphasis on "Safety First". Courts now give as much weight to coercive control and emotional abuse as they do to physical violence. If there is credible evidence of abuse, the court can now more easily refuse contact or order it to be "supervised" in a professional centre.

You cannot move a child out of the UK without the written consent of everyone with Parental Responsibility or a court order. If you want to relocate, you must apply for "Leave to Remove". The court will scrutinise your reasons (e.g., job, family support) versus the impact on the child’s relationship with the other parent.

Parental Responsibility (sometimes referred to simply as, PR) means the legal right to make big decisions in relation to a child, such as schooling, medical treatment, and religion. Mothers always have PR. Fathers have it automatically if they were married to the mother or are named on the birth certificate after December 2003.

Yes, you should go to mediation for child access unless there is a compelling reason not to. This usually involves attending a MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) before filing a court application. In 2026, the courts are even stricter: if you refuse to mediate without a good reason (like domestic abuse), the judge may stay (pause) your case until you try it.

Your ex can take a child on holiday without your permission if there is a Child Arrangement Order (CAO) in place stating that the child "lives with" them. They are permitted to take the child abroad for up to 28 days. If no CAO has been made they must have written consent from the other parent in order to do so. We recommend always carrying a consent letter to avoid issues at border control.

If your ex breaks a court order for contact you can file an "application for enforcement". In 2026, courts have stronger powers to punish breaches, including unpaid work orders, fines, or in extreme cases of "parental alienation", transferring the child to live with the other parent. However, the court's first step is usually to order "Parenting Programmes" to resolve the conflict.