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Family Law

Family Law

Family Law

Divorce or the breakdown of a relationship is a painful time for all concerned. Our team of Family Law  Solicitors in Brighton will make it just that little bit easier for you.

Family Law Solicitors Brighton

Family law advice is about relationships, their formation, duration and breakdown, such as divorce, about child arrangements and financial provision for children, and about family financial disputes. At Edward Harte our family law solicitors who are based in central Brighton offer mediation and collaborative law as well as court-based processes for resolving family disputes. We are conveniently located for access to the Brighton Family Court.

Partnership Breakdown and Divorce

Our family law solicitors recognise that breaking up with someone is one of the most traumatic life experiences you can have. We assist in making the process of divorce and dissolution of civil partnerships much more bearable and less stressful for you. For those who do not wish to divorce we can assist with the process of judicial separation and preparation of separation agreements.

A posed photo of Yasmin Govan

Yasmin Govan Salaried Partner

Family Financial Matters

Family law includes resolving financial issues, including property, life assurance policies, savings, pensions and maintenance, which will need to be apportioned, distributed or split between you.

Our aim is to minimise conflict and maximise a satisfactory resolution for you in an approachable and friendly manner.

Family finances may involve the preparation of post and pre-nuptial agreements, which we can draft and advise upon.

Our family law solicitors also provide advice and assistance in circumstances where no reasonable financial provision has been made for a surviving spouse or partner or a dependant child.

Family Law and Children

Our family law solicitors take very special care to protect every client’s child in the event of family crises and relationship breakdowns.

Jack Taylor Solicitor

Every case is as individual as you are and we take a particular interest in helping to create the best solution for residence and contact for your family.

Family Law Act Injunctions

Family law solicitors also help obtain or defend injunction proceedings, which most often arise from attempts by one party to exclude the other from a shared home due to, for example, alleged threats or actual violence.

Family law and Cohabiting Couples

Family law is different for cohabiting couples and our specialist team can provide advice and assistance in relation to jointly owned assets and your rights and obligations.

An alternative approach to finding solutions for the family as a whole following the breakup of a marriage, civil partnership or relationship…

Collaborative Law

Collaborative law is a new and increasingly popular approach to resolving relationship disputes without having to go to court.

Although collaborative law, including mediation, is not for everyone and is only one of a range of options when facing relationship disputes, breakup or separation, many families prefer an approach which:

  • encourages parties to share their hopes, expectations and fears, with everyone working together to agree the shape of their futures
  • involves lawyers so advice can be given in a way designed to give a better chance of finding better solutions for the family as a whole
  • gives an ethical approach which is not so much about winning but a common search for fair and equitable solutions
  • allows frank and open discussions, dispersing unresolved emotions like distrust, bitterness or anger

Benefits of the collaborative law process over the traditional include:

  • the conventional approach can often further damage an already fractured relationship, while the collaborative process is designed to help everyone communicate better, not only at the time of breakup but in the future
  • collaborative mediation is not normally part of separation/divorce procedure
  • collaborative lawyers are specially trained and skilled to find solutions rather than encourage an entrenched and positional approach

Family Mediation

Anna Glenton

Anna Glenton Solicitor

Mediation is favoured by the courts, which actively encourage this way of trying to resolve issues with the help of an experienced and skilled mediator. Anna Glenton is a trained mediator.

Family mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) which is a process of trying to resolve family disputes between parties. A mediator assists the parties to try and negotiate and reach a settlement between them rather than proceeding through the court process.   Mediation can help to settle financial agreements on divorce as well as child focused matters such as where the children shall live and what time they spend with the other parent.

Mediation is a party centred process in that it tries to focus primarily on the rights, interests and needs of both parties.

The benefits of mediation are that the parties are the ones in control of the decisions made rather than a court.   It is therefore more cost effective than any court procedure and tries to maintain a level of respect by the parties to each other which is often lost when the courts become involved.

Mediation is a voluntary process and therefore both parties have to agree to mediate and they attend voluntarily. If they wish to proceed with mediation then it normally means both wish to reach a resolution on the issues that need to be discussed.

During the mediation process the mediator acts impartially and works towards helping both parties reach a solution.   This may require some thinking “outside the box” on the issues they are focused on in order to reach that solution at the end.

For more information about the family law advice and family mediation, collaborative law and whether you think this could work for you then please contact Yasmin Govan or Jack Taylor on 01273 662750 for an initial discussion or email us.

Relationship strain and some practical tips:

  • Make sure you are talking regularly to a good friend or relative who can give you support.
  • Get help if you are experiencing any form of domestic violence.
  • Reflect on whether your relationship is really over, or whether you are simply experiencing strain because of the particular circumstances at the time.

If you consult a solicitor, they can get you started with divorce proceedings and discussions about arrangements. They can also signpost you to agencies that can help you explore what is wrong and whether it can be put right. They can assist with personal protection if you or your children are at risk. They can help you understand the different processes for resolving disputes. In a very uncertain and anxious time they can help put your mind at rest.

Please contact Yasmin Govan or Jack Taylor on 01273 662750 email us.