Blog

What exactly do you do when you know you have serious relationship problems? It is a very stressful time and there are so many things to think about and plan for. One of the first concerns is very likely to be money, particularly if there is to be a separation, temporary or otherwise, it means there are two lots of accommodation costs coming out of the same income. It is important to work through the income and expenses together if the situation is amicable and it is also helpful to get advice about what entitlement you may have, both state benefits and the provision the law makes for you i...

You may have recentlyseen reports in the news that the law relating to prosecutions for domestic abuse has changed but what is the change and what effect could it have on you? Until recently domestic abuse could only be prosecuted if the behaviour was physical or it could be proved to have caused psychiatric injury. However domestic abuse is not just physical violence so, in the past, this has resulted in the majority of incidents of psychological abuse not being prosecuted. With effect from 29th December 2015 coercive or controlling domestic abuse became a crime under Section 76 of the S...

The Law Society’s research has shown that only 64% of people over the age of 55 have made a will. This means that over a third of people in this age group have not. If you die without having made a will, the statutory rules governing who will inherit from your estate, known as the “intestacy rules”, take over. These rules changed in October 2014 and set out a hierarchy of relatives to inherit from your estate. These rules may work for you, but for most people the chance is that they will not, and so making a will is the only way to ensure that your specific wishes for what...

1. In order to divorce you must have been married for at least one year, your relationship has to have permanently broken down and your marriage must be one that is legally recognised in the UK. 2. A legal separation allows you to live apart without divorcing or ending a civil partnership. A Judicial Separation Petition is filed with the Court. You do not have to demonstrate that your marriage has broken down irretrievably. You may want a legal separation if, for example, you have religious reasons for not getting divorced, have been married for less than a year or want time to work out if...