insideKENT Magazine Issue 50 - May 2016 | Page 154

LAW
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

DIVORCE
FAQs
Life throws up all sorts of problems
for which we need legal advice.
Alex Davies, partner and lawyer in
the family team at Cripps, answers
questions relating to divorce which
clients frequently ask.
Alex Davies

What if we can’t agree on divorce
divorce issues
issues but
but don’t
don’t want
want to
to go
go to
to court?
court?
Increasingly, couples
Increasingly,
couples are
are turning
turning to
to alternative
alternative forms of dispute resolution
resolution
to resolve issues arising from the end of a relationship, marriage or civil
partnership.
Mediation is the most popular alternative; couples are able to discuss
their concerns with an impartial expert who is both qualified to know the
law and trained to help couples resolve their differences.
Most people who try mediation find it a cost-effective way of resolving
resolving
issues. For those who find themselves in lengthy and expensive court
resolve issues,
issues, there
there isis now
now aa family
family arbitration
arbitration
proceedings and are unable to resolve
scheme. This enables couples to hire a private judge to either give an expert
opinion as to how a case should be resolved or to make a final decision
after a private hearing.
What if we want to make a lifetime gift to our adult daughter but are
concerned her partner could have a claim against it should they
separate?
Parents often wish to pass down wealth but are concerned it should not
child’s ex-partner
ex-partner ifif the
the relationship
relationship ends.
ends.
fall into the hands of their child’s
If the recipient of the gift is considering marriage or is married already,
there
it could be the subject of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. While there
are no guarantees, the law is attaching greater importance to these.
If a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is not possible, family courts
aninheritance.
inheritance.
are sympathetic to the plight of whichever spouse has received
received an
However if the marriage is lengthy or assets limited, it can be difficult for
the recipient of an inheritance to successfully argue he or she should hold
on to all of it.
The law is different for couples who live together without marriage or
civil partnership as the court does not have the power to distribute assets
between a cohabiting couple. In this case, I recommend they think about
property rights,
rights, especially
especially
a cohabitation agreement to define each partner’s
partner’s property
property.
if an inheritance is being used towards a property.
Relationship agreements are an increasingly
increasingly important
important part
part of
of modern
modern
life and the family team at Cripps is always happy to have a preliminary
discussion on the telephone without charge.

What if we are unable to agree how much child maintenance
should be paid?
If the parents are unable to agree,
agree, then
then either
either parent
parent may
may make
make an
an application
application
to the Child Maintenance Service, and their formula will then be applied.
For those earning over £200 gross per week, the payer must pay from the
first £800 of gross weekly income 12% for one child, 16% for two children
and 19% for three or more children. For gross income between £800 and
£3,000 per week, the payer should pay a further 9% for one child, 12% for
two, and 15% for three or more children.
The Child Support Agency will ignore any gross weekly income above
£3,000 (£156,000 per year). The amount payable from the excess will be
decided by the court if an application is made. As is often the case, this
basic rule is made more complicated by other rules such as taking into
account children of a second family.
family.
Guidance can be obtained from the website of the Child Maintenance
Service. However, if you need specialist legal advice, Ben Carter of the
Cripps family law team is a nationally recognised expert in this field.
For more information on divorce and family issues, visit the Cripps
blog: http://fam