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Family |
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| Click on the team page to find our who our Family specialists are |
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| Q. |
If I leave the family home will I lose any share I have in it? |
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| A. |
You will not lose any financial stake you may have simply by moving out. However, take legal advice before you do as your right to occupy the home, or the time it will take to obtain the value of your share in it, could be affected. |
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| Q. |
What happens about the children if we split up? |
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| A. |
The law leaves parents to decide where the children will live and what time they will spend with each parent. No court order will usually be made unless it is needed for the sake of the child. Where mother and father are married to each other they have equal rights over children. If not married to the mother, the father has no legal rights over a child unless there is a formal written agreement which is officially registered or a court order. We can advise you where you stand. |
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| Q. |
How long does a divorce take? |
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| A. |
From the time a divorce petition is filed at court it usually take five to six months before you are actually divorced. However, if there are problems about property or money to be sorted out, you may have to wait longer for the divorce to be made final. Take legal advice about the options. |
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| Q. |
I have heard that the court can now take away half my pension. |
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| A. |
If a couple divorce either of them will lose the possibility of enjoying the other's pension when he or she retires and, for instance, any widow's or widower's benefits that might have been payable. The court can make up for this potential loss in three ways. It can order the person with the pension to pay a sum of money now to the other in compensation. It can order that a percentage of any lump sum or pension must be paid to the other person when the pension holder decides to take his or her pension benefits. Thirdly, where divorce proceedings were started after the beginning of December 2000, the court can order that a proportion of a person's pension fund be set aside to provide a pension fund for the other person. However, the law is complicated and you will need to take detailed legal advice. |
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| Q. |
My boyfriend wants to move in and live with me in the house that I own myself. Will he be entitled to a share in the value of my house? |
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| A. |
Your boyfriend will not automatically be entitled to a share in your house just by living there. If he can show that he has contributed to the house either directly by, for instance, paying for an extension or indirectly by paying for things so that you can afford to spend money on the house, he might acquire a financial stake in it. |
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| Q. |
Can I force my partner to leave the home where we live together? |
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| A. |
There are laws to protect someone from being thrown out of the house he or she shares with a partner. There are different rules depending on who owns the house and whether or not the couple are married. Any decision will take into account all the circumstances, including whether or not there has been any domestic abuse and the effect of any decision on all of the people who live in the house. |
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If you have any further questions please call us on 0115 878 9000
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