If you are married, you cannot begin divorce proceedings unless you have been married for over a year. A Divorce Petition must be issued by the court stating the marriage has "irretrievably broken down"...

Child Arrangements Orders regulate who a child is to live with, spend time with or otherwise have contact with and when a child will live, spend time or otherwise have contact with a person.

Here at Sampson Coward we have two family solicitors who are qualified mediators which means we can also offer co-mediation if appropriate.

Family Mediation is a voluntary process where a couple (or other family members) choose to meet with a neutral third person, a Mediator, to help them resolve issues themselves...

All new applications for child maintenance are now dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) rather than the Child Support Agency (CSA).

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force on 13 March 2014. As a result same sex couples can now marry either in a civil ceremony or religious ceremony...

From 22 April 2014 a new Single Family Court will deal with all family proceedings, and the Children and Families Act 2014 brings in changes to both public and private law in children cases.

To start proceedings you need to have a Civil Partnership of more than one year in length.

Child maintenance is regular, reliable financial support that helps towards a child's living costs.

The Decree Absolute at the end of the divorce proceedings officially ends the marriage but it does not dismiss the possible financial claims that a married couple have against each other.