Relationship breakdown affects us all at one time or another in our lives - whether it is first love, cohabitee/co-owner, husband or wife or civil partner or even break-ups with other family members; siblings, parents or grandparents. The consequences of relationship breakdown send ripples throughout family and friends and how it is handled can have a material effect upon the individual's long term future and ability to cope.
Fear of the consequences of relationship breakdown and lack of knowledge about outcomes can sometimes make us behave in a bizarre and unpredictable fashion. Knowledge is power in some situations. Weighing the options before taking a decision that is suited to your own circumstances is essential.
Fear of the consequences of relationship breakdown and lack of knowledge about outcomes can sometimes make us behave in a bizarre and unpredictable fashion. Knowledge is power in some situations. Weighing the options before taking a decision that is suited to your own circumstances is essential.
Services
Wendy qualified in 1985 and has over 30 years' experience in Family law and related matters. A former Partner in a Nottingham City centre firm, she set up Gouldingays in 2010, a niche Family Law practice, with the objective of providing a dedicated and specialised service to parties facing relationship breakdown.
Where the priority is to bring the marriage to an end and to settle the legal consequences once and for all - divorce is the most likely option. In English law divorce is still founded on 'fault' based solutions. Every divorce is based upon irretrievable breakdown of the marriage but supported by one of five factors.
At Gouldingays we have dealt with some difficult and sensitive issues in the law relating to Children and Civil Partnership breakdown. Although there have been significant changes in law to bring the rights of civil partners into line with those of married couples, there remain certain challenging areas particularly in relation to the law of children and parental rights where only one of the parties may be a biological parent of a child.
Sometimes a halfway house between living separate and apart and a divorce, a Deed of Separation can set out the terms and conditions upon which a couple agree to live apart.
Often adopted by parties who are not yet ready to divorce or who cannot accept divorce on religious grounds, a deed of separation offers the couple the opportunity to set out in writing their expectations of one another, for example in relation to maintenance or time spent by their children with each of them.Who will occupy the family home and whether that is to be to the exclusion of the other party.
Often adopted by parties who are not yet ready to divorce or who cannot accept divorce on religious grounds, a deed of separation offers the couple the opportunity to set out in writing their expectations of one another, for example in relation to maintenance or time spent by their children with each of them.Who will occupy the family home and whether that is to be to the exclusion of the other party.
This is a complex area particularly in light of the changes brought about by the Taxation of Pensions Act 2014 making pensions a far more flexible commodity. The value of the pension assets in a marriage can sometimes exceed the value of all of the other assets and it may be appropriate to share the pension or otherwise off set it in some way against the other assets of the marriage.
