Divorce and relationship breakdown advice in Gillingham and throughout Dorset
Getting the right legal advice from specialist family law and divorce solicitors is essential if you are considering getting divorced. You need to know where you stand, and what your rights are with regard to family finances and your children.
Bonallack & Bishop have a highly specialist family law team – divorce and family law is all they do. We can provide you with the advice you need at a time when you really need it.
Our experts can help you with a full range of legal issues, ranging from divorce and financial issues, to child maintenance and cohabitation whether you live in Gillingham or anywhere else in Dorset.
As a result of the introduction of “no-fault divorce” 6 April 2022, our family law solicitors are now able to offer a fixed-price divorce.
Click here to find out more about our £600 Fixed Fee Divorce Service – but please note this £600 (plus VAT) service applies only to the divorce, and does not include advice on children or financial issues and excludes the court fee.
FREE phone advice and a FREE 1st 1/2 hour appointment for all Family Law Issues
Don’t suffer in silence – find out where you stand with FREE telephone advice and a FREE face-to-face or Zoom video 30 minute interview with one of our team.
Family mediation – and how it can help you
Even if you still get on well with your partner and enjoy a reasonably good relationship, discussing family finances and children can be difficult. Sometimes however good the intentions of both partners, communication just breaks down.
If this is what you’re going through, or fear could happen, mediation could be the answer. It doesn’t work for everyone – but for a couple who are prepared to work on solutions rather than fight a battle, it can work really well.
Mediators are not there to provide you with your own legal advice [you keep your own solicitor for that] – they are independent and don’t take sides. Their role is to help the two of you reach practical solutions to your problems – not to argue who is “right” or “wrong”.
Click here to find more about family mediation
My divorce – what is the process?
The divorce process was amended and simplified on April 6, 2022 for the 1st time in 50 years. It now starts when the first document, called the Application (previously known as the Divorce Petition), is sent to the court by the spouse who starts the divorce (the Applicant). The court then sends a copy to the other spouse (the Respondent), who should complete an acknowledgement form and return it to the court. There is then a new 20 week waiting period, after which you can then apply for what was known as Decree Nisi but is now known more simply, as a Conditional Order.
After the Conditional Order has been made, you then need to wait for a further 6 weeks for applying for the Final Order (itself previously known as Decree Absolute). The Final Order is the after stage in the dissolution of a marriage at which stage the divorce is finalised and the marriage over.
From filing the Application to the issue of the Final Order takes,on average between 4 and 6 months.
However, the vast majority of experienced family lawyers, hold off applying for decree absolute until a final agreement over family finances has been agreed.
A similar process applies for civil partnership dissolution [or civil partnership divorce as it is more commonly known].
Click here to read more about the Process of Getting Divorced
Why choose us to represent you?
Our team of family lawyers only handle family law and divorce cases, ranging from financial issues and domestic violence to child abduction and grandparents rights. We are members of Resolution, the U.K.’s leading organisation of family law professionals dedicated to resolving family law disputes amicably and quickly.
Trust us with your divorce.
The approach of our divorce solicitors
We think that your solicitors approach to divorce is critical. Here at Bonallack & Bishop, we strongly encourage divorcing couples come to a financial agreement without having to go to court. An application to court is guaranteed to significantly increase your legal fees and will almost certainly add considerable delay. It’s also very stressful.
However, sadly there are cases when a formal application to court is necessary. in that event, you can rest assured that our experienced team will be there to provide you with clear advice and sound representation every step of the way. We understand that going through a divorce can be difficult and exhausting; let us help make it easier for you.
Dealing with finances? Often the hardest part
Despite the emotional toll of divorce, particularly if there are children involved, it is often financial issues which are the hardest to resolve. Rest assured the team here at Bonallack and Bishop only deal with divorce and family breakdown – and are expert at dealing with all aspects of money issues – and experienced in getting the right financial settlement for you with the minimum delay and stress.
And you can rest assured that our team really understand how the courts approach divorce, and finances in particular. That’s because the head of our family team, Dinshaw Printer, is also a serving District Judge who deals with divorce in court in that role on a regular basis.
Click here to read more about Divorce and Finances Following Marriage Breakup
Looking For Divorce Solicitors In Gillingham? Call Us Today
Getting divorced and separating is often a time of conflict and heartache which can put families under tremendous pressure.
Contact one of our specialist Divorce Solicitors at the earliest opportunity to make sure that you get the most expert family law advice -and to really put your mind at rest, your first 30 minutes appointment with a divorce solicitor from our experienced team is absolutely FREE.
For more information about how our family law team can help you;
- Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or our local offices in Salisbury 01722 422300 or Fordingbridge 01425 652110
OR
- Complete the email enquiry form below.
