A person can address to our family law solicitors in Manchester for numerous reasons. Our team, specialized in family law, can assist in any legal matter in this field, such as: marriage, divorce, child alimony, the division of assets etc. Our team can offer legal advice and legal representation in front of local courts.
Our team can also help those who are British citizens and want to get married with a foreign citizen. We can provide assistance to those who want to enter a civil partnership as well, as this is recognized under the UK law.
However, family law in Manchester can cover multiple other aspects, including the dissolution of a marriage or the dissolution of a civil partnership (this also provides legal rights and has various consequences when the couple decides to separate). Whatever question you may have related to the family legislation and various procedures prescribed by it, you can address to our Manchester solicitors, who are ready to assist you with professional advice.
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What are the main services deriving from family law in Manchester?
The legal area covered by the family law in Manchester refers to multiple aspects that can be of interest for a person who is getting married or is married, for a person who wants to divorce, for persons who are the children of married UK citizens and so on.
Over the years, our lawyer in Manchester has experienced numerous types of cases, and below you can discover some of the basic areas where a person can receive legal assistance:
- legal assistance referring to children upon the dissolution of a marriage (child maintenance, child custody, the rights of the parents based on the type of custody they received, the rights of the grandparents, the obligations of each party that must take care of minor children);
- legal advice on how to draw and sign a cohabitation agreement – a type of document that can secure each party’s assets in the case of unmarried couples;
- legal advice and legal representation on the dissolution of a civil partnership or of a marriage – generally speaking, our family law solicitors in Manchester will try to resolve such issues out of court, where possible;
- advice on how to start the judicial separation procedure, which is similar with the divorce, but it is much simpler and does not actually imply the end of the marriage;
- assistance in drawing and signing a prenuptial contract, which is recognized in the UK as a legal way to secure the manner in which the parties will separate their assets in the event of a divorce.
What is the no fault divorce in UK?
The procedures on how a couple can get a divorce in this country were modified in 2022, as the no fault divorce entered into force on 6 April 2022. To better understand the new legal framework, you can always address to the best family law solicitors in Manchester.
The most important novelty of the new legal regulation is that the spouses are no longer required to provide a reason for the divorce – in general, the reason had to be a major one, where one spouse blamed the other for breaking one of the basic rules of a marriage.
Previously, there were 5 main legal grounds for getting a divorce and the spouses had to provide evidence on how a spouse did not act accordingly. Under the new law, the spouses can simply initiate the divorce procedure solely based on the fact that they consider that the marriage has broken down.
Another matter that should be known is that the law no longer requires a single party to initiate the divorce proceedings. In the past, one of the spouses initiated the procedure (he or she was the petitioner), but now both parties can jointly initiate the divorce.
Still, the law provides the possibility for one spouse to initiate the divorce. These simpler rules are regulated under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which can be detailed by our team of solicitors in Manchester.
Please mind that the new framework, which is applicable at a national level, states that spouses no longer have the possibility to contest the divorce.
Once a party (or both) have initiated the procedure, a period of 20 weeks will pass, until a Conditional Order will be issued. This 20 weeks period is considered to be the timeframe in which the parties have the necessary time to change their views and back out of the divorce.
If the Conditional Order is issued, a period of other 6 weeks will pass until the court will issue the Final Order. Family law firms in Manchester can provide more details regarding these 2 documents.
We also invite you to contact us to learn more about the fee policy system applied at our law firm, but also on the fees and taxes that you may need to pay to the UK courts when initiating this procedure.
Our lawyer in Manchester remains at your service with advice on this matter.
How can our lawyer in Manchester help in child arrangements?
Persons divorcing or filing for the dissolution of a civil partnership and who also have children will try to create the best environment for their children during this difficult period of time.
Our family law solicitors in Manchester will also work in the favor of minor children, creating the best environment they can benefit from the family legislation.
The family law in Manchester will deal with matters such as:
- where the child will live after the divorce;
- who will receive the custody;
- how much time will the other parent spend with the child and when;
- legal matters referring to the relocation of a child to a foreign country (provided that the parent who has received the custody wants to move or if the parent is a foreign national and wants to return to his or her home country).
Please contact our family law solicitors in Manchester for more information how our team can help you.
Where children are involved, the concern of the lawyers will always be to best represent the interest of the minor children, therefore it is always recommended to seek for the best family law solicitors in Manchester.
If you want to relocate in the UK with your family members, you can apply for a Family Reunion Visa, if you meet the basic requirements imposed for this visa type.
There are other visa options for family reunification, based on your situation (working in Manchester, arriving here as a refugee, etc.). You can find out more on this subject from our immigration lawyers in Manchester.
If you want to bring in Manchester your spouse, partner, children, parents, you will be legally required to make the proof of having sufficient financial funds to support the family member relocated here.
Proof of employment will be necessary in most of the cases, and our employment lawyers in Manchester can present the documents you must prepare for the visa application process.
What is the divorce rate in the UK?
Given the fact that above we have provided several scenarios where our family law solicitors in Manchester can help you in divorce procedures, we will present below several data on the divorce rate and divorce trends in the UK.
The divorce rate increased since 2018 and the increase has been observed in 2020 and 2021. Recently, the law on divorce in the UK was modified, simplifying the rules through which a couple can now get a divorce.
Therefore, the number of divorces can increase in the following years, given that the law now states that the spouses are no longer required to provide a solid reason for the dissolution of their marriage. You can learn more on the procedure from family law firms in Manchester.
To see the evolution of divorces in the last few years, compared to the data presented above, we invite you to read the following:
- according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2021, the total number of divorces was of 113,505;
- this accounted for an increase compared to 2020, where there were 103,592 divorces (an increase of 9.6%);
- out of the total number, 111,934 divorces were registered in heteronormative couples;
- same-sex divorces accounted for just 1.4% of the total divorces;
- out of the same-sex divorces, female couples represented the majority (67.2%).
Our solicitors in Manchester can help you divorce in 2023 if you are interested in the newest regulations. If you need to initiate the procedure, we advise you that you contact the best family law solicitors in Manchester
We also want to mention that when you will start the visa application process for a family member, you will be required to pay a processing fee.
In the UK, the processing fee is charged based on your current location (in the UK or outside) and based on your relationship with the person that will relocate here. You can find out more on the current fees from our solicitors in Manchester city centre.
