Family Law

It is an unfortunate fact of life that not all marriages are successful.  When a relationship breaks down it is not unusual for one or both parties to seek to dissolve the marriage or to obtain a formal decree of judicial separation.

If you are married and want to permanently end your marriage, you should apply for a divorce. If you are in a civil partnership and want to permanently end your civil partnership, you should apply for a dissolution. Both divorce and dissolution are ways to end a legally binding relationship.

A decree of judicial separation is a Court Order, however, legally separated couples will still be married. In judicial separation cases the Court has the same range of powers as it does in divorce cases in terms of dividing assets of the marriage and arranging child/ren custody and maintenance.  The main difference being that unlike divorce or dissolution where a Pension Sharing Order can be made, a Court may only be able to make an Order to offset or make a Pension Attachment Order. If there are children under 18 then the Court must be satisfied that proper arrangements are being made for their welfare.

A fair division of the family assets, including the matrimonial home, must be worked out.  In the majority of cases this is achieved by negotiation between Solicitors and agreement between the parties.  At E J Moyle LLP, Solicitors, we emphasise negotiation and agreement rather than conflict and confrontation in the application of the principles of matrimonial law to the special circumstances of each individual case.

We can also advise you in relation to a range of family matters, such as, family protection, domestic violence, injunctions, wardships, adoption, contact and childcare protection proceedings.