Services for you

Our experienced Family team advise on a range of family issues and pride themselves on offering our clients a sympathetic, practical and professional approach. The team are all members of Resolution and include a trained collaborative lawyer, a trained mediator and a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute as well as membership of the Law Society's Family Law Panel. Our practice provides a wide range of legal services meaning we can draw on experts from our colleagues in other specialist areas as well as expertise from barristers, accountants, valuers and pension specialists to provide additional expert advice where necessary.

Our aim is to provide a high quality of service to our clients and in our efforts to achieve this we offer a free 30 minute diagnostic interview to enable both you and us to plan an effective solution to your legal issue.

 

Dealing with finances on a divorce or separation is often the most complicated and difficult aspect of the breakdown of a relationship. Where possible, we aim to resolve matters on an amicable basis to keep costs to a minimum and avoid making a difficult situation worse. 
 

 We will advise you on negotiating a fair settlement and guide you around the many problems that can arise in this area. Where it is not possible to resolve matters, we will assist you in using the Court procedure. Our Family Team have wide experience in dealing with all aspects of finances on a divorce including situations where one or both parties have substantial business interests, where there are pensions, trusts or inheritance issues. We can also deal with the implementation of the terms of any financial settlement.
 

We can advise you of the next steps, whether you want to divorce or dissolve your civil partnership, or enter into a separation agreement and deal with a divorce at a later stage. Difficulties can arise when making financial arrangements for children and we will guide you through the processes and help in resolving any issues.

There is no such thing as common law man and wife and when cohabitees split, there can be difficulties over the joint assets. To help prevent these problems, if you intend to cohabit, we can prepare a Cohabitation Agreement which will give you peace of mind and assist greatly in resolving any issues if your relationship does breakdown. If you do not have an agreement in place or if a dispute arises, we have extensive experience in dealing with situations such as these and can help you negotiate an amicable settlement or, if necessary, deal with the relevant applications to the Court.
 

Unfortunately relationships do not always work out how we would like and therefore a pre-nuptial agreement could save a lot of unnecessary upset in the event of a separation. Although not binding in English Law, there are a growing body of cases which have upheld such agreements. We can advise you as to the benefits and limitations of such agreements.
 

At Rix & Kay, we make sure that the welfare of children is paramount in any family proceedings and understand this can be a distressing period for children involved. We take the time to understand your specific requirements and will find the best method of dispute resolution for you, whether mediation, negotiation or court proceedings. We can assist you in dealing with children matters without the input of the Court, but if this is not appropriate, we can deal with applications to Court regarding residence or contact or for financial provision such as maintenance or a lump sum award, whether or not you and your partner are married.

We advise on obtaining emergency relief from the Courts in cases to prevent the intentional disposal of assets or their transfer out of the jurisdiction. We also can help you obtain an order to prevent domestic violence or harassment or, when necessary, to exclude someone from your property. We are experienced in dealing with these matters swiftly and getting cases to court quickly. 
 

The Collaborative process aims to resolve issues without the need for Court involvement. Discussions and negotiations take place in open meetings between the parties. This enables the parties to control the process and reach an agreement with the input of legal advice in a non-confrontational way to the benefit of all involved.
 

Rix & Kay offer a mediation service. With mediation, couples can work together with an impartial mediator to help them reach agreement in a neutral environment. Mediators are trained to help you reach agreement on all aspects of separation such as arrangements for the children or how finances will be organised. Mediation can help keep communication open between the parties and reduce hostility and is often less expensive than using the Court process.
 

If a person, upon whom you are financially dependant dies and no provision, or insufficient provision, is made under his or her Will to cover that dependency it may be possible to make an application under the Inheritance Act for provision from the deceased person’s estate. We can advise you on the appropriate circumstances for a claim, can negotiate an amicable settlement or, if necessary, issue proceedings for an Inheritance Act claim.
 

For whatever reason you wish to change your name, we can prepare a simple Change of Name Deed for you and advise you as to the implications of doing so. If necessary we can deal with registration of the Change of Name Deed and in appropriate cases can deal with Change of Name Deeds for children.