Separation Solicitors in Scunthorpe & Goole

It is common for couples who have been together for a long time but are not married or in a civil partnership to assume that they will have legal protections if they ever break up. This concept is often referred to as ‘common law marriage’. In fact, there is no such thing in the UK. If you break up with your partner, you do not have any automatic claim to their money or property other than assets you jointly own.

We understand that going through a relationship breakdown can be an extremely stressful time, particularly if you have been together for many years. Just because the law does not recognise unmarried couples in the same way as spouses or civil partners, it does not mean that untangling the threads of the life you built together will be any less emotionally painful.

At Symes Bains Broomer, our team of expert family law solicitors can guide you through this difficult time and explain to you your rights in relation to the family home and children.

This is a more complicated area of law than with divorce as it involves old principles of law relating to property such as constructive trusts and proprietary estoppel. We will help guide you through this maze of terms and procedure and will liaise with our experienced Civil Litigation Department should a court application become necessary.

We aim to deal with matters in a sensible and cost-effective manner. We will therefore first attempt to resolve your matter by way of correspondence, and then mediation if not successful. As a last resort we can help you apply to court for a wide range of orders.

We can also negotiate with your former partner regarding children matters. Unmarried fathers do not automatically have parental responsibility for their children; we can assist with contacting your former partner to see if an agreement can be reached to grant you parental responsibility. We can also assist with negotiating when you will spend time with your children such as weekend contact and during the school holidays.

For expert advice about separation when you are not married or in a civil partnership, get in touch with our family law solicitors in Scunthorpe or Goole. Alternatively, fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.

How our separation solicitors can help you

Cohabiting couples make up a huge proportion of families nowadays and long gone are the days when couples would live separately until they got married. However, the law relating to unmarried couples is still extremely complex so seeking specialist legal advice about your rights is essential. We can provide all the advice you need to sort out matters upon separation, including:

• Reviewing any cohabitation agreement that is in place and taking enforcement action if necessary
• Advising on the division of jointly owned assets, including providing advice on splitting joint bank accounts and the family home according to any Declaration of Trust and your contributions over the years
• Advising on other issues relating to the family home, such as ending a tenancy agreement or negotiating rent payments
• Claims under the Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) to ask the court to decide who owns what share of any property and whether the property should be sold to release your share
• Children related matters, including:
  • Advising on parental responsibility and taking steps to acquire it wherever necessary
  • Sorting out a voluntary Parenting Plan to decide matters like where your children will live and how much time they should spend with each parent
  • Agreeing child maintenance payments or applying to the Child Maintenance Service
  • ‘Schedule 1’ applications to court for financial provision for your children, such as transferring property between the parents to provide the children a home
  • Applying for Child Arrangements Orders, Specific Issue Orders and Prohibited Steps Orders for decisions about your children’s future living arrangements and upbringing

Why choose our separation solicitors?

At Symes Bains Broomer, we are proud to have served individuals and families across Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire for many years. Our dedicated team of family lawyers combine expert legal knowledge with a friendly, approachable service.

We are members of the Law Society Family Law Accreditation for our high standards of client care and expert knowledge in this area. We are also members of Family Law Advanced which specifically recognises law firms that specialise in complex family law matters, such as those involving intricate and high value finances. Among our talented lawyers, Joanne Harriman is an accredited Family Law Advanced specialist.

Joanne and Yasmin Akhtar are members of Resolution, a network of legal professionals who specialise in helping families find constructive, non-combative resolutions to family law issues and avoiding court proceedings wherever possible.

Get in touch with our cohabitation and separation solicitors in Scunthorpe and Goole

For expert advice about separation when you are not married or in a civil partnership, get in touch with our family law solicitors in Scunthorpe or Goole. Alternatively, fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.