About Us
Chambers Family Law is brought to you by Chambers Fletcher Solicitors and led by Peter Wilkinson who is an experienced family law solicitor and litigator.
Chambers Fletcher Solicitors is proud to have stood the test of time to be one of the most established firms of Solicitors in Cheshire with offices in Northwich and Stockton Heath.
Our expertise covers all areas of family law including separation, divorce proceedings, civil partnerships, financial disputes, child arrangements, child abduction and issues arising from cohabitation breakdown.
We pride ourselves on our approachability and personal service. We treat each case individually on its own facts and merits. We adopt a straightforward no-nonsense approach and will always seek to resolve cases by agreement if possible but at the same time stand ready to litigate if necessary.
FAMILY LAW – IT’S WHAT WE DO
Why Chambers Family Law?
Decisions taken in divorce or other relationship breakdown can have lifetime implications for you, your children, financially and emotionally, so it’s important to take a step back, understand your options and make the right choices. This is where we come in.
Whatever your circumstances we can probably help. Having a knowledgeable and experienced family law solicitor to advise and guide you through divorce, dissolution or other legal process can make a meaningful difference to the strength of your case, your prospects of success and, importantly, your peace of mind.
We understand that when a relationship breaks down it can be a traumatic experience for both adults and children. There can be a lot of things to have to think about and at a time when you might be feeling a mixture of emotions such as sadness, confusion, anger, worry, uncertainty and so on. Let us take the strain.
We are here to help guide you through the legal process arising from relationship breakdown in a skilled, committed, supportive and objective manner so as to achieve the best possible outcome for you – bear in mind successful outcomes don’t just happen, they have to be made to happen.
Whether you are applying for or responding to a divorce, seeking a fair share of assets or needing help with sorting out child arrangements we have the necessary expertise and experience to be able to provide you with all the advice and guidance needed.
Have A Solicitor Already?
If you already have a solicitor acting for you in an ongoing case and you are happy with them then stay with them.
But it may be that you are involved in an ongoing case and that you are unhappy with your current solicitor. Perhaps you are feeling disillusioned, ignored or let down. It may be that your case has gone stale or just isn’t going well. For whatever reason you may be seeking to change solicitors and if so then we would be happy to consider taking over.
It’s important that you have trust, faith and confidence in your solicitor and if you don’t then you may feel that it’s time for a change. It’s almost never too late to change so if you are feeling unhappy with your current solicitor and you think that a fresh approach may be needed then feel free to contact us to talk about it. We shall be happy to help as much as we can.
Divorce And Dissolution
Either party (or even both jointly) to a marriage or civil partnership can apply for a divorce or dissolution by stating that the marriage or partnership has irretrievably broken down.
It is not necessary to find fault. It is not necessary to give a reason. There will of course likely be a reason but it is not necessary to have to state one. This is known as ‘no fault divorce’ and this system came into force on 6th April 2022 under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020).
Once the application has been submitted the process is mostly administrative. Your spouse or civil partner will be required to formally acknowledge service and whilst in our experience most do this occasionally someone doesn’t and if this happens there are steps which we can take on your behalf to force the process.
In most cases the getting from A to B of the actual divorce / dissolution itself is fairly straightforward. Problems can arise and if they do then of course they need to be resolved but typically where there are difficulties in a case it’s usually in relation to other aspects of the case such as sorting out a financial settlement and sorting out arrangements concerning the children. These are matters which we deal with every day – it’s what we do.
Financial Remedy
Following the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership there are often financial issues that need to be resolved. This aspect is known as ‘financial remedy’ and this area of the law is complicated.
A divorce or dissolution can give rise to a number of financial claims which either party may be able to make against the other and fully understanding and in some cases unravelling financial affairs can involve careful analysis and forensic skill.
We are experienced in dealing with financial remedy claims and we can advise on all aspects of this.
In our experience most cases are capable of settling by agreement out of court, and most do settle by agreement, but in cases where it is necessary to go to court we are skilled and seasoned in the art of litigation and we are used to appearing in the Family Court to secure the best possible outcome for our clients.
Child Arrangements
We know how difficult the breakdown of a family can be for everyone involved and particularly the children. We recognise that for some child arrangements can be one of the most difficult and distressing issues to resolve. We regularly advise and assist in disputes relating to children, such as who they shall live with and how much time they shall spend with each parent.
As a general rule parents are free to try to agree between themselves whatever they like with regard to the arrangements concerning their children and when a relationship breaks down many parents are able to agree the child arrangements between themselves.
But in cases where child arrangements are not agreed then the court can make orders to determine the arrangements. We have a lot of experience advising, guiding and supporting clients in this area of law and whilst we will always try to handle children disputes sensitively we are equally well versed in litigating cases robustly where necessary.
Cohabitation Breakdown
The law in relation to cohabitation breakdown is not the same as for marriage breakdown. There is a common misconception that unmarried couples who live together are ‘common law’ partners and have the same rights as married or civil partners. However, the fact is that this is not true. It’s a myth!
There is no such thing as ‘common law’ marriage and therefore no such thing as common law husband and wife or common law partners.
Unmarried couples who live together are quite simply an unmarried couple living together. It may come as a surprise to some that they…
…have no automatic right or entitlement to make financial claims against the other on the breakdown of the relationship, whether of a capital or income nature and irrespective of how long they have lived together.
As regards the family home this can be complicated and any dispute can involve complex contractual, trust and land law principles. It can often be relevant to investigate in detail the history of the relationship and sometimes the smallest of details can be more relevant than you might think and have a significant bearing on the outcome of the case.
If you are involved in a cohabitation breakdown scenario and feel that we can help then you should not hesitate to contact us.