Legal Resources and News

It’s that time of year again. Separated parents everywhere will no doubt be starting to make arrangements for how they are going to spend Christmas and, more importantly, what is going to happen with their children over the Christmas season. Even the best co-parenting relationships can break down and this is particularly the case during the Christmas season, where each parent wants to spend time surrounded by family and friends, including their children.

Whether to divorce or separate is a huge decision. It is not something anyone rushes into or part of anyone’s life plan. In order to help you work out what you want, and the next steps, Neves’ Family Law Solicitors offer a fixed fee meeting. This gives you an hour with a specialist family lawyer. During this meeting, we start by asking you to explain the background, your priorities and concerns. We understand that everyone has their own set of circumstances and their own worries. You can use this meeting to get answers and hopefully set your mind at rest. 

In every initial consultation, one of the first questions I ask my clients is when they separated from their partner. Their response is usually definitive as they have an idea when this happened. They may have had a conversation or one of them moved out but sometimes I am asked when will the court say we separated or when should I say we separated. 

When parents separate, the ideal is for them to be able to agree on arrangements for their children and how much time the children will spend with each parent.  Nowadays, most parents have parental responsibility, so in law, they have an equal say in their children’s upbringing.  Those big decisions, such as which school a child should attend, how to deal with Covid-19, and boundary settings are decisions that should be made together.

When a couple first separate, it can be difficult to know where to start and what arrangements need to be made between you moving forwards. It is always preferable to try and negotiate arrangements between yourselves if the relationship is still an amicable one. If you do think that you might be in a position to discuss matters with your former partner or spouse, the below list is a good starting point of the top 5 topics you may wish to discuss. It applies to both married and unmarried couples.