If you and your partner are separating you may be able to sort everything out without needing professional advice. However, if you and your ex-partner can’t come to an arrangement or they won’t stick to the agreement, you’ll want to know exactly what your legal rights are. In this case, getting professional advice is invaluable.
Separation can be a very stressful and emotionally taxing experience, especially if you share property and or children. Living together during the separation is often a reasonable approach to minimise disruption.
In this article, we’ll examine what options exist for you when it comes to legal and financial advice when you’re looking to separate with a partner while you’re living together.
General reasons to look for advice,
Legal advice can be helpful to ensure a matter does not end up going to court. It can help you to better understand much of the complexities involved with divorce law.
Getting financial advice is generally helpful if you think you’ve got a claim against your ex-partner or that they are going to make a claim against you.
Legal Advice
There are several avenues you can take when it comes to legal advice.
Using a mediator
Mediators can help you and your ex-partner to sort out children, housing, and any financial matters.
A mediator does not take sides or provide advice. Their job is to help both parties work towards an agreement, and many solicitors who specialise in family law are also now trained as mediators.
Mediation is a good approach when both parties are open, honest, and trusting. If you and your ex-partner cannot properly communicate on issues like who will look after the children, or how you can divide money, meditation may not be suitable.
It is no longer possible for most people to get legal aid for a divorce. The same goes for separation or legal issues involving children. However, it can be possible to get legal aid for mediation. This means that if you are your ex-partner are willing and if you have straight forward affairs, it can be an excellent way to sort things out.
Meditation is not considered appropriate in cases involving domestic abuse. A controlling and or intimidating partner should not be involved in mediation.
Mediators can provide additional details on when mediation is appropriate.
Using a solicitor for separation
A solicitor can provide invaluable legal advice regarding your rights if you’re looking to make claims against your ex-partner for things such as the share of the family home, as well as other assets.
Solicitors can provide independent legal advice. This is both in the case of negotiating settlements or via court action. They can also draw up legal agreements that you’ve made with your ex-partner.
Solicitors are an incredible source of information regarding important things such as financial entitlement. In cases where your ex-partner simply won’t engage and negotiate with you, a solicitor can also be helpful.
Using a collaborative family lawyer
A collaborative family lawyer will work to try and help you and your ex-partner reach an agreement through a series of meetings. Both you and your ex-partner will need to hire your own collaborative family lawyer.
As part of this arrangement, you’ll sign agreement not to go to court, and you’ll agree to work to resolve the issues. These meetings tend to be done face to face.
Financial Advice
There are several specialised financial advisors and assistants you can call on for help.
Making a financial agreement
Before discussing the help, you can get, it’s important to look at how you untangle your finances.
It is very rarely straightforward to divide up household finances. There are many assets included. These can include,
- The family home
- Any other property you own
- Your pension pot (both state and private pensions included)
- Savings
- Any business interests
- Any investments
It is important to make a full disclosure of assets. Attempts to hide or disguise assets can lead to serious problems. Thought will need to be given to both party’s post-divorce income needs.
Using a Financial Adviser
A financial adviser at www.oraclelaw.com can help you divide up your assets in the most tax-efficient way. This can obviously be helpful if you are eager to save money during the divorce process.
Using an accountant
An accountant can be used to value assets. Some accountants specialise in assessing whether someone is trying to downplay the value of their assets to avoid providing greater payments to their ex-partner.
How can I pay for legal fees?
If you are separating (even if you aren’t married or in a civil partnership) you may still need to pay legal fees. One option to help you pay is legal aid.