There are many ways of resolving the issues that arise concerning your financial and family arrangements following divorce and separation. Here are some examples:
You can sit down with your partner and work things out for yourselves.
- You can enlist the help of a trusted friend or family member to help you resolve issues.
- You and your partner can get help from a mediator who is a neutral professional skilled in helping people reach a negotiated agreement. You can get the names of mediators in your area through these websites – www.resolution.org.uk; www.thefma.co.uk ; or www.nfm.org.uk
- You and your partner can instruct solicitors to help you to reach a negotiated agreement with your partner. There are many ways to reach a negotiated agreement using solicitors including the collaborative option. For more information about this option see www.resolution.org.uk/alternatives_to_court.
- You and your partner can instruct solicitors to ask a court to decide how to share your capital and income.
To help you decide which options is the best for you, you should ask yourself a number of questions such as:
What is most important for you and your family?
- What really matters to you?
- What do you want to avoid?
- What is the best outcome you could hope for you and the whole family?
- What memories do you want to have of this process when you look back at it in 18 months time and in 10 years time?
- How do you want your children (if any) to remember this time of their parents’ separation?
- What do you think needs to happen in this process to help your children flourish?
Then you might consider discussing your answers with someone you trust to help you decide what the next step should be. If you don’t know who to turn to then think about whether your GP could help, or maybe a Relate counsellor (www.relate.org.uk/find-your-nearest-service/) or a family law specialist solicitor.
For more information contact info@flip.co.uk
Tags: divorce, family law, separation