Every relationship has its troubles, but sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. If you’ve decided to end your marriage and get a divorce, it is essential to have a solicitor on your side that you trust.
At Hatten Wyatt, our friendly family law solicitors can help you get a divorce. We offer an inclusive service that covers every aspect of separation, including:
- Filing the divorce petition or responding to your ex-partner’s divorce petition
- Negotiating and agreeing on financial arrangements, such as how you split the family home
- Making a co-parenting plan and agreeing on arrangements for children (if you have any)
- Resolving divorce disputes, including advising on alternative dispute resolution (such as going to mediation) and applying to family court for a wide range of financial and children-related court orders
Our Kent-based divorce solicitors take a constructive and non-combative approach to family law. In most cases, our clients do not need to attend court and are able to work out arrangements voluntarily. This means divorce with us is as fast and as cost-effective as possible.
Book an appointment with our divorce lawyers in Kent and the South East
To arrange an initial fixed cost appointment with our divorce law solicitors, please call us on 01474 351199 or use our simple contact form, and we will get back to your quickly.
Alternatively, you can contact your local Hatten Wyatt office in Maidstone, Gravesend, Tonbridge, Chatham or Tenterden.
We can also offer meetings by video conferencing software such as Skype for clients who have to travel extensively or who now live abroad. In exceptional circumstances, home visits can also be arranged.
How our divorce solicitors in Kent can help
There are three main parts to divorce that you need to deal with at the same time. These are:
- Dealing with the divorce petition – the application asking the court to give you a divorce
- Sorting out financial arrangements
- Sorting out arrangements for children (if you have any)
Our divorce solicitors help people across Kent deal with all these stages, talking you through all your options so you can make the best decisions for yourself.
Here’s more about how we can help you:
Divorce petitions
To get a divorce, you or your ex-partner needs to file a divorce petition. There is one official ground for divorce – the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship – which the applicant must prove by relying on one or more ‘facts’. These facts are:
- Unreasonable behaviour
- Adultery
- Separation for at least two years with the consent of both partners
- Separation for at least five years with no consent from your partner needed
- Desertion for at least two years
Our divorce solicitors can help you apply for divorce or respond to a divorce petition filed by your partner. We will make sure that every detail is completed accurately so your divorce can be approved in the shortest possible timeframe.
No-fault divorce
From April 2022, divorce law is changing, and you will no longer have to rely on the five facts to get a divorce. However, if you want a divorce now, then there is probably no reason to wait for a no-fault divorce to come in. This is because if you and your partner both agree to the divorce, the court will likely grant it regardless of the reasons provided.
You may want to think about waiting for a no-fault divorce if you are worried about your partner objecting to the application and trying to drag you to court. If you are unsure, please get in touch, and our divorce solicitors will be happy to advise you.
Financial arrangements
Our divorce lawyers can assist with all financial matters, including:
- Negotiating the division of assets, such as the family home, savings, investments, pensions, personal belongings and businesses
- Agreeing spousal maintenance payments
- Agreeing on financial provision for children, such as child support
- Resolving property disputes
- Drafting a voluntary divorce financial settlement
- Going to court for a wide range of financial court orders
- Associated advice, including conveyancing (buying and selling your home after divorce) and making a Will (divorce can affect the validity of your Will).
Arrangements for children
Making arrangements for children is often the most stressful part of a divorce. Although parents tend to set out with the best intentions, agreeing on things like where the children will live can be challenging if you no longer get on.
However, children can be badly affected by their parents’ separation if they are drawn into disputes or are made to feel like they are not being listened to.
Our divorce solicitors help separating parents sort out arrangements for children as sensitively and cooperatively as possible. We will work closely with you to put your children’s welfare first and to protect your parental rights. We can help you:
- Negotiate and agree on arrangements for residence (where your children will live most of the time) and contact (how much time they spend with each parent and other family members such as grandparents) with your ex-partner.
- Make important decisions about your children’s upbringing with your ex-partner, such as whether they should have a religious upbringing or what school they should go to.
- Agree on whether you should change your children’s surnames.
- Agree on whether you or your partner can take the children out of the country, either on a long holiday or to live (or take steps to stop your ex-partner from taking the children abroad).
- Use alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, to agree on arrangements for children.
- Seek a range of family court orders, such as Child Arrangements Orders, Prohibited Steps Orders and Specific Issue Orders.
Alternative dispute resolution
Court proceedings can be long, expensive and stressful for everyone involved. Fortunately, with legal advice, most divorce issues can be sorted out without going to court.
Our divorce lawyers specialise in helping people work through their problems, using methods of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation wherever appropriate.
Divorce court orders
Not all divorce problems can be resolved out-of-court. As well as being strong negotiators, our divorce solicitors are skilled at helping people go to court to get the orders they need to secure a fair divorce.
Our expertise includes applying for financial orders and children-related orders. We can also help you bring or defend legal claims in relation to the divorce petition.
Book an appointment with our divorce solicitors in Kent and the South East
To arrange an initial fixed cost appointment with our divorce law solicitors, please call us on 01474 351199 or use our simple contact form, and we will get back to your quickly.
Alternatively, you can contact your local Hatten Wyatt office in Maidstone, Gravesend, Tonbridge, Chatham or Tenterden.
We can also offer meetings by video conferencing software such as Skype for clients who have to travel extensively or who now live abroad. In exceptional circumstances, home visits can also be arranged.