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Helping to put your children first
The law encourages separating couples to make arrangements for children without the need for court involvement. Agreements reached in negotiation with your partner, about with whom and where your children will live, are statistically more likely to work in the long term and be respected by your wider families.
At Johnson Astills, our specialist family law solicitors can help you to achieve an amicable agreement on arrangements for children wherever possible, including through the highly effective method of collaborative law. This is increasingly how these matters are dealt with for the majority of divorces and separations with children as this helps to minimise conflict as well as saving you time, legal fees and uncertainty.
However, we appreciate that seeking a mutual agreement is not always suitable, or appropriate, so we will always discuss your options with you. If your former partner is unable to agree on arrangements which maintain some degree of stability or certainty for your children, we can advise you on the best way of asking the courts to decide.
We want you to have complete confidence that you are making the right choice for your children and your family, so offer an initial fixed fee consultation. This gives you the opportunity to tell us about your situation, what it is you wish to achieve and how we can achieve this together.
With local offices in Leicester and Loughborough, our family lawyers support individuals and families throughout Leicestershire and the East Midlands.
To speak to a member of our team, please contact your local Johnson Astills office or use our contact form to request a call back.
In most cases, it is possible for two parents who have separated to agree how they will divide responsibility for their children. It is common for children to spend time living with both parents and have full contact with both, but other arrangements may be more suitable depending on your circumstances.
Our family lawyers can advise you on your rights as a parent and the best approach to take. We can support you during informal negotiations with your former partner, as well as offering the popular and effective method of collaborative law to resolve these matters.
Collaborative law involves you, your former partner and your respective lawyers sitting down for a series of four-way ‘round the table’ meetings to discuss arrangements for your children. Both lawyers must have specialist training in collaborative law to offer this process.
The benefits of collaborative law include keeping the final decision in your hands, keeping things amicable and increasing the likelihood of a positive relationship between you and your former partner going forward, which can make co-parenting more effective.
Collaborative law is also generally much quicker and less costly than court proceedings, and can cause less stress. It also allows you to keep matters private. Collaborative law is also client focussed and client driven, so matters can be discussed that a court might not be interested in, but which matter to you (e.g. what happens to a family pet). You set the agenda and you decide what is important.
Collaborative law can also be used for making a financial settlement during divorce or separation.
Find out more about our collaborative law services.
Where an amicable agreement cannot be reached or this approach is not considered appropriate or suitable due to your circumstances, we can support you in making an application to a family court for a Child Arrangements Order.
This will mean that the court will decide where your children should live, what time they should spend with each parent and any other key issues that need to be resolved. You and your former partner will both need to present your cases to the court, so it is essential to have expert help preparing and presenting your arguments. If we are formally instructed, we will present these arguments on your behalf.
We can assist with the process of making an application, as well as ensuring you have the best possible representation for any hearing required.
We offer a number of options for funding our legal services, including fixed fee agreements where appropriate. This can help to give you certainty over the costs involved in dealing with arrangements for your children.
We will always give you a realistic estimate of the likely costs involved at the outset of your relationship with our firm, so you will have a clear idea of how much you are likely to end up spending to get the outcome you need.
Find out more about our fees.
At Johnson Astills, our expert team of family lawyers have many years of experience helping families and individuals to get the right outcome for their children during what can be very challenging times.
Our Family Law expertise has been independently recognised with accreditation by the Law Society in Family Law Advanced and Children Law.
Several of our family law team are members of Resolution, including Emma Mitchell. Resolution is an organisation of specialist family lawyers committed to reducing conflict in family law through methods such as collaborative law.
Emma Mitchell is a trained Collaborative Lawyer, allowing us to offer this highly effective and popular method of dispute resolution.
We are Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for the high standards of our legal practices and are independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
For help making arrangements for children following divorce or separation in Leicester, Loughborough and the surrounding area, please get in touch with a member of our family law team.
You can contact your local Johnson Astills office or feel free to use our contact form to request a call back.
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