Divorce and separation seems to be one of those areas where everyone thinks they know their rights and those of everyone else involved.

Whether it is how much a partner will get in any financial settlement, how much child “maintenance” an absent parent will have to pay, who gets “custody” of the children, or the intricacies of the legendary commonlaw partner, friends, family and colleagues are always ready to wade in with “helpful” advice.

But the fact is that it is practically impossible for someone to get a satisfactory outcome from a divorce without expert advice.

Even if one of your non-professional advisors has only just gone through a divorce themselves, practices and laws do change, and every case is different, so a family law specialist must be called on for advice and to look at the individual circumstances to assess the best approach.

Common in law?

As mentioned above, the phrase “commonlaw” is one that many people throw around when talking about unmarried couples. The widespread misapprehension is that if a couple have lived together for a certain amount of time, they are considered to be commonlaw man and wife and so have entitlements and claims on each other’s possessions. This is simply not the case.

Only when a couple get legally married – or a same sex couple enters into a civil partnership – does the union automatically have legal implications.

The exception to this is if a couple draw up a living together agreement, detailing what each of them has and how they would want things to be arranged in the event of them splitting. These are increasingly important and couples are finding them essential to deal up-front with issues that may arise later like, for instance, who owns what, what happens to the finances and parental responsibility surrounding any children.

No one “gets custody”

Custody and access no longer exist in legal terms. The court can no longer award custody of children to either parent. So for someone to suggest that an individual (probably the father) will not get custody if a couple divorce is a redundant statement.

Instead the court has the power to make certain orders which may affect where the children live, how frequently an absent parent sees them, and so on.

Court orders will only need to be used if an estranged couple cannot agree between themselves. A residence order says where a child should live. In rare circumstances the court can make an order in favour of more than one person, stipulating how much time the child should spend with each.

Maintenance myth

Since the introduction of the Child Support Agency (CSA) in the early 1990s, the courts have had no general power to deal with maintenance for children. They can now only make maintenance orders for children in a very limited number of special cases, such as when both parents apply to the court for an ‘order by consent’, where there are school fees to pay and a child is in full-time education, or when a child is disabled and there are care costs, for example.

So if anyone claims they are going to court to get maintenance or “to take them to the cleaners”, you might want to suggest that such a situation is unlikely and they should seek the input of an experienced family law specialist.

The CSA deals with payments to help support the children. It will make an assessment based on the information given and will chase in the event of a default.

Where a lawyer can help in this situation is to expertly assess an individual’s personal circumstance and advise a client whether to make an application to the courts, or leave things to the CSA. This advice should be sought as early as possible in the divorce process, so that a person can make the right decision for their children.

Fathers Rights

Another common myth is that a father always has rights in relation to their children. This is certainly true of married fathers and unmarried fathers of children born after 1 December 2003, provided they are named on the birth certificate. But others, including step-parents, don’t automatically have such rights.

Any of your clients who are unmarried fathers or step-parents may need to apply for parental responsibility. This will give them the power to make certain legal decisions without the express consent of the other partner, for instance in a medical emergency

These are just some of the more common myths we hear, but there are many more gems that people trot out which bear little or no resemblance to current law.

Some might have been true once. Others have never been right. The reality is that some of the distinctions highlighted here may not be true this time next year. Only by taking the advice of a family law professional can a client be sure they are getting the right advice.

To speak to a Woolley & Co family law expert about any of the issues raised in this article, click here.

Eyebrows Raised at Virtual Model

When Andrew Woolley left a perfectly good law practice in 1996 to strike out on his own with a vision of a new type of solicitor’s firm, a few eyebrows were raised.

But his determination to look at a different way of operating in a very traditional sector, embracing emerging technology to work smarter and faster, with a service built around the client, has really paid off.

He remains managing partner of Woolley & Co and is still on hand to advise but is now largely a non-fee-earning partner, instead devoting his time to running and growing the business and being very much in demand as an advisor and speaker on how to run a virtual business and the future for professional firms.

Talking point

With organisations like Tesco and Sainsbury’s offering more and more professional services, how will this hit the professionals? Insurers, IFAs, legal services providers, solicitors and accountants could all end up finding business hit as the huge supermarket chains vie to become a one-stop-shop for everything from a chicken fillet to a funeral.

But what these organisations will never be able to offer – and what makes all us professionals different to the commodity players – is the expertise and experience we have in our particular specialism.

“A person may now be able to buy a do-it-yourself divorce from Tesco, or invest money through Sainsbury’s, but does that mean they will get the service they really want or need? It is only by encouraging clients to go to the professionals that they will get the level of service necessary for a positive outcome in any one of this type of professional service area,” said Andrew Woolley, managing partner of Woolley & Co, family law specialists.

Fifty-fifty split

A Northumberland student has designed a cabinet complete with a saw, which can be cut in two by divorcing couples.

The furniture is the brainchild of Alexandra Tinning who was inspired by celebrity break-ups such as that of Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney.

The Northumbria University student wanted to give couples one less thing to argue about during a split.

Ms Tinning, of Seaton Sluice, said: "There are issues like today's throwaway society compared to the 1950s, but a massive difference is the easier divorce now and higher break-up rates.

"The divorce cabinet is the result of designing for today's culture."

View the full story here

Madonna to divorce?

Pop star Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie have been forced to deny rumours they are to split after it was reported that the singer had taken on Sir Paul McCartney's divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton to represent her.

Madonna, whose fortune is estimated to be worth £300 million, was said to have been seeking legal advice from divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton.

According to reports, the couple did not make a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot in 2000.

More on this story here

Starting Over Show

Family law specialists Woolley & Co will be among the exhibitors at the event dubbed the UK's first divorce fair which is to be staged to help parting couples make their break-ups as painless as possible.

2020 Group invites Andrew back

Woolley & Co managing partner Andrew Woolley has been asked to speak at the 2020 Lawyers’ Group annual conference for the second year running.

Andrew, very much in demand on the speaking circuit due to his experience in running a law firm and harnessing e-commerce, will be speaking on running a modern day law firm at the event in Coventry in October.

The 2020 Group is a leading UK membership organisation for professionals to share good practice.