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Family Matters

Children Act Proceedings
 

Whenever there is a dispute between parents regarding where children live, or the amount of time that they spend with the other parent, this can be dealt with by the Court in what are known as Children Act Proceedings.

We charge on a time spent basis and we charge at the rate of £200.00 per hour plus VAT. Letters, emails and telephone calls are charged at £20.00 each plus VAT. Your case will be dealt with by Richard Johnson who is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives with over 25 year’s experience in matters of this nature.

As every case is different it is difficult to give generalised cost estimates, but assuming that your case is not of great complexity then some indications of costs are as follows:

  1. In cases involving allegations of domestic violence, which the Court decide to investigate further can involve what is known as a “fact finding” hearing. This can add substantially to the costs of the case as well as the timescale.
  2. In some cases, it is necessary for the Court to direct testing for illicit drugs and/or excessive alcohol consumption. The cost or such testing is normally divided between the parties at first instance and can vary massively dependent upon how many drugs are being tested for.
     

How long will it take to resolve a dispute regarding children?

It is considered in the child’s best interest to resolve promptly any dispute relating to where they live or the time that they spend with one or both parents. The timescale is however dependent upon whether the Court determine it is a case for what is known has a Section 7 Report under the Children Act and or a fact finding is required or if drugs/alcohol testing is required. In a straightforward case, with no welfare concerns which proceeds to Final hearing after the initial hearing then it is likely to be concluded within the 6 months, but if there are complications proceedings could well take up to 18 months to be concluded.

 

 

Divorce/Dissolution
 

We can carry out a Divorce or Dissolution of Civil Partnership for a fixed fee of £500.00 plus VAT. There is also a Court fee, currently £593.00 to pay and therefore the cost of most divorces totals £1,193.00. There may be additional expenses in the following circumstances:

How long will divorce take?

The timescale for divorce is largely governed by the statutory time limits. It is not possible to apply for the Conditional Order (formerly called Decree Nisi) until 20 weeks after the proceedings have been issued, and additionally it is not possible to apply for the Final Order (formerly Decree Absolute) until 6 weeks and 1 day after the Conditional Order has been granted. It also will take the Courts approximately 4 weeks to issue divorce proceedings and additionally it will take the Courts approximately 5 weeks to deal with the request for the Conditional Order. On this basis the divorce process is likely to take approximately 8 to 9 months.
 

What are the stages of divorce/dissolution.

The stages of divorce are as follows:

Please note that all of the above costs and procedure only apply to the divorce/dissolution. In most divorce/dissolution cases there are financial matters which need to be resolved. Often these include the family home, possibly other properties, possibly other assets and investments. There may also be pensions to deal with and there could be maintenance i.e.  one party paying maintenance to the other party (over and above any child maintenance) every case is different, and we offer a bespoke service to each client.

 

Financial Matters linked to Divorce/Dissolution

We charge on a time spent basis and we charge a rate of £200.00 per hour plus VAT and letters, emails and telephone calls are charged at £20.00 each. This will all be dealt with by Richard Johnson who is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives with over 25 year’s experience in matters of this nature.
 

As every case is different it is difficult to give generalised cost estimates, but assuming that your case is not of great complexity then some indications of costs are as follows:
 

The above are very generalised figures based on a relatively straightforward case. If your case involves multiple assets or multiple areas of disagreement the cost can increase massively.

 

How long will it take to resolve financial matters?
 

If it is possible to resolve matters by disclosure/negotiation/Consent Order then matters could be resolved in 6 months, but it is not uncommon for matters to take longer. For example, if one or both parties are slow in producing their financial disclosure and/or produce incomplete financial disclosure this can add to time. Additionally, if there are multiple properties or multiple arguments these will all increase the time it takes to resolve your matter.
 

If Court proceedings are required and matters settle at the first hearing then it is likely to be all concluded in within 8 months, but contested proceedings could easily take up to around 18 months.
 

What are the stages of resolving financial matters?

The precise stages involved in resolving financial matters will vary according to the circumstances of your case and we will advise on the most appropriate steps to be taken in your case along with costs and timescale applicable to your case.
 

Fixed fee advice on Family matters
 

It is not uncommon for people not to know where to start when dealing with a relationship breakdown. Hattersleys therefore offers an initial fixed fee appointment, of 1 hour duration the charge of £50.00 plus VAT of £10.00. At this appointment we can discuss your case and give initial advice including recommendations as to the next steps and the costs of those steps. We will not place any pressure upon you to proceed with matters.

Most people find these fixed fee appointments very useful; it is all too easy to receive “advice” from friends, relatives, and whilst that person may be trying to help, they will probably not have any legal qualifications!

We can normally offer the fixed fee appointments within 7-10 days; you are welcome to bring along a friend or relative for moral support.

 

Non-Molestation Orders/Occupation Orders
 

The Family Law Act 1996 gives the Court power to make both Non-Molestation Orders and Occupation Orders. Applications for these are normally made to the Court when there has been a history of domestic abuse. A Non-Molestation Order can impose certain prohibitions against the other party which can order them not to contact you by any means, not to damage your property and possibly to stay away from certain addresses such as your own address or workplace. Non-Molestation Orders are sometimes incorrectly referred to as “restraining orders”. Restraining orders are similar, but they are generally granted by the Criminal Courts instead of the Family Courts.
 

An Occupation Order can determine who lives in a property and moves out of that property, again this needs to be based a history of domestic abuse, and in the absence of domestic abuse a Court will not grant these orders even if the relationship or marriage between the parties have clearly broken down.

 

What is the cost of applying for Non-Molestation Order/ Occupation Order?
 

The first point to make is that legal aid is still readily available for application of this nature subject to you qualifying on a financial basis. Therefore, if you are in receipt of means tested benefits, we recommend that you contact a solicitor who deals with such matters on a legal aid basis. Hattersleys no longer deal with legal aid.
 

If legal aid is not an option, then the costs of getting an application from Non-Molestation Orders/Occupation issued and including the first hearing, assuming that is at a local Cout will be in the region of £1,000.00 plus VAT of £200.00. There is no Court fee payable on such an application, although it is often a requirement that any Order is personally served upon the respondent. We will engage an enquiry agent to personally serve papers on the respondent and the cost of this is £200.00 plus VAT.
 

A good proportion of these cases (especially if the application is just for a Non-Molestation Order) can be resolved at the first or second hearing at Court. If the opponent defends the application the case will have to proceed to a contested final hearing. Every case is different but the cost of dealing with matters up to and including the Final Hearing will be in the region of £3,000.00 plus VAT of £600.00.
 

Please note that Non-Molestation Order and Occupation Orders are of limited duration. The maximum duration is normally 12 months as they are designed to deal with short to medium term situations. They cannot deal with long term situations regarding property ownership, they must be dealt with either in divorce/dissolution proceedings, or in unmarried couple cases under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

Contact

Richard Johnson - rjohnson@hattersleys.co.uk - view profile

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1 Hope Street,
Mexborough,
South Yorkshire,
S64 9HR

Please note our office is open 9-5 Mon - Fri but we are closed 1-1.30pm for lunch.

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