Surrey Homes | SH63 | January 2020 | Travel & Wellbeing supplement inside

Legal
Sorting out Separation
Susi Gillespie from Thomas Mansfield Solicitors explains the
legalities when the end of your marriage or relationship is in sight
How do you decide what to do when you
separate? Separation is a big step that should
not be undertaken lightly. Most likely, one or
both of you will have been considering separation
for some time before making the decision to call
it a day. Ideally, you will agree with your partner
what to do in relation to who lives where – who
stays in the family home and who moves out and
when. Independent legal advice is recommended to
understand the full range of options available to you.
How can mediation be beneficial? Mediation is
a cost-effective way of reaching agreement in
relation to separation, children and financial issues.
Mediation allows you to keep communication lines
open and encourages you both to create a new
way of dealing with one another and overcoming
problems in a post separation environment.
What are the ways of ending a marriage? This
is a legislative process requiring there to be a
divorce petition, decree nisi (first stage) and a decree
absolute (final certificate). The decree absolute is not
usually obtained until you have agreed a financial
settlement. Currently, we have an oppositional
system of divorce so one petitions and the other
receives the petition. The facts are unreasonable
behaviour, adultery, two and five years’ separation
(with and without consent) and desertion.
If you aren’t married, what happens to your
home and belongings when you separate? This
depends on whether you owned the home you
lived in with your partner. If you do, then the
straightforward outcome is the property is sold or
transferred and the proceeds divided according to
your legal interests. However, there are other ways
of claiming an interest in property which include
equitable principles, i.e. trusts. Your belongings
would usually be divided by agreement.
How can a couple reach an agreement over
childcare arrangements? The key point
here is that the court is not interested in getting
involved in parental disputes about how much time
the children should spend with each parent. The
parents themselves are best served to reach these
agreements between them and the court will not
get involved unless asked to do so. Mediation is
highly recommended if there is any init ial impasse.
tmfamilylaw.co.uk
“Mediation allows you to keep
communication lines open and
encourages you both to create a new
way of dealing with one another”
113 surrey-homes.co.uk