Legal issues involving your family can be complex and highly sensitive to resolve, especially those surrounding divorce and relationship breakdown. Having the right legal advice and support can make handling these matters much easier, saving you time, money and a lot of stress while ensuring your interests and those of your loved ones are protected.
Bird & Co’s family law team has decades of experience helping individuals and families to deal with all kinds of legal issues and disputes. Our friendly, compassionate but highly practical approach means we can help you find the right solution for you and your family quickly and cost-effectively while keeping conflict to a minimum.
Wherever possible, we will aim to find a positive solution without the need for court action by focusing on methods such as mediation to help all parties involved agree a fair outcome that works for everyone. However, where court action is required, we can offer the skilled advocacy you need to ensure you have the best possible representation.
We understand that every family and every situation is unique, so our family law solicitors will take the time to listen to you and get a clear picture of your circumstances and what you need to happen. We will then clearly explain your options and if the circumstances of your case fit, we will provide a fixed fee quote so you can have complete confidence when deciding how to move forward.
Speak to one of our family law solicitors today by calling 01476 404 113 or use the contact form on the right and we will get back to you promptly.
Our family law services
Our family lawyers, based in Grantham, Lincoln and Newark, work with clients across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the rest of the UK on a wide range of family law issues.
Divorce & relationship breakdown
The end of a relationship can happen under a variety of circumstances, from being completely amicable to highly acrimonious, so choosing the right approach for your circumstances is essential to help you achieve a positive outcome.
Our highly experienced divorce solicitors can guide you through the entire divorce process, from filing and responding to divorce petitions, choosing the best grounds for divorce, making arrangements for children and working out a financial settlement.
Divorce settlements
Working out a divorce settlement can be complicated, especially where there are assets such as a family home, investments and pensions to be considered. In most cases, we are able to help our clients agree a divorce settlement voluntarily through mediation, saving time, money and stress. However, where required we have the expertise to support you in court action to ensure you achieve a fair settlement.
Arrangements for children
If you and your former partner have children together, deciding what will happen to them is often one of the most challenging aspects of a divorce or separation. This includes deciding where they will live, what contact the non-resident parent will have with them and how they will be supported financially.
We can help you negotiate the details of a settlement voluntarily wherever possible or support you in taking legal action if this is required to achieve a resolution. Where you agree a plan for your children voluntarily, we can help you make this legally binding with a ‘consent order’ to provide certainty for you and your children.
Cohabitation agreements
Many couples now choose to live together without getting married or entering a civil partnership and in these circumstances it is important to make sure your long-term financial interests are protected. A cohabitation agreement allows you to establish your rights, for example if you are living in a house owned by your partner and contributing to the mortgage, what rights does this give you if you later split up?
Our family law solicitors can help you and your partner create a cohabitation agreement that gives you both security, minimising the potential for future conflict and allowing for the fast resolution of any disputes in the event that your relationship ends.
Domestic violence
If you or your loved ones have experienced domestic abuse, whether verbal or physical, we can provide fast, effective legal support to protect you and your family. This can take various forms, including injunctions, non-molestation orders and occupation orders, requiring your abuser to stay away from you, not contact you and leave your family home where required.
Non-confrontational family dispute resolution
In the majority of cases, we find it is best to resolve family law issues amicably between both parties without resorting to court action. This generally makes it faster, cheaper and less acrimonious to find a solution, allowing everyone involved to move on quickly.
Family mediation is the most commonly used way to resolve issues surrounding divorce and family separation. This involves both parties meeting with a trained, neutral mediator to discuss the various issues involved, such as financial settlements and arrangements for children, and agree how they should be resolved.
We have established relationships with a number of highly effective family mediators who we can rely on to do the best job for our clients. We will always choose a mediator who best fits your need as we are not tied to any particular mediation service.
You will generally need to at least consider mediation with a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) before you will be allowed to take your divorce through the courts.
Fixed fee family law solicitors
We offer a range of family law services on a fixed fee basis, meaning you know in advance exactly how much it will cost to handle your legal matter. This provides reassurance that your costs will stay manageable while giving you the full benefit of our legal expertise.
Please contact us for a quote.
Legal Aid for family law
Regrettably legal aid is now only available for family law cases in very limited circumstances, such as in some cases related to domestic abuse. If you believe you may be eligible for legal aid funding, please get in touch and we will be happy to discuss your options with you.
Our expertise in family law
Our team of family lawyers here at Bird & Co has a wealth of experience and expertise in all areas of family law. We will advise the best course of action to take, given your particular requirements, and can put you in contact with other key organisations, e.g. shelters and counselling organisations, should additional support be needed.
Our team will discuss all of the options carefully so your decisions are informed and supported. In family break-ups, there may be ways to prevent a divorce such as an informal or trial separation. However, should divorce become inevitable then we can help divorcing couples to deal with joint assets, investments and property. For some younger couples, who choose to avoid some of the stress relating to divorce, we can assist with the composition of suitable pre-nuptial or cohabitation agreements.
In divorce and separation cases where children are involved, our experts are able to play a critical role regarding their welfare, where the issues of parental contact, maintenance payments, residence and care orders are involved.
Sometimes, domestic violence is involved. We can discuss and arrange for injunctions, non-molestation and occupation orders, and matrimonial home rights that can protect both you and your interests.
It pays to have a legal team who can combine supportiveness and empathy with expertise and experience. We are very pleased to offer both private family law and publicly funded (legal aid) services from all of our offices, as well as from Grantham and Stamford Citizens Advice Bureau on alternate Wednesdays.
Our family law team includes Estelle Conron, accredited specialist with the Law Society’s Children Panel.
Bird & Co has achieved the Law Society’s Lexcel accreditation for our excellent legal and professional standards and we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Contact our family law solicitors today
Speak to one of our family law solicitors in Lincoln, Grantham or Newark today by calling 01476 404 113 or use the contact form at the top of the page to ask a question.
For full details of our team please look at the "Our People" section of the website.