Family Law Solicitors in Ringwood

At Frettens, we understand how sensitive and traumatic family matters can be. Naturally, you will have a number of concerns about issues concerning property, finances and your children’s futures. You’re facing a challenging, emotional, and potentially financially uncertain time; however, with our sympathetic advice and support, we can help you move towards the future with confidence.

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We can provide advice in all areas of family law, including divorce, cohabitee disputes, financial settlements and arrangements for children.

As lengthy court proceedings can often be a costly and traumatic experience, we encourage methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution such as mediation or collaborative family law. However, if court proceedings do become necessary, we’ll provide vigorous representation to protect your legal rights and promote your interests.

We recognise the importance for clients to find out more about the process of their legal enquiry and the likely outcome. As such, we are pleased to offer a free initial appointment for all new clients. Our family lawyers offer positive, practical advice, and we hope that this initial meeting allows you the time to get to know us.

For a free initial consultation, you can contact our solicitors in Ringwood by giving us a call, emailing ringwood@frettens.co.uk, or filling in our online enquiry form and one of our friendly team will be in touch to arrange a meeting.

What our Ringwood family law solicitors can do for you

Divorce

Our divorce solicitors in Ringwood specialise in providing practical and personalised advise which is sensitive to the issues of your personal situation. We have substantial expertise in all matters of relationship breakdown, including divorce, civil partnership dissolution and separation.

With our assistance, it is highly unlikely that your case will be taken to court, as we are experienced in helping clients access Alternative Dispute Resolution such as collaborative law, which are cheaper and less combative methods of settling disputes.

We understand that going through a relationship breakdown can be a financially uncertain time. We’re able to offer fixed fee divorce packages for the formal aspects of the process so you can retain control over how much you spend on your legal fees.

Cohabitee disputes

As opposed to married couples who divorce, cohabiting couples do not have a legal right to maintenance and a share of their partner’s money or assets, regardless of the number of years they have been together and whether they have children.

We can help you avoid any potential disputes by drafting you a cohabitation agreement. These agreements can be used to set out exactly how your finances and childcare will be arranged in the unfortunate event you and your partner break up.

We understand that it’s not pleasant to discuss the possibility to your relationship ending, however, utilising this option could save you a lot of time, stress, and expense down the line. We also provide advice and representation in cohabitation disputes upon relationship breakdown.

Arrangements for Children

The welfare of your children is central to your family decisions and arrangements. Issues which affect a child’s upbringing are usually resolved by the parents communicating to come to an amicable solution, but this can be difficult when the parents are no longer together.

You may be concerned about involving the law in your child dispute; however, it is highly unlikely you will need to go to court. We can help you negotiate an agreeable settlement with your partner which puts the interests of your child first.

If you and your partner cannot agree and it becomes necessary to go to court, we will be by your side every step of the way. Judges are required to only make decisions which prioritise the welfare and happiness of your children and we will consistently promote their interests and your parental rights throughout the process.

Here are some of the things our family lawyers can help with:

Parental Responsibility
Child Arrangements Order
Prohibited Steps Order
Specific Issue Order

Financial Settlements

Financial issues relating to a divorce or separation can be resolved in one of two ways: either by an agreement with your partner or by a judge reaching a decision after a trial.

In the first instance, mediation is typically the best option to cooperatively resolve your issues. However, if financial matters cannot be reached by agreement, we can help you can make an application to court.

Full financial disclosure should be provided in the case of a dispute and we are able to guide you through this process. We can help you make difficult decisions about the division of money and property, pensions and family businesses, as well as assisting in negotiations about spousal maintenance and child maintenance.

Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements

A pre-nuptial agreement allows a couple who are going to marry to retain full control over their own financial affairs in the unhappy event of a divorce or civil partnership dissolution.

They are becoming increasingly popular with people looking to safeguard their interests prior to marriage or civil partnership. We can help you to arrange a pre-nuptial agreement if you are looking to protect assets, inheritance, or childcare arrangements from a previous marriage.

Here are some of the things our family lawyers can help with:

Pre-nuptial agreements
Post nuptial agreements
Civil partnership agreements

Alternative Dispute Resolution, including collaborative law

The process of resolving disputes outside of Court is commonly referred to in the legal profession as Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Our skilled and sensitive family law solicitors in Ringwood specialise in helping clients come to divorce settlements whilst avoiding unnecessary stress or conflict. With our assistance, it’s highly unlikely you’ll have to go to court as we are experienced in helping clients access Alternative Dispute Resolution which is a cheaper and less-combative method of settling disputes.

Why Frettens’ family lawyers in Ringwood are right for you

At Frettens’ Solicitors in Ringwood, we provide bespoke family law services to suit the requirements of every individual. With substantial experience in family law, you can trust us to conduct your matter skilfully and efficiently.

Our family law team is headed up by Andrew Stynes, a highly experienced solicitor and qualified collaborative lawyer.

Notable members of our team also include Simon Immins, a family associate based at our Ringwood office. Simon has been a family law specialist for over 30 years and is a Resolution accredited collaborative lawyer. His expertise includes dealing with high net worth financial remedy proceedings, handling Children Act Matters and cohabitation disputes.

Also, Amy Langlois, who trained and qualified as a Solicitor at Frettens. She deals with all aspects of family law which includes divorce, separation and the associated financial matters which arise from this, as well as disputes over children, such as contact issues. Amy also advises on pre and post marital agreements.

Our solicitors are all members of Resolution, a network of family lawyers and other professionals dedicated to promoting non-confrontational approaches to family law issues.