Family lawyers and divorce solicitors Altrincham, Greater Manchester

No. You are not legally required to use a solicitor to apply for a divorce in England and Wales. Many people start the process on their own.
Advice often becomes useful once the divorce moves beyond the application stage. This is usually when finances, pensions, property or arrangements for children need to be worked through, or where one person is not engaging with the process.
Getting guidance early can help avoid issues later, particularly when decisions made at an early stage affect financial outcomes or long-term arrangements. Our divorce solicitors in Altrincham regularly speak to people who want to sense-check their position before decisions start to carry long-term consequences.

Yes. In England and Wales, you can get divorced without giving a reason or blaming the other person. The law now allows for a no-fault divorce. This means one or both spouses can apply, and the court does not ask for evidence or explanations about why the marriage ended.
This approach is designed to reduce conflict and keep the legal process more straightforward. The steps and timings follow the standard divorce process in England and Wales. Although many people still choose to take legal advice alongside it, especially where finances or arrangements for children also need to be resolved.

Many people assume divorce comes with a set legal entitlement, but that is not how the law works. Neither a wife nor a husband is automatically entitled to a particular share, and outcomes are not based on gender.
Instead, the court looks at what is fair in the circumstances. That usually means considering each person’s financial needs, available assets and income, how long the marriage lasted, and whether there are children to support. This is the same approach used when looking at how divorce finances are worked out.

Because every situation is different, individual advice is often what helps people understand where they stand. General information can only go so far. Individual advice is often what helps people understand how these factors may apply to their own circumstances.

In most cases, the family home is treated as part of the matrimonial assets, even if it is legally owned by one person. What happens to it depends on the wider financial situation and future housing needs. That might mean selling the property, transferring it to one person, or keeping it for a period before it is sold later.
Other assets are also taken into account, including:

• • Pensions
  • Savings
  • Investments

These are considered together, rather than individually, to reach an overall financial outcome.
This is why questions about property in divorce often sit at the centre of financial discussions rather than being dealt with in isolation. Our divorce solicitors in Altrincham regularly advise where housing is a key concern.

Separation and divorce are not the same. Separation means living apart while remaining legally married. Divorce legally ends the marriage and allows finances to be fully resolved.
While a couple is separated, financial claims between spouses usually remain open. This means separation does not settle matters such as property ownership, pensions, or income claims. Some couples record arrangements in a separation agreement, but these do not carry the same legal weight as a court order and can be revisited later.
Divorce, by contrast, provides a legal framework for bringing financial claims to an end, once a financial order is approved by the court. This is why being separated but not divorced can leave important issues unresolved. A divorce solicitor can advise whether separation is appropriate or whether divorce would provide clearer long-term certainty.

When financial settlements and child arrangements need to be agreed upon, divorce costs will vary. Our solicitors will be able to offer an initial cost estimate tailored to your individual circumstances. Further details about fees can be found in our helpful guide on divorce costs and pricing information. For straightforward divorces, we also offer a fixed-fee divorce.

If you are based in Altrincham or the surrounding area and a hearing is required, your case will usually be heard at Manchester Civil Justice Centre at 1 Bridge Street West (M60 9DJ  in Spinningfields. Our solicitors will ensure you are fully prepared and supported throughout the process.

Manchester Civil Justice Centre is located at 1 Bridge Street West in Spinningfields, close to the River Irwell, Deansgate, Manchester Cathedral and the National Football Museum. The court’s distinctive glass building is around a 15-minute walk from Manchester Victoria Station via Exchange Square and Deansgate towards Spinningfields.

From our Altrincham office at Bruntwood, Station House, Stamford New Road (WA14 1EP), the court is approximately a 20–30 minute drive via the A56 towards Manchester city centre, passing Old Trafford and Deansgate before reaching Spinningfields. Alternatively, you can take the Metrolink directly from Altrincham to Deansgate-Castlefield and walk through Spinningfields to the court. Nearby cafés include Pret A Manger on Deansgate, Starbucks in Spinningfields and independent favourite Pot Kettle Black in Barton Arcade if you arrive early.

If driving, parking is available at Spinningfields NCP, Q-Park Deansgate North and Great Northern Warehouse car parks within walking distance of the court.

A divorce application marks the start of your divorce process. You can apply for a divorce by yourself (sole applicant) or make a joint application with your ex-spouse (joint applicants). Getting this early part right is important as it can help to save you time and money; it can also help to make the process more amicable. Our specialist divorce lawyers can support you in completing and submitting the divorce application to prevent delays.

If you’ve been served with a divorce application and named as the respondent, it’s sometimes unclear as to how you should respond; you’ll be presented with a lot of legal wording and expressions that do more to create frustration than they do to provide clarity. Our Altrincham divorce lawyers can help you to respond to a divorce application while preparing you to get the best possible outcome for you, and for your family.

We are proud to be an active part of the Altrincham and Greater Manchester community through charitable support and local professional partnerships. We partnered with the University of Law in Manchester for the ‘Stowe Family Law Award’, supporting the next generation of expert lawyers.

We work with local organisations, including Visit Altrincham, to support the town community. We also focus on providing essential help to families across the borough through our support for the Trafford South Food Bank and MedEquip4Kids, a charity dedicated to providing medical equipment for children’s hospitals throughout the region.

To learn more about our community involvement, please visit our local Altrincham partnerships page.

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