
The breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership is one of the most traumatising ordeals a person can experience, and it is challenging to navigate these unchartered waters without the necessary professional help of a family solicitor in Amersham.
If you are in the middle of a complicated divorce and need legal support, consult with our expert team at Coyle, White and Devine – we are a niche practice, specialising in dispute resolution.
Whether it is simplifying incomprehensible jargon in layman’s terms, teaching you basic legal terminology or helping you communicate more effectively with your estranged spouse, family solicitors in Amersham can guide you through your divorce, ensuring that a non-confrontational settlement is reached that meets your needs and those of your children.
Let’s talk finances
– Assets and debts
Most married couples jointly pay off the household expenses, the mortgage and school fees. On divorcing, you and your estranged partner must separate your finances.
Draw up an inventory of your assets and debts and start managing your own money. List what you own and the money you still owe. It is also in your interest to devise a budget you can stick to without the contributions from your ex.
If you have a joint account with your partner, you will need to talk to your bank about opening a separate account.
– Spousal support
If you were financially dependent upon your spouse, divorcing them will not leave you destitute. Usually, in these particular cases, a monthly income called ‘maintenance’ is received by the financially weaker spouse, a sum which is calculated according to your proven expenditure.
Children
Aside from personal finances, discussions about your offspring are by far the most important. Decisions need to be made about who their primary carer will be, where they will live and who makes the decisions on their behalf.
It is essential to protect your children from the emotional turmoil that comes with the dissolution of the family by keeping things civil with your ex-partner, and making decisions that are in their best interests. Try to provide stability in their lives, despite this instrumental change happening, moving schools and into new homes could prove overwhelming for them.
Custody is two-fold. Physical custody determines where the children will live. Joint custody dictates that they will reside with both parents some of the time, while sole custody grants one parent full caregiving rights if the other party is unable to do so for whatever reason. For example, demanding work obligations. If you share custody, you and your partner must decide amongst yourselves where your children will stay, with whom and for how long, remember to split important family holidays evenly.
Legal custody refers to a parent’s decision-making capabilities concerning education, healthcare and their children’s future well-being. If one parent is declared ‘unfit’, their opinions on these matters are overturned, and the other parent determines the ‘final say’.
Child support is usually paid by the parent who spends less time with the offspring to the parent who does most of the caring, to cover the costs of their basic needs, such as food, education and healthcare. On top of that, other expenses should also be considered to include extramural activities that your child might be involved with.
Nobody wins in a divorce, but there are ways to reach a settlement in a non-confrontational and peaceful manner with the right Family Solicitors in Amersham.











