Divorce and family law

If you are planning cohabitation, marriage or a civil partnership, you should consider potential legal issues if one of you dies or you separate.

Whatever your reasons for divorce, you need to show irretrievable marriage breakdown based on one of five grounds for divorce

Concerns about finances can make divorce even more stressful. Aim to negotiate a divorce settlement that provides for each of you and any dependents.

The best sources of help for relationship breakdown and divorce advice

What is involved in the divorce process, what you can agree between yourselves and when to involve solicitors and the Family Court

What you need to know about divorce and children, including child custody and child maintenance

How to register a civil partnership, financial affairs and children for civil partners, and how a civil partnership can be brought to an end

Key issues for cohabiting partners, including using a cohabitation agreement to protect yourselves, what to cover and whether it will be enforceable

How moving in together affects your legal position. The rights and responsibilities of cohabiting couples and what happens if the relationship ends

Divorce and children – answers to the most common questions about parents’ rights, childcare arrangements and child maintenance payments

Divorce glossary explaining divorce and family law terms in simple English to help you understand the legal jargon used by divorce lawyers

Divorce FAQs - your questions answered from what you need to prove to get a divorce to how the divorce process works

How to deal with domestic violence or domestic abuse, including both practical and legal steps you can take and where you can get help

Examples of typical financial settlements in different divorce situations: an average young family, a short marriage, a rich couple, an elderly couple

Agreeing the arrangements for your children: how child custody is decided, what rights the non-resident parent has and getting a court order

Information your divorce lawyer will need; a checklist to help you prepare