Family and Matrimonial

Buying a house when you aren’t married.

Rachel Macwilliam, a Family Law specialist at Penderlaw Solicitors, discusses the potential pitfalls for unmarried couples buying a property together and has some advice on how to avoid financial disaster should the relationship fail. More and more couples are choosing to live together rather than get married according to government figures. In 2021 just over…

The January Divorce Phenomenon

It is a truth universally acknowledged that sadly January is the busiest month of the year for family lawyers and is sometimes described as the January divorce phenomenon. The festive period, which comes with the pressures of spending increased time with loved ones can often prove too much for a relationship to bear and those…

No Fault Divorce – The 6 Key Stages

A while back we published a blog to try and help those without legal knowledge understand the basic stages of the divorce process.  The recent introduction of the new No Fault Divorce legislation has affected these stages slightly, so we felt it was time to refresh this blog. Here’s an update from Rachel Macwilliam, Solicitor…

No Fault Divorce delayed until April 2022

In a blow to many couples seeking to get divorced, the government has recently confirmed that the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act, which covers no fault divorce, won’t be introduced in the autumn as originally planned. It has now been delayed until 6 April 2022. The reason given is to allow sufficient time for the…

Separating when you are unmarried with children

More and more couples are choosing to live together before getting married or are choosing not to get married at all. More than half of children born in the UK in 2017 were born to unmarried parents. The increase in the divorce rate as a result of the pandemic has been much publicised, but what…

Can I get divorced during the coronavirus pandemic?

Being quarantined and self-isolating is tough even for happy couples.  But for those contemplating separation or divorce, this period is even more difficult as existing tensions are magnified.  You might think that as everything seems to have ground to a halt during the pandemic that it would not be possible to get divorced, but this…

The different roads to divorce

Many of our family law clients tend to have something in common; the desire to end their marriages and to achieve the best outcome possible. However, the length of time it takes them to reach the decision varies greatly. Some want to divorce as soon as possible, perhaps reacting to a change in their relationship…

Pensions and Divorce: what you need to know

Your pension may understandably not be top of your list of things to think about when contemplating divorce but for women especially, it is an important aspect to consider.   Rachel Macwilliam, Family Law solicitor at Penderlaw Solicitors answers some FAQs on this topic. Many divorced women face poverty in retirement as they often have…