Name: Chapmans Solicitors

Description: Sadly, every year around 150,000 marriages end in divorce. The legal process of ending a marriage can have a major impact on all family members - both emotional and financial. Recognising this, SFLA solicitors aim to help separating couples achieve a constructive settlement of their differences in a way which avoids protracted arguments and promotes co-operation between parents in decisions concerning children.

If you are having problems in your marriage, you should first consider whether these difficulties could be resolved with the help of a trained relationship counsellor. Organisations such as Relate could help you.

If you decide to divorce, a solicitor will be able to advise you and guide you through the process. A good lawyer will outline your options at every stage and give you the information to make your own decisions.

To get a divorce in England and Wales, you need to show that you have been married for more than a year and that the marriage has broken down. The marriage must have broken down for one of the reasons below:

Your spouse has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live together;

Your spouse has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live together;

You have been separated for 2 years and your spouse agrees to divorce;

You have been separated for 5 years;

Your spouse deserted you more than 2 years ago.

The reason for the breakdown of the marriage forms the basis of the divorce application (known as the 'petition'). If more than one of these is applicable, your solicitor will advise on which is most suitable to your circumstances and what additional information the court needs.

If your spouse has committed adultery, you do not need to name the other person. If the petition is based on the behaviour of your spouse, you will need to give some limited examples of their behaviour and how it has affected you.

These details (known as 'particulars') can be agreed with your spouse in advance, to avoid the process of untangling the marriage increasing any conflict between you both.

If you carry on living together for more than six months after either the last act of unreasonable behaviour or the discovery of the last act of adultery, then you cannot get a divorce based on this. Similarly, a period of separation is discounted if you live together again for a period of six months.

The divorce process is in two stages - a 'Decree Nisi' and a 'Decree Absolute'. A Decree Nisi is an interim stage, granted by the court when the ground for divorce is established. After a period of time, it can be converted into a Decree Absolute, which marks the end of the marriage. This will not normally happen until arrangements for any children and financial matters are agreed. You can stop the process at any time before the Decree Absolute is issued.

If you have children, you will need to give details of their names and dates of birth of the children, where they are living, which schools they attend and what arrangements have been made for their care .

As a member of Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA) we aim to help separating couples achieve a constructive settlement of their differences in a way which avoids protracted arguments and promotes co-operation between parents in decisions concerning children. Because of the approach we take, the overall cost of using Chapman & Chubb can be less than using a firm of solicitors who do not subscribe to the Code of Practice.

Whether you are married or not, facing divorce or separation, with or without children and whether or not you have financial and/or property matters to be resolved, you now have a choice.

You can use the traditional method of resolving those issues by instructing a family lawyer to negotiate with your former partner?s lawyer on your behalf or you can use family mediation.

Category: Derbyshire

Url: http://www.chapsol.com/

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