Family Law Solicitors

When things go wrong with relationships it can be difficult to know where to turn. Our dedicated family law specialists will lend a sympathetic ear and provide clear, realistic and constructive advice on all aspects of matrimonial and family problems and issues.

The sensitivity and expertise to help you

We know that dealing with family-related issues can be extremely emotional and stressful. We aim to advise you in a practical, yet understanding way, identifying what’s important to you and using our legal knowledge and experience to work with you to get the best outcomes.

We’ll give you all the legal help you need to make a complex situation feel easier to deal with. With two local offices in Gloucester or Stroud we’re never far away if you need our help.

We are members of Resolution and are accredited specialists with the Law Society, belonging to the Family Law and Children Panels. We also have solicitors who are qualified collaborative lawyers.

Speak to our family law solicitors in Gloucestershire

For expert family law advice, please contact our local offices in Gloucester or Stroud today. If you have a quick question or would like to request a call back, you can also use our quick online enquiry form.

Family law services

Collaborative Family Law

Arranging practical and legal matters in the aftermath of a divorce or separation can be incredibly difficult, particularly where finances are complex, children are involved, or where there is conflict.

To help you organise the necessary practicalities, collaborative law can be a useful method to navigate the potentially complex areas involved, often minimising tension when compared with Court proceedings.

The process essentially allows the ex-spouses, each with the guidance of their independent solicitors, to arrange legal matters, and or settle disagreements, out of Court.

Our expert family law solicitors at WSP can assist you to prepare for collaborative law, as well as representing you during collaborative law proceedings, and supporting you to later finalise agreements made throughout the process.

Family mediation solicitors

It is not always straightforward to agree on practical arrangements following a divorce, for instance finances. Where ex-spouses or partners are struggling to agree between themselves, family mediation can be the perfect solution.

During family mediation processes, separating or divorcing couples have the opportunity to meet in the presence of a trained mediator. The mediator provides an informal out of Court setting, guiding both parties to come to mutually acceptable agreements, without bias or direct intervention.

Our family law solicitors highly recommend mediation, as an option to potentially resolve your delicate family matters with as little conflict as possible.

Post nuptial agreements

A postnuptial agreement is a type of legal document that a couple may choose to create after getting married, or entering into a civil partnership. The document is used to detail how your money, assets and property would be divided, if the marriage or partnership were to later come to an end.

Such agreements are recommended to provide a clear structure for asset ownership, ensuring that couple’s know what to expect should they unfortunately separate later.

For more information about post nuptial agreements, please get in touch with our expert family law solicitors at WSP.

Prenuptial agreement solicitors

A prenuptial agreement, refers to a legal document between a couple, agreed on and signed before getting married or entering into a civil partnership.

A prenup is used to establish each person’s rights to income, property, and assets, as well as who is responsible for certain liabilities and debts. The idea is that the document potentially minimises conflict and offers clarity, in the event of a divorce or separation.

For more information, please contact our family solicitors at WSP.

Cohabitation Agreements

Unmarried couples, or those without a civil partnership, do not have the same legal rights and protections as married couples, or those in civil partnerships. For this reason, it is recommended that cohabitating couples have a cohabitation agreement.

The document is used to detail the responsibilities and rights of each partner, should the relationship later break down, or if one person unfortunately passes away.

Areas that are usually covered in a cohabitation agreement include property, assets, and financial responsibilities, including matters related to children.

To discuss your cohabitation agreement today, please get in touch with our family law solicitors.

Child Law Solicitors

When a couple get divorced or separate, it can be difficult to make the necessary child arrangements, including where your child will live, how child contact will work between the child and both parents, issues of child maintenance and more.

At WSP, we have much experience working with clients to make the appropriate arrangements for their children. Whether you would like support via mediation processes, or you need assistance to apply for a child arrangement order, we can help.

To learn more, contact our local family solicitors today.

Domestic abuse

Suffering domestic abuse is of course an incredibly traumatic experience, and those in this situation will often need help from a variety of people, including loved ones, support services, the authorities, and solicitors.

We understand that asking for help in these situations can be extremely difficult. However, when you take that challenging step, we can provide legal advice and protections to help keep you and those close to you safe.

Our sensitive family lawyers are ready and waiting to assist you, you can trust us to treat your situation with compassion, and respect.

Care proceedings and adoption solicitors

If Social Services have contacted you, where they have concerns about your child, you are likely to be feeling incredibly distressed.

In these situations our experienced solicitors can provide a wide range of support, guiding you on your rights and the next steps, for instance, if you’ve received a Letter of Proceedings, or been asked to attend a Pre-Proceedings meeting.

We can also provide legal support on adoption, for example, you might need advice where the Court have decided it’s best that your child is adopted. Our team know that these circumstances can feel devastating, and that you’ll want to fully understand your legal rights and position.

Alternatively, if you are a step parent looking to become a child’s legal parent, we can help here too.

We appreciate that being in such situations can be extremely emotionally challenging, and we can guarantee that our family law solicitors will always treat your case with the sensitivity it deserves.

The right approach for you

We encourage issues to be resolved amicably and fairly through collaboration, negotiation or mediation but recognise that an agreement is not always possible and, where necessary, will vigorously pursue issues through the courts.

How can we help you reach an agreement?

We could give you advice and guidance in the background so that you can talk to your ex -spouse or partner yourself. Knowing where you stand can be really helpful in negotiations. Receiving advice afterwards about whether the agreement you have reached is legally sound could give you a sense of security.

We can also help you formalise any agreement you make, for example by drafting a financial consent order within divorce or dissolution proceedings. Our team could also draft a parenting contract regarding future arrangements for the children.

What is mediation?

If you would like to attend mediation, we can support you, providing advice along the way.

Mediation involves attending sessions along with your partner and a trained mediator. The idea is to negotiate and come to agreements on issues you have, concerning money, your children or any other consequences of your separation. The aim is to reach an agreement that works for your family.

The number of mediation sessions you will need will depend on your requirements and the issues to be resolved. Most people going through mediation find it helpful to take advice and support from a family solicitor during the process. Where you are able to reach an agreement, we can make sure that it is fair and right for you.

We can also help you to formalise the agreement in writing, for example by applying to the court for a financial order by consent or drawing up a parenting contract for you both to sign.

What is collaboration?

Collaborative law is a process where you and your former partner work out the issues arising from your separation in face to face meetings, each with the support of your own solicitors. Rather than dealing with the issues through your solicitors, you work together with them to reach the best solutions for you and your family.

The number of meetings will depend upon the extent of the issues. Sometimes other experts are involved in the process, for example counsellors or financial advisers. Using collaborative law can allow you to solve problems without having to go to Court. As part of the process, you, your former partner and your solicitors sign an agreement that commits each party to trying to resolve the issues collaboratively. Your collaborative solicitor will not be able to represent you in Court if negotiations break down.

We have two specially trained collaborative solicitors who would be happy to talk to you about this in more detail.

What is family arbitration?

Family arbitration is a way of resolving issues about your finances or your property if your relationship has come to an end and you have not been able to reach an agreement. Arbitration is essentially a private Court process. You both decide who the ‘judge’ will be (normally an independent barrister or solicitor) and what issues they are going to decide.

Whether you wish to resolve a small, isolated issue, or the whole case, it is entirely up to you. At the start of the process you and your former partner agree not to back out without the other’s consent and to be bound by the award of the arbitrator.

To learn more about family arbitration, please get in touch with our family law solicitors.

Will going to court help?

Sometimes going to court is the only way to resolve matters – for example you may need a judge to deal with an urgent issue, to stop another person taking an action, or to make decisions where you have been unable to reach an agreement. Alternatively, you may need legal rights that can only be given to you through a Court order.

Where Court processes have failed, a Court application can focus everyone on trying to find a solution. A judge may also be able to give helpful indications about what they would do if you asked them to make the final decision. In situations where you need a decision urgently the Court can often act quickly to help.

Even once you go to Court, you can still try to reach an agreement between yourselves. The family court process is designed to try to give you more opportunities to find a solution together and most cases end in an agreement being reached outside of the Court room. The Court then reflects this agreement in an order which is binding on both of you.

Flexible payment options to suit your budget

We offer a range of fee options depending on your circumstances including charges based on an hourly rate, fixed fee appointments and advice on a “pay as you go” basis. Where appropriate we can also provide you with information on litigation loans. You may also be eligible for legal aid. These can be discussed at our initial meeting with you.

For more information about our payment options, get in touch with our family solicitors.

Can I get Legal Aid?

Legal Aid is a fund provided by the Government to help people meet some or all of the costs of legal advice and representation in court proceedings.

If Social Services/the Local Authority have started the pre-proceedings process or made an application to the court for a Care or Supervision Order, then you are automatically entitled to legal aid. This is only the case if you are the child’s mother or father, or you have parental responsibility for the child.

If you require advice about the following issues, you may be eligible for family legal aid provided that you meet the means and merits criteria set out below:

  • Social Services involvement with your children where there are no pre-proceedings or Care proceedings;
  • Domestic abuse;
  • Mediation.
  • Means – this test looks at both your capital (for example your home, your car, any savings you have) and your income (for example your wages, benefits, maintenance, working and child tax credits). We can help you work out whether you are financially eligible for legal aid. You will need to bring proof of your finances with you when you meet us. We will tell you what you need to bring.
  • Merits – this test looks at your chances of success and whether you need a solicitor’s advice. These are questions that should be answered by your solicitor.

If you require advice in relation to other issues, for example divorce or dissolution proceedingsfinancial matters, or arrangements for your children, legal aid may be available if you satisfy the means and merits tests above and you have evidence that you have suffered domestic abuse or your children have suffered child abuse.

The government has written a list of specific documentary evidence that can be used to prove that you have suffered domestic violence, or your children have suffered child abuse.

Our solicitors can go through this list with you, and help you to obtain the evidence that you need where appropriate. This may be a letter from your GP; a letter confirming police involvement; a letter from a refuge; an injunction order made by the court or a letter or report from your social worker.

Speak to our family law solicitors in Gloucestershire

For expert family law advice, please contact our local offices in Gloucester or Stroud today. If you have a quick question or would like to request a call back, you can also use our quick online enquiry form.


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