Family Law Case Studies Sheffield

Obtaining the best results for family law clients in Sheffield

In situations involving divorce, cohabitation, and the dissolution of civil partnerships, Stowe Family Law's professional and dedicated family lawyers support numerous individuals in Sheffield and throughout the county of South Yorkshire.

As seen by the case study examples below, members of the Sheffield family law team, under the direction of Regional Director Rachel Roberts, are committed to providing clients with the greatest legal help and representation.

Our knowledgeable family lawyers will give you the comfort and peace of mind you require, whether you are going through a challenging divorce, trying to share a pension, deciding the future of the family home, or finding it challenging to co-parent.

The power of mediation 

Trained mediator Katie Kilburn supports clients across Yorkshire, including Sheffield, to resolve issues stemming from their relationship breakdown through mediation. 

Many of our Sheffield clients who are unable to come to an agreement choose mediation, which is a very effective alternative dispute resolution tool. 

For instance, a recent client who had spent months trying to reach a financial settlement with their ex-partner came to the team in Sheffield. 

The actual split was amicable, and they had no trouble collaborating to choose how the kids would spend their time. However, they were stuck on how to resolve their finances, particularly the family home and the distribution of pensions.

After reviewing the case, Katie decided that mediation would be an excellent way to help resolve the conflict and stay out of the family court.

When all parties were on board, Katie brought the spouses together, and within a few sessions she had helped them settle their financial differences fairly.

Following the formalisation of this into a legal order, both parents were free to continue their lives and successfully co-parent their kids.

The rise in collaborative law to resolve divorce issues 

Collaborative family law can be a successful tool if a couple has trouble coming to terms with separation-related concerns, including money, property, and children.

The collaborative model puts the client at the centre of the divorce process. It focuses on people working through their issues to achieve the right solution for the whole family, while avoiding the court arena.

It is different from mediation, in that each party has a collaboratively trained lawyer present at all meetings to ensure they receive legal advice at all times. There is also the chance to bring in additional experts, such as financial advisers, auditors, and valuers.

Sessions involve face-to-face meetings between the parties' teams to resolve disputes between them.

A collaborative divorce helps many couples avoid the stress and expense of the family court system by using a more informal, flexible, and manageable procedure based on conversation and agreement.

In Sheffield, collaborative divorce lawyer Katie Kilburn regularly supports clients to reach an amicable and fair resolve to their divorce using this method. 

Dealing with the division of retirement accounts

In spite of the fact that pensions are frequently the second-highest-value asset in a marriage, after the family home, there has been a substantial decline in pension sharing orders—down 35% since 2017—highlighting the rising trend of people failing to consider the division of retirement accounts in divorce.

But doing so might be erroneous. People who neglect or forsake a share in their ex-partner’s pension or retirement accounts may lose out on possible long-term income and future financial security.

A recent case for the Sheffield team highlighted the risk of ignoring pensions in a divorce. Their client, now in their late 60’s, had been married for 40 years when the marriage broke down.  They have two adult children who both lived independently, a mortgage free property worth £450K, and various investments, retirement accounts and savings. 

With all assets built up during the marriage, the marital pot was substantial. The family home was on the market, and it was agreed monies would be split 50/50. However, the conversation over pensions was proving to be tricky. 

Our client had built up a relatively good sized private pension, but her ex-spouse enjoyed an excellent NHS pension, which he did not want to share, and instead wanted her to offset against a larger share of the equity in the home. 

Tricky to value, the Sheffield team requested an actuary report on both pensions to get a clear understanding of the value and income potential. These reports revealed that the value of the NHS pension was much higher than originally thought. 

The team advised their client to take a pension share option, rather than offsetting, as it gave her a more reliable income stream for her retirement. 

With the more detailed overview of the pension accounts, the team negotiated with the other parties' legal team, and a pension share was agreed. 

This was then later formalised into a pension sharing order at the family court. Both parties were then free to move forward in life, with a financially safe future ahead of them. 

Get in touch with Stowe Family Law Sheffield today

Stowe Family Law is the largest family law firm in the UK, with more than 60 locations across the nation.

One of the firm's many offices, the Sheffield office in South Yorkshire, provides legal advice to clients dealing with divorce, civil partnership dissolution, cohabitation problems, and nuptial agreements.

Rachel Roberts, Maria Coster, and Katie Kilburn are among the divorce lawyers at Stowe Family Law's Sheffield office who can assist you if you're going through a challenging divorce, need assistance reaching a financial settlement or need guidance on child custody arrangements.

 Our Sheffield family solicitors office is located at SPACES, 1 Concourse Way, Sheffield, S1 2BJ. The team can be contacted on 0114 4811009.