Please see below a list of frequently asked questions we get at Sousa Law. If you need more help, please feel free to give us a call on 02380 713 060 or contact us using the form below.
Below are some of the Frequently asked questions about Divorce/Separation.
Whether you qualify for Legal Aid will often depend upon your financial circumstances.
Legal Aid for family cases is generally means-tested, meaning that your gross income, disposable income, and disposable capital will be assessed to see whether you qualify. Your financial circumstances are not usually considered where the case involves children in care, or child abduction and often you will be automatically entitled to Legal Aid in these cases, depending upon your relationship to the child and the stage of the case. Legal Aid is also available for victims of domestic violence, or where children are at risk of violence.
In some circumstances, Legal Aid may not cover all costs, meaning you may have to pay some costs up front, or pay back some costs if you are awarded money or assets by the Court. You can check if you are entitled to Legal Aid here.
You quite often hear the phrase a “quickie divorce”. However, the legal procedure cannot be shortened. The procedure provides for certain timescales which cause the process to routinely take approximately 6 months at best. It can often depend on the speed with which the documentation is completed by the parties and how quickly the paperwork is handled by the Court. There is a minimum period between the application for Divorce being issued and the Conditional Order being granted of 20 weeks and a minimum period of 6 weeks and 1 day between the Conditional Order being granted and being able to file an application for Final Order.
It is a common belief that if you live with someone for a specific length of time, you become a ‘common law spouse’ and therefore have certain financial rights should you separate. However, this is not the case.
Couples who previously lived together have no right of financial support from each other. If a financial adjustment is sought then unmarried couples will face a complex mixture of procedures and law, rather than the relatively more straightforward procedures and principles applied to married couples.
This depends on whether the bills are in joint names, your sole name or your ex partner’s sole name. If the bills are in joint names you are both liable for meeting those payments and/or outstanding debts. Any bills/debts in your sole name, you are responsible for and vice versa.
If you are unmarried with children, your ex-partner is not liable to pay maintenance to you. However, they are liable to pay child maintenance in accordance with the statutory formula that is currently governed by the Child Maintenance Service.
Married couples can apply to the Court, if necessary, to seek a Court Order compelling their spouse to pay maintenance to help cover necessary and reasonable outgoings until such time as the financial settlement for the permanent division of the financial resources has been made.
Yes. Civil Partnerships can be dissolved as long as you have been registered in a Civil Partnership for more than a year. A change in the law in 2004 provides separating Civil Partners almost the same procedure as married couples. The main difference is that a Civil Partnership cannot be dissolved on the basis of adultery.