Getting Started - Stowe Family Law

How these questions help us, to help you
The following questions will allow us to understand your current circumstances and the assistance you require from one of our family law experts. It will also help us to ensure that we at Stowe Family Law are able to offer you the assistance you require.

The form will take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete and will only ask questions relevant to your individual situation and will allow you to let us know about the specific issues, worries or concerns that you need help to resolve.
Your responses are strictly confidential and will not be shared with anyone outside the Stowe Family Law team.

If you are happy to take the first step, then we can get started now.

Where are you in your legal journey?*
This information will help us ensure we meet any deadlines you may have but also identify the right Family Law Expert and advice for you.

Choosing a family lawyer is a big decision as they will be representing you and ensuring the best possible outcome for you and your family.

To ensure we are the right fit for you we need to make you aware that we are unable to offer Legal aid.

Our lawyers charge at an hourly rate ranging from £150 - £500 per hour excluding VAT. We are competitively priced in the local area however we do not compete on price. The reason for this is that we strongly believe that as a specialist family law provider the quality of the legal services we offer sets us apart and ensures we secure the best possible outcomes for all our clients in the most effective and efficient way which proves to be excellent value to our clients.

Once we have confirmed we are able to assist with your situation and you feel we are the right fit for you we do offer an initial free consultation with a lawyer and within that conversation they would outline what your options would be and how if you decide to instruct us they would work on your behalf, they would also be able to outline the potential costs of acting on your behalf.
How you are planning on funding your case?*
Litigation funding is where a third party (usually a lending institution) pays for the charges associated with your case which is repaid out of the share of your settlement.

How can we help you?*
When parents separate they will want to agree on suitable arrangements for their children.

Arrangements which worked well at one point may also need to be reviewed over time. There are several options available to assist you and your former partner reach agreement on parenting issues. We can help you explore those options and assist you with reaching agreement.

Where agreement cannot be reached and the intervention of the court is required, we can represent you in legal proceedings or arbitration. Sometimes, day to day parenting arrangements are working but there are other specific issues that need addressing, such as a disagreement over appropriate schooling or medical / therapeutic help for children. Again, we can help you resolve such issues by agreement or represent you in court proceedings if they are required to achieve the best outcome for your children.
If you want to relocate with your children, you will need the consent of everyone who has ‘parental responsibility’ (often known as ‘PR’) or the permission of the court. If a court application is required, such proceedings need careful preparation and planning.

Even if consent is given or permission granted by the court, it is likely that any current arrangements for the children to spend time with your former partner will need to be reviewed. We are very experienced at handling these complicated cases and securing permission for a relocation.

For now, please tell us a bit about the proposed relocation, including who wants to relocate, where to, why, when and any other circumstances.
For now, please tell us a bit about the proposed relocation, including who wants to relocate, where to, why, when and any other circumstances.*
We can assist you with a wide range of child maintenance issues, from providing advice on your legal position, assisting with private ‘family-based arrangements’, and dealing with the Child Maintenance Service (or Child Support Agency).

If you have separated recently or would like assistance regarding a legal claim for property or income that will support your child or children, sometimes called ‘Schedule 1’ (or ‘Schedule 1 Children Act’) claims, please click here (to.
Otherwise, please tell us a bit about what you would like to achieve:
This is certainly something we can help you with, we just need to take a few more details to fully understand your requirements.
We can provide you with advice regarding the interaction between English Family Law and that of other countries.

If you feel you have received inadequate financial provision as part of a foreign divorce, they can assess your rights to an additional financial award (sometimes referred to as a ‘Part III’ claim or order).
We have a lot of experience with drafting and advising in relation to pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, also known as marital agreements.

They can provide guidance to help protect your legal position and provide clarity between you and your partner.
We can certainly help you with that. If you have a copy of that agreement or Order, they will ask you to provide it to them before any meeting so that they can consider it in advance. For now, please tell us a bit about what you would like to achieve:*
We can provide you with advice regarding adoption.
We can provide you with advice regarding Grandparents rights.
We can provide you with advice regarding surrogacy.

What would you like help with?*
Your safety is very important. If the situation is serious and urgent, do not wait. Contact the police on ‘999’.

If the situation is not an emergency, we can schedule an appointment to discuss your safety needs. In the meantime, you should continue with this questionnaire (link to separation questionnaire) so we can better address your concerns.
We can provide advice regarding the interaction between the law in England and Wales and the law of other countries. Please let us know about your circumstances*
We have extensive experience providing advice and representation to secure the compliance of an Order. Please let us know about your circumstances*
We have extensive experience providing advice and representation regarding the interaction between English law and foreign law. Please let us know about your circumstances*
We can assist you with a wide range of issues relating to your family. Please tell us about your situation, so that we can help you determine the best path forwards

Are you currently married to the other parent?
Were you divorced in either England or Wales?*
- Yes
- No
We often help people deal with situations that are difficult and out of the ordinary. Please tell us why your situation does not really fit into any of the other categories:
Thank you for letting us know.
We can assist you with children’s arrangements and as part of that, we will help you to resolve all of the legal issues that arise.
Okay, if you want to divorce or formally separate (with or without an intention to divorce later), we can help you with that. We will also help you to resolve all of the legal issues that arise.

Do either of you have children from other relationships?*
- Yes
- No

When did you separate?*
DD slash MM slash YYYY

What was your reason for separating?*
Please tell us more about your reason for separating.

Are you currently married?*
Okay, if you want to divorce or formally separate (with or without an intention to divorce later), we can help you with that. We will also help you to resolve all of the legal issues that arise.
In England and Wales, dissolution of Civil Partnerships is treated in essentially the same way as divorce. We can assist you regarding that dissolution and, as part of that, can help you to resolve all of the legal issues that arise.
We often help people deal with situations that are difficult and out of the ordinary. Please tell us why your situation does not really fit into any of the above.
Please tell us why your situation does not really fit into any of the other marriage categories we've listed.*
We often help people deal with situations that are difficult and out of the ordinary, to help us, tell us more about your situation.

Although you may have heard reference to a ‘common law’ husband or wife, there is no such concept in law in England and Wales — it is a myth. Accordingly, there are a number of different things that will need to be looked at and considered which will be relevant to your life going forward.
Do you or your partner own any properties?
We can assist you to achieve an appropriate division of that property. That may well be straightforward, but they can investigate this thoroughly to ensure that your best interests are met.
We can assess any rights that either of you have in property owned by the other person, investigating this thoroughly to ensure that your best interests are met.
Okay, we can look into any other rights that either of you have, for example, claims for financial provision.
That’s no problem at all – we can get to the bottom of this for you.

Were you divorced in England or Wales?*
- Yes
- No
Even if your divorce has been finalised, if you did not get a final court order resolving the various financial claims that are available on divorce (for capital, pension provision and maintenance), those claims may remain ‘open’ and available to pursue in the future.

We can help you to fully resolve all of the financial aspects of your divorce, giving certainty.
Okay, we can investigate whether the foreign court made adequate financial provision for both parties, and any children, as there may be avenues open to you under English law.

Do you have children with your partner/former partner?*
We can assist you to put in place arrangements that are in the best interests of your children. That may involve considering their living arrangements and the time they will spend with their other parent, as well as their need for financial provision or support.
How so?*
Do either of you have children from other relationships?
- Yes
- No
The need to care for children from other relationships may be an important factor. Please click here to fill in details.
If any of your children are in full-time education or training for a trade, profession or vocation or there are special circumstances, that may be relevant. If either of these might apply, please click here to tell us about your children.
Legally speaking, adopted children are essentially treated the same way as biological children. Click here to fill in the details of all your children.
Thank you for telling us about this. We can address your particular family circumstances in more detail when we meet with you in person.
Thank you for telling us about this. It is useful information for us to know as we consider where you stand. Click here to fill in the details of all your children (and please indicate which birth certificate(s) you do not appear on).

Do you or your partner have any significant links with countries outside England and Wales?*
Thank you. If either of you were born outside of England or Wales, have lived outside of these, or if either of you owns significant overseas assets, there may be international issues for you to deal with. We'll make sure you speak to an international family law specialist.
Thank you. If you were both born in England or Wales, have not lived elsewhere, and you don’t own significant overseas assets, it seems unlikely that there will be any international issues for you to deal with at this stage.
Certainly. This can be a complex question, and something that may well be important for you, so we will discuss this with you in detail when we meet. For now, please select any of the following that apply:*
- One or both of us were born outside England and Wales
- We were married in another country
- One or both of us might intend to live permanently outside England and Wales
- One or both of us own assets in other countries
- None of the above apply
We can provide you with advice about whether you or your partner would be able to bring legal proceedings in England and Wales, and how the law here would apply to you. We can also help you understand whether or not that would be advantageous for you.

What comes closest to describing how you are getting on?*
Your safety is very important. If the situation is serious and urgent, do not wait. Contact the police on ‘999’.

If the situation is not an emergency, we can schedule an appointment to discuss your safety needs, in these cases, we advise that you call us directly. In the meantime, you should continue with this questionnaire so we can better address your safety concerns.

What best describes your financial situation?*
The starting point for sharing of marital assets is usually a 50:50 split however our expert lawyers will assess your family situation as the requirement of the court is that each of you has your needs met.
Marital assets are often shared equally, and you will usually each keep your separate property, unless there is a reason to depart from this outcome. For example, there may be an adjustment to ensure that each of you have your needs met.
It sounds like most of your property would be classified as ‘non-matrimonial property’ rather than ‘matrimonial property’ and, as such, it will usually be retained by the person who currently owns it. There may however be an adjustment in certain circumstances, for example, to ensure needs are met.
Not a problem. Let's focus on assisting you with parenting matters. If you want to revisit finances or child maintenance later, we can.

Do you or your partner own a business?*
- Yes
- No

If you were to estimate the value of your assets, what might they be worth?
Consider the value of your home, any pensions, shares, savings, or investments.

What is your employment status?*

Do either of you have financial needs that may require the other partner to assist?*
Our family law experts will assess your financial needs and work to ensure these will be met both in the short and long term.
We can discuss all of the circumstances and advise you on what might be considered reasonable provision for your partner, and how that might be balanced against an appropriate provision for your needs.
We will look to consider all of your circumstances and advise you on what would be considered a ‘reasonable’ standard of living in your particular circumstances.

Your details
Please tell us a bit more about you
Name*
First Last

We'll use your address details to send you any necessary paperwork should you choose to work with us, and we also use it to run conflict checks internally, to make sure we're not already representing your partner, or ex-partner.
Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City Post code Country

Your partner's details
To be sure that we can act for you, please share some of your partner's details so we can conduct our compliance checks.
Name*
First Last
Address*
City Country

Contacting you
We will use these details for a member of our Client Care Team to call you back and progress your enquiry. These details will remain confidential and will only be used for this purpose.
Your phone number*
Please provide the best number for us to reach you on.

It's best to choose an email address that only you have access to. This could be a work email, or a new email account that you create specifically for correspondence about this subject.
Email*
Thank you for taking the time to share this information with us, making the initial enquiry is a big step and at Stowe Family Law we value the trust you have shown in us by starting that journey with us today.

One of our Client Care team will be in touch to progress this for you and arrange an appointment with a lawyer who will be briefed with the details you have provided.

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How these questions help us, to help you

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