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It is great to hear that you managed to get divorced and resolved the financial matters amicably using mediation. What should have then happened is that the agreed terms were put into a Consent Order, and sent off to the Divorce court with a short financial information form and court fee of £50, to get the terms made binding on you both. Then you would have needed solicitors to prepared formal Transfer Deeds to effect the transfers of property - which are registered with HM Land Registry.

It is not clear how much time as elapsed, but I would strongly suggest you now take tax advice (as well as legal advice) as there can be tax implications of transfers of property - even between spouses.

It make seem complicated but it should all be possible of being resolved with paperwork and no actual court hearings.

I hope this helps.

Amanda Thurston

Family Solicitor

How can we cross - transfer deeds after divorce?

This is a real shame and unfortunately a common problem. If there is no-one who can assist the two of you to discuss this informally (like a mutually trusted friend or someone respected within the community) your next best step is to try Mediation. If you locate a suitable family mediator (and they are still working remotely during lockdown) they can explain the process to you and if you want to try it out, offer to get in touch with your daughter-in-law. It is voluntary, but it is much quicker and cheaper than going to court.

If this fails, you would ideally want to liaise with your son (ie the father of the children) about taking matters to court, as he has a stronger case to have contact with them. However, I appreciate I do not know the background to his position and whether he sees the children.

For more information and to find a faily mediator please try www.resolution.org.uk

Good luck with this

AManda THurston

Solicitor

Curwens LLP

My ex daughter in law has stopped me seeing my grandchildren. They live 3 doors away. How can I have access without going to court?

There are a number of factors which would need to taken in to account. May I therefore suggest you call our firm on 01773 540480 and ask for Pat who can take further details from you.

What is my partner entitled to if we part company?

Without knowing the background to how the order was sent to court, this is hard to answer.

Consent orders are often signed by both parties, but there is no need for this where the terms have been negotiated and agreed, especially if this was done through solicitors.

The court would usually expect there to be some sort of evidence that there was an agreement before approving a consent order and provided they had that, the order would still be binding on the parties.

If you are concerned that the order does not actually reflect any agreement that was made, then iti is important that you get good legal advice about whether it can be appealed or set aside, as soon as possible. The longer it is left, the more difficult it will be to persuade the court that anything is wrong.

Why would a consent order be granted by the courts when only one party had signed by mistake and is the consent order still legally binding?

Dear Sir

Thank you for your enquiry.

If discussions with your Wife have failed and you have exhaused all attempts and avenues to compromise, you may apply to the court to issue proceedings for a Child Arrangements Order; for contact. However, you will need to attend Mediation first unelss there are exemptions for not attending one. Please make an appointment or feel fee to give us a call to chat first on 0203 9 599 123 and see how our expertise in children matters may assist you further. We look further to hearing from you.

After separating from my wife she is not letting me see my 4year old daughter for no reason. What can I do about the situation?

Hello and thank you very much for your question.

Without sufficient information about your case, it is very difficult to be precise about the costs of pursuing any matter to Court. However, I would be happy to have a chat over the phone to understand more about your case to be able to provide an approximate cost for pursuing your matter to Court.

Please feel free to contact me any time on 0121 746 3002 or by email to greg@ehsolicitors.co.uk .



Kind regards

Greg Bowyer

Ellis Hass & Co Solicitors

What is the estimated cost to gain access to my children through the court (court/solicitors costs)?

Tempting as it is to instruct the pre-school not to provide your child's father with updates, he is legally entitled to ask for (and be provided with) this information.

The Government in it's infinite wisdom decided that lawyers and the courts should not be involved with issues over child support - and that led to the set up of the Child Support Agency (now the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission).

If you have not already done so, it may be worth going on line to see what sort of maintenance you should be receiving and asking them to carry out an assessment. That way you and he will know what should be paid and there is a mechanism for collection and enforcement if necessary, although charges would apply.

On a completely different note, have you wondered why he is asking for so much information? Does he know how much this is winding you up?? I can seen you are paying a fair amount for your child's education. Can you focus on what you and your child are getting for that, rather than the fact that they are complying with their legal obligations where he is concerned? It might help with the irritation to focus on the benefit to you and your child as opposed to him getting updates.

Child's father doesn't pay/ contribute to childcare. Am I in my rights to stop the Preschool giving updates?

Lisa Dearman

You would usually only be provided with a Consent Order and Financial Information Form D81 to sign if financial terms between you and your ex-wife were agreed. Clearly agreeing to ring-fence a large inheritance sometimes happens, but it would very much depend on the value of the rest of the matrimonial assets and each party's needs. Further, if you know that the asset could significantly increase in value in a matter of weeks, then clearly it would inappropriate to try and finalise any agreement until after the planning application outcome is known.

I would strongly advise you take some expert legal advice on the whole financial settlement - to ensure it is fair to you. It may be easier for you to search for a local solicitor at resolution.org.uk.

Amanda Thurston

Curwens LLP

Can I challenge my ex wife on a ring fenced inheritance?

I am sorry to hear of the difficult situation you are in.

The court should be putting any child's welfare as a priority, but the solicitor may well have been concerned at you finding yourself in breach of a court order. There should be a CAFCASS (welfare) officer allocated to your case. I would strongly suggest you speak to them and provide them with all the evidence of the adverse affect contact has had on your daughter. The matter will also ultimately need to be reviewed by the court. Clearly an answer needs to be found as to why your daughter does not want to see her father, and whether there is anything that can be done to mend their relationship.

I can appreciate there are few legal aid solicitors available these days. It maybe worth checking the search facility on resolution.org.uk as these are specialist family solicitors. You may however have to act in person in the meantime, but this is not unusual due to funding cuts and both CAFCASS and the court should still ensure that the correct outcome is found.

I am going through a child supervised contact situation with my husband (separated since Sept 2018). 

In England & Wales (I am unsure of the position under Scottish law) there is no financial limits on who can enter into a Pre-nuptial Agreement. They are voluntary agreements parties enter into before getting married, to try and provide some reassurance as to how financial matters between them would be dealt with if they ever separated or divorced.

There are strict requirements necessary to ensure any such agreement is legally binding on you both so it is vital to speak to a family law specialist.

If I want to get a prenup in the UK, is there a lower limit on my earnings to be able to have one? 

The short answer is that provided he has capacity, because he is an adult, he can chose what he wishes to do. There is nothing to prevent him from having a new deed prepared changing his name back.

My adult son wishes to change his surname which was changed by deed poll back to his original birth name. Is this possible?

Hello and thank you for your enquiry.

I would certainly recommend that you have legal protection put in place for this type of arrangement. On the basis that you and your partner are not married, then the best protection you could obtain, short of an enforceable Court order, would be a 'Separation Agreement'. A Separation Agreement would not be legally 'binding', however it would carry legal 'weight' if there was ever a problem with payments in the future. The Agreement must be prepared properly and by following very specific procedures (e.g. you and your partner having separate independent legal advice) .

I would be happy to speak about this further with you, so that I can provide you with more more advice, specific to your situation.

Please feel free to contact me on 0121 746 3002 or by email to greg@ehsolicitors.co.uk and I would be happy to help.

Kind regards

Greg Bowyer

Associate Solicitor

Ellis Hass & Co Solicitors

Separating from partner and worried about the risk of selling my share of our property to him in case his personal circumstances change

If you have married and want to change to your new spouse's surname, then you should be able to use your marriage certificate to formally alter your passport or driving licence, and then use that new photo ID to change everything else like bank accounts etc.

If you are changing to another surname, then you will need a Change of Name Deed. This can either be prepared by a solicitor, or there are free precedents available online. However, you will still need to sign it in front of a solicitor, and they will normally charge a small, fixed fee for this service.

I hope you find this useful.

Is an official Deed Poll needed to double barrel a surname, especially on important documentation?

Unfortunately as you are located in Ayrshire I presume this case is being dealt with under Scottish Law...which is sometimes quite different to English law. You would therefore need a specialist family lawyer based in Scotland to provide you with advice. I am sorry Curwens cannot assist you on this occasion.

I'm in the process of adopting my great niece. Two days before the court case I have been told there has to be another children's panel.

Hello and thank you for your question.

You have said that your name is on the mortgage, however it needs to be confirmed whether your name is on the property you both live in i.e. do you own the property as 'joint tenants'. There is a difference, but it is often the case that if you are named on the mortgage then you will own the property jointly. This must be checked though. Provided you do own the property jointly then you have every right to remain in the property, as much as your husband.

Even if your name is not on the property then you will still have protection/rights, through your marriage, to be in the property but you will need legal protection. At the very least you should consiser registering a Home Rights Notice on the property.

You should definitely seek more detailed legal advice, specific to your situation, and I would be happy to help with this. Please feel free to contact me on 0121 746 3002 or greg@ehsolicitors.co.uk and we can arrange a time to talk in more detail.

Greg Bowyer

Ellis Hass & Co Solicitors

Can my husband of 7 years tell me to leave the family home? My name is on the mortgage.

Oshin Shahiean

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