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The Children Act 1989 sets out the law in relation to how the Court deals with all applications to the Court involving children, and when reaching any decision, the main concern is the welfare of the child in question; and not the needs of either parent.

The Court can get involved in the following situations:

1. Residence

If there is a dispute over where the children will live, the Courts will intervene and make a decision for the parents, based on what is in the best interests of the child, favouring a solution offering permanence and stability, often assuming the following:

• The continuation of existing arrangements will be preferred if at all possible
• The stay-at-home parent may be preferred over the working parent
• The parent more able to facilitate contact to the other parent may be at an advantage
• The children’s wishes and feelings will be taken into account, dependent upon their age and understanding.
• Siblings should not be separated where possible.

It should be stressed that this is only an order which determines where the child should live. It gives the resident parent no greater rights over the child than the non-resident parent – shared residence, affording the same rights to both parents may be appropriate if it is deemed to be in the child’s best interests.

2. Contact

If children live with one parent, there needs to be suitable arrangements for them to spend time with the other parent. It is not unusual for there to be a Residence Order to one parent, and a contact order to the other ensuring that both parents get to spend quality time with their children, to include holidays.

An important principle is that it is the right of the child to see its non-resident parent (and sometimes grandparents). Contact should not be seen as a reward or punishment for one or other parent. The Court believes that it is the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents, and its role is to help finalise these arrangements.

3. Specific Issue Orders and Prohibited Steps Orders

These two types of order go to the heart of how a parent exercises Parental Responsibility. The Court can order that:

• one parent does something positive (Specific Issue) – for example the child will go to this school rather than that school; or
• one parent shall not do something (Prohibited Step) – for example, shall not change the child’s name, or shall not take the child out of the country without the other parent’s consent.

4. Parental Responsibility Order

Parental Responsibility is the right to have an active involvement in the upbringing of the child. The mother of the child will always have parental responsibility, but the father will only have such if he was married to the mother of the child, if the child was born before 1st December 2003 or if he is named on the birth certificate, if the child was born after 1st December 2003.

If the father does not have PR, and the mother does not agree to sign a Parental Responsibility Agreement, the father can apply for a Parental Responsibility Order through the courts. Such order will usually be granted by the court provided the father can show that he has been committed to the child.

In an emergency

If you have been attacked:

• Phone 999
• Seek medical assistance
• Make yourself and your children safe
• Seek assistance - Womens' Aid (0808 2000 247)

If you or your children have suffered domestic abuse, violence or harassment at the hands of your current or ex-partner, Thompson & Jackson solicitors can help you. Our solicitors work closely with officers from Devon & Cornwall Constabulary Domestic Violence Unit.

Domestic violence is any physical, sexual, or psychological violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and that forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behavior.

There are a number of ways you can obtain protection from your abuser and ensuring your health, safety and wellbeing through the Courts. Our Solicitors can advise you about the remedies available to you, but as a guide:

Where there is violence or harassment a person can apply for an injunction against their abuser, if that person is related to them by one of the following ways:

• someone they are or have been married to
• a cohabitant or former cohabitant
• those living in or who have lived in the same household (other than as the other person's employee, tenant, lodger or boarder)
• the parent of their child
• someone they are or have been engaged to.

Injunctions come in two forms and can be obtained either individually or together if the circumstances necessitate:

• Non-molestation order – this type of injunction is aimed at preventing your partner or ex-partner from harassing, pestering or intimidating you or your children, and includes assault. A non-molestation order can also stop your partner from getting someone else to harass you.
• Occupation order – this regulates who can live in the family home and can also restrict your abuser from coming within a certain distance of the home. An occupation order can:
• Allow you to remain in the home if your partner is trying to get you out.
• Allow you back into the home if your partner has already thrown you out.
• Remove your partner from the home.
• State that you and your partner must live in separate parts of the home.
• Restrict your partner from entering the surrounding area.

Our Solicitors will meet with you and take a detailed statement about the abuse you have been suffering. This statement will then be filed at Court along with the application for the order. If your case is urgent you may be required to attend Court that day to get the protection you require without the other party receiving notice. If the orders are made in this way, they will usually last for only a short duration to enable both parties to attend and make representations. The matter can be resolved by a further court order or by the respondent (the person being complained of) making a promise to the court not to continue with his behaviour.

How long do injunction orders last?

A non molestation order may be made for a specified period or until a further order.

Occupation Orders can be made for different lengths of times depending on whether the parties were married/are relatives of each other,/were cohabiting etc. We will be able to advise you with regard to this at your initial meeting with us, where relevant.

How are breaches of an order dealt with?

Breach of a non-molestation order is a criminal offence, and Police are duty bound to arrest anyone who breaches it, and bring them before a Court. Sometimes the court can also attach this power (known as power of arrest) to an occupation order as well. If the police don’t act or your ex partner breaks an occupation order without a power of arrest then you can make an application to the court and ask for them to be punished. The judge can punish someone by imposing a fine or sending them to prison.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Plymouth Area
Housing – 01752 305950
Plymouth Police - 08452 777444 or 999 in an emergency
Plymouth Women’s Refuge – 01752 562286
Social Services - - 01752 668000
Victim Support – 0845 676 10 20

National
The Samaritans - 08457 909090
Women’s Aid - Free phone 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247

At Thompson and Jackson we recognise you are often more than capable of reaching a financial agreement with one another without the need for entering into stressful and contentious litigation. As a consequence we are pleased to offer couples that have reached their own agreement with one another a package that includes an initial appointment to discuss the financial agreement, the drafting and disclosure of the Agreement and all correspondence required between the couple and the Court (if appropriate) to conclude matters.

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Fixed Fee Rates including 20% VAT

For the preparation of Financial Consent Orders - £650 to £750

‍Pre-Nuptial Agreements, Co-Habitation Agreements - £650 to £750

‍Civil Partnership Agreements - £650 to £750

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Agreements vary in complexity and as such your case will have to be assessed on its individual merits and thereafter a quotation will be provided for your consideration before any work is undertaken on your behalf. The quote will be within the range above where you have reached agreement.

Please note that if an Agreement requires endorsement by the Court, your case will incur a Court Fee of £50. This is known as a disbursement.

At the offset, choosing the right Solicitor to meet your needs is a difficult task. However daunting it may seem, we would recommend that you do seek professional advice as soon as is practical.

At Thompson and Jackson we are able to represent you in Divorce Proceedings for a fixed fee. The plan includes all steps from your initial instructions through to the Decree Absolute in Divorce cases or the Decree in Judicial Separations.

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What will you pay?

If you are divorcing someone

Our total fee to represent you in a straightforward non-contested divorce is £1,313.00. For your convenience, we have set out below what is included in the total fee as follows:

Our Fees - £600.00 (+ VAT £120.00)
‍Court Fee on filing Petition - £593.00

Total - £1,313.00

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What work is covered?

Our fixed fee covers all the work required to conclude a non-contested Petition for Divorce. That includes a meeting with a Solicitor, the preparation of your Petition for Divorce and all other documents needed, correspondence with the Court and your ex-partner and completion of all documents to achieve the Decree Absolute that finalises your case.

Before your first meeting with one of our Solicitors, we will ask you to complete our Instruction Sheet that contains most of the information that is needed to prepare your case. The document will also provide sufficient information to us to give you proper advice at your first meeting.

If your case becomes more complex, for example your ex-partner defends the proceedings or files a Cross-Petition (seeking a Cross-Divorce against you), we may have to charge more for the extra work incurred. If that happens we will notify you as soon as practicable and before any additional costs are incurred. We will provide you with a revised estimate of our fees and detail the work that is likely to be needed.

In the event that your ex-partner fails to acknowledge receipt of your Divorce upon being served with the Court papers, it is possible that you will incur a further cost by way of appointing an Enquiry Agent/Private Detective to serve a further copy of the papers by hand upon them. If such an event occurs, we will provide you with clear advice concerning our increase of costs and the fees of the Enquiry Agent.

What work is not covered?

• Advice and proceedings concerning property, finances and children.
• The fee for obtaining a Marriage Certificate (currently £7.50)
• An Enquiry Agent/Private Detective’s fees in the event your partner does not acknowledge service of your Divorce Petition.
• Any work that is necessary if your Petition for Divorce becomes defended or needs to be altered (amended once it has been issued by the Court).

If someone is divorcing you:

If you are the Respondent in a divorce (i.e your partner is initiating divorce proceedings) and where the divorce is not contested by you (undefended). Thompson and Jackson offer a fixed fee of £400, to represent you throughout the divorce to a conclusion. This figure includes VAT and you will not have to pay Court Fees unless your partner is seeking a Cost Order against you.

Our Fee - £400.00 (+ VAT £80.00)

Please note, it is possible that you will incur further sums known as disbursements that will amount to no more than £20. and will only become necessary in specific circumstances, in particular the need to obtain a copy of your Marriage Certificate and to swear your Affidavit in support of your Petition in the event you are unable to access a local Court.

Thompson and Jackson family lawyers believe that the best divorces are ‘amicable divorces’ where both parties are able to negotiate the divorce and the financial settlement without the need to get involved in lengthy (and costly) arguments or drawn out court cases. Divorce, if not handled correctly, and especially if you do not have confidence in your solicitor, can be very stressful for everyone involved; the husband, the wife and especially the children.

Upon the granting of a decree of divorce, the court has the power to make various orders for a spouse which can include the following:

• Periodical payments (maintenance)
• Lump sum (a cash payment)
• Transfer of property (where legal ownership of an asset is taken away from one spouse and transferred to the other)
• Pension attachment and pension sharing

In most cases, all of the above elements are brought into effect. However, in some cases a “clean break order” can be made. Such clean break settlements are normally only appropriate where there is not an established culture of dependency (for example a short, childless marriage involving a young couple) or where the couple’s resources exceed their needs (as in White v White)

In order to assess what might be a fair settlement, it is necessary first to identify and value each spouse’s assets. It is only when the assets have been ascertained and their values agreed, that it is possible to reach a settlement.

If handled correctly, and with co-operation from all parties, Divorce need not be stressful. Mediation and round table meetings with your lawyer and ex partner can help iron out any differences, and can result in the financial settlement being made final, without the need for any party to attend court; thus reducing the stress, and expense of divorce proceedings. If a couple can't reach an amicable agreement then they may need to go to court. Thompson & Jackson will endeavour to get the best deal for their clients through the least stressful process, whilst acknowledging that each client has differing needs and may need a different approach.

Whatever situation a couple is in, they need to ensure they get the best possible advice at the earliest possible stage of the process. Thompson & Jackson Solicitors are now offering fixed fees to all new divorce clients.