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A family law team that

A divorce or the breakdown of any relationship can be a stressful and emotional time in your life as well as for your family and loved ones. There are a number of critical decisions to make regarding the future of yourself as well as your children, your finances and maybe even your business.

That’s why our family law team looks to make the process as simple and streamlined as possible. We outline exactly what we do, exactly how much for, help you tie up other potential loose ends such as with property or estate planning, and offer you support and guidance as you start your new chapter in life.

Divorce

Divorce is not to be taken lightly, but can be a step in the right direction depending on your current circumstances. At DBS Law, the job of our family law team is to make your transition as seamless and painless as possible, so that you can move forward with confidence.

We understand that divorce is a confusing time for you, and therefore there is a real need to keep things clear and to keep you in control of what’s happening.

With that in mind we offer clients:

  • a free half-hour consultation either at our offices in Birmingham or Nottingham, or over the phone, to discuss any and all queries you may have before starting;
  • fixed-fee services, with clear guidance on what divorce law services you are paying for;
  • a number of guides with advice on handling divorce, including mediation, the legal process, and non-legal topics such as handling the topic around your children, and how to look ahead to the future.

What happens now?

If you’re looking at this web page, likelihood is that you are going through a rough patch, and have hundreds of questions: What happens next? How will this impact my day-to-day life? How quickly does divorce happen? Will I need to move home? Who will the children live with? How often will I be able to see my children?

The truth is that this will take time to ascertain, as each situation is different, and is dependent on you and your spouse coming to an agreement. Naturally, if one is not forthcoming, a judge can decide the answers to these questions, but the hope and aim is that as many of these questions as possible are answered between yourselves.

However, by arranging a free consultation with a divorce solicitors in Birmingham or Nottingham, we can advise you on the probable outcomes, and how best to proceed to get want you want from the divorce process.

Start your divorce online

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Free family law consultation

The divorce process

1. Divorce petition

Divorce petition

The “petitioner” (the person who is asking for the divorce) sends the divorce petition to the Court, and pays the Court fee. The petition will include the reason for divorcing, as well as contact information of each side.

2. Acknowledgement of Service

Acknowledgement of Service

Upon receiving the petition, the respondent completes the questions on the Acknowledgement of Service form attached and sends it back to the Court. This is to show that the respondent has received the petition, and whether or not they are to contest the divorce.

3. Decree Nisi

Decree Nisi

The Decree Nisi is a document outlining that the Court sees no reason not to grant a divorce. Once it is granted, the petitioner has to wait six weeks and one day before applying for the Decree Absolute.

4. Decree Absolute

Decree Absolute

A Decree Absolute confirms the divorce. The petitioner has three months to apply for it after the six week and one day window has passed on the Decree Nisi. After this time, either the petitioner or respondent can apply for the Decree Absolute, although the petitioner can oppose an application from the respondent.

Finance disputes

Finance disputes

Although part and parcel of a divorce, finance disputes, such as child maintenance payments, property provisions, and how to split finances and assets, are not part of the actual divorce process and must be settled externally to the divorce proceedings.
Find out more

Child disputes

Child disputes

Child disputes, while seen as part of the process of divorce, is also not a formal part of divorce proceedings, and need to be handled separately to getting divorced.
Find out more

Our divorce services

Divorce respondent

£ 420 fixed fee, inc. VAT
  • Free half-hour initial consultation
  • Completion of the Acknowledgement of Service form and filing it to court
  • Keeping you informed of divorce progression, and sending you important documents when issued from the court
  • Maximum of 2 hours' work (20 units)*
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Managed divorce

£ 720 fixed fee, inc. VAT
  • Free half-hour initial consultation
  • Drafting of the divorce petition, and issuing it to the most convenient court
  • Sending a letter to your spouse with a draft of the petition, and advising you of their response
  • Checking that your spouse has filed the Acknowledgement of Service with the court
  • Drafting the compulsory statement and application to obtain the decree nisi, and sending these to court
  • Drafting the application for the decree absolute and sending this to court
  • Keeping you informed of divorce progression, and sending you important documents when issued from the court
  • Maximum of 4 hours' work (40 units)*
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Finance / child disputes

POA fixed fees available
  • Free half-hour initial consultation
  • Finance disputes start from £370 to discuss an agreement you've made; £2,035 to negotiate out-of-court; and £3,265 to dispute in court
  • Child disputes start from £600 to negotiate out-of-court; and from £1,125 to take the matter to court
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Family law matters are worked on and supervised by a qualified solicitor (LPC) with 6 years experience practising family law, having worked on over 250 family law cases in that time, including on matters of contested and complex family law disputes, such as children disputes and matrimonial finances. Work is also undertaken with the support of a legal assistant (currently undertaking LPC) with over 2 years experience. Time spent on your matter is calculated in units. Meetings and telephone calls are timed and recorded in six-minute units. Emails and letters sent and received are recorded as one unit each. Work done in excess of the time will be charged at the solicitor’s hourly rate, or an agreed fixed fee. We will inform you if that is to be the case, however we do not expect to exceed the time periods expressed.

Looking for more than just legal advice?

We know just how difficult divorce can be. You’ve probably got hundreds of questions and most of them are probably not related to the legal side of it whatsoever. We’ve thought that might be the case, and have created a number of guides for you, so you can get the answers you need.

DIVORCE GUIDES

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© 2018 DBS Law, DBS Plus, Claim Today Solicitors, and CTS Claim Today Solicitors are trading styles of PKA Legal Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with the company registration number: 11426547. A list of directors is available for inspection at the registered office: 69 Steward Street, Birmingham, B18 7AF. PKA Legal Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with the SRA ID: 652185.