I received a very worried email on Monday from one of my clients (let’s call her Sarah to protect her privacy) asking for our advice. We had prepared her court-approved consent order, and she wanted to know her next steps if her ex-husband (let’s call him Paul) breached the consent order – breach is the legal term for failing to do their part of a contractual agreement. Sarah’s financial agreement is pretty straightforward. She would pay Paul a lump sum, and he would give up all his rights to the former marital home so that Sarah owned the house outright. Sarah has funded the lump sum by remor ..read more

Picture this: the bright lights of Las Vegas, the sound of Elvis Presley’s voice echoing through the Graceland chapel, and me, standing there with my new partner, ready to say “I do” for the second time. They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I couldn’t resist sharing this incredible experience with you. You see, after my first marriage ended eight years ago, I never thought I’d find love again. I was plagued by doubts and negative thoughts, thinking that I was destined to live the rest of my life alone. The Turning Point: How One Question Changed Everything My marriage had been o ..read more

Do you need a solicitor to sort out your finances and prepare a consent order when you divorce? And if so, how much does it cost? That was a question posed by Nicola on a recent webinar we held. The first thing to point out is that divorce and financials are two separate things. Divorce is the legal ending of the marriage, and that’s all it does. It doesn’t sever your finances, and many people are surprised by that. They think everything, including finances, are resolved, and they are free to start their new life, but that’s not the case at all. Either party can one day wake up and decide that ..read more

After more than a decade of low-interest rates, the average two-year fixed mortgage hit 6%, which has affected affordability and made mortgage approvals slump to their lowest level since the pandemic which is bad news for couples going through divorce. Although mortgage rates have fallen slightly in recent weeks and are expected to continue falling throughout 2023, it remains difficult for many divorcing couples to get a mortgage on their own so what options are available to help you keep your home after divorce? How do high mortgage rates affect divorcing couples? When a couple separates, the ..read more

Is my wife able to access my money held in a foreign country? That was a question posed on a webinar that we ran recently. The gentleman in question had inherited assets in Australia and wanted to know if his wife was able to access these foreign assets as part of their divorce financial settlement. How are finances split during a divorce? When it comes to separating couples, divorce is the legal ending of the marriage or the partnership. Finances are dealt with by something different called a consent order. An order is an instruction from the court to do something. A consent order is a fina ..read more

Are debts shared in divorce? Great question. We held our first-ever webinar a couple of weeks ago to answer questions on divorce and financial settlements. Ninety-seven people signed up, and they asked lots of interesting questions. The vast majority of questions centred around financial settlements. In case you don’t know, divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. In the UK, financial arrangements are not dealt with by the divorce but by something called a consent order. What is a consent order? A consent order is an instruction from the court that describes how the finances of divorcing co ..read more

Who gets the dog, cat, or other family pet in a divorce is a common worry for separating couples. Last week a journalist from Dog Training Weekly asked for our advice on ownership and ‘pet-nups’ that I wanted to share with you.  Most of their readers compete in dog sports regulated by the Kennel Club (KC). To compete, a dog must be registered on either the KC Breed Register or the KC Activities Register. Both of those registers require the owner of the dog to be recorded. In the case of pet dogs that don’t compete, the breeder is usually registered as the owner. The first thing a buyer ..read more

Christmas is the toughest time after separation or divorce because it’s traditionally a time for families and loved ones to come together. For many, it heightens the feelings of loneliness and highlights the fact that we are on our own when it feels like everyone else is together. Everyone is different, and divorce and separation affects them in different ways. Some find dealing with their emotions the hardest to cope with, and for others, it’s the more practical challenges they face. Negative emotions that are manageable in everyday life can take centre stage as we have less to distract ourse ..read more

If you’re in the process of obtaining a divorce, it can be a difficult, challenging, and complicated time. From paying solicitors fees to arranging financial settlements, the UK divorce process has a reputation for being both lengthy and stressful. Luckily, there are many ways you can now apply for a divorce online, allowing you to begin the proceedings from the comfort of your home. But where can you apply for a divorce online, what documents will you need, and how long does it take? In this easy guide, we’re going to take you through all the steps you need to follow in order to apply for a d ..read more

It’s no secret that divorce can be a costly process. From solicitors fees to court fees, some divorcing couples can end up spending thousands of pounds to obtain their divorce – and that doesn’t even include the cost of any potential financial agreements that you’ll enter into with your partner afterwards. With an ongoing cost of living crisis and energy bills soaring, it’s not a surprise that many couples feel like they can’t afford to divorce officially.  What many lawyers and solicitors don’t want you to know is that the divorce process doesn’t have to be expensive. Typically, an expen ..read more