Finances

On the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership most people need to sort out their finances. This is often a very difficult and worrying time for both parties and clients need expert advice and guidance at this stage.

Frequently clients are concerned about issues such as 'Will I be able to remain in the family home with the children?', 'How will our pensions be dealt with?', 'What will happen to my business?', 'Will I receive any maintenance, and if so how much?', 'What'll happen to my farm which I have inherited?', 'What about any inherited assets?'.

At Selby Lowndes Solicitors we are experienced in dealing with these issues and clients can be reassured that they will receive the highest quality of advice and expertise. We deal with clients from all walks of life, with different and varying financial resources. We have a reputation for handling both high net worth cases, and cases where the assets are more modest.

We have the resources and expertise to deal efficiently and effectively with more complex cases involving businesses, farms, inherited assets, trust funds, and pensions.

We always work from the premise that it is better to try and resolve disputes through negotiation; both the financial and the emotional cost for clients can then hopefully be minimised. Agreements are normally endorsed by the court in what is known as a Consent Order. As specialist divorce lawyers, we are there to ensure that our clients' interests are protected and that agreements are drawn up properly and fairly.

In some cases, where negotiations are proving difficult, a collaborative approach may be helpful; this is when both parties agree not to use the court to resolve the dispute between them. William Selby Lowndes is a trained collaborative lawyer, and has conducted a number of cases successfully using this modern approach.

Mediation can also be very successful in helping clients reach agreement in financial disputes and Catherine Eddy is a trained solicitor mediator.

Sometimes court proceedings do become necessary. We have an outstanding reputation for the quality of our litigation advice, and will work hard to make sure that our clients receive the best possible representation. The court can order lump sum payments, sale/transfer of property, maintenance and pension sharing.

We will always look to see whether a fixed fee can be arranged for discrete stages of a case, to try and keep your costs down.