FAMILY LAW DIRECT

Expert advice and assistance from a divorce solicitor

FAMILY LAW DIRECT is our Advice and Assistance service designed for "Litigants In Person".

In straight-forward cases more and more people are choosing to represent themselves. They want to do more of the work themselves. They are looking to a solicitor for advice and assistance, instead of wanting their solicitor to represent them and do everything for them.

Traditionally, if you used a solicitor he or she would be expected (and would expect) to do everything for you. Such "bespoke" service comes at a high price but is often necessary in complex or high value cases. Traditionally, such a bespoke service is always charged on an hourly basis.

The alternative to representation is advice and assistance. You do most of the work yourself. The solicitor is there to guide you through the maze of law and court rules that you will have to navigate.

We believe that the choice should not be between a bespoke tailor-made service or nothing at all. We provide a service you can opt in and out of as you choose. If at any stage you feel that you have got out of your depth, you can switch to the full representation service. We will even then agree a fixed fee for our services form that point on.

You may be happy to deal with correspondence with the court, writing to the solicitors for the other spouse / civil partner / parent and file documents with the court. You may even be happy to represent yourself at court as a "litigant in person", but now and again you may need assistance with certain correspondence that is not in plain English, filling in court documents, drafting witness statements or you may require tactical guidance.

Each separate provision of advice or assistance is referred to as a "Bundle" and has its own fixed fee. Remember, you can decide which bundles you can do without assistance. We can help you make that decision during the initial consultation.

DIVORCE SERVICE

BUNDLE 1 - Assistance with preparing your divorce petition
BUNDLE 2 - Assistance with preparing your statement of arrangements
BUNDLE 3 - Assistance with preparing your Affidavit in support of petition

MARRIAGE FINANCES SERVICE for those seeking an agreed outcome:

BUNDLE 4 - Receiving advice on the need for financial consent orders
BUNDLE 5 - Receiving advice on the benefits of full and frank disclosure of financial information and how to achieve it, including filling in the Form E
BUNDLE 6 - Receiving advice on the financial information produced by the other spouse / civil partner.
BUNDLE 7 - Assistance with preparing the financial consent orders and other supporting documents.

MARRIAGE FINANCES SERVICE for those for whom an agreement has sadly not proved possible

You can represent yourself whilst your contested case progresses through the court system. If you do this you will be a "litigant in person". We offer the same advice and assistance service to litigants in person. We do not formally represent you but we are there waiting in the wings should you need our help.

BUNDLE 8 - Assistance with preparing for an application to the court
BUNDLE 9 - Assistance with preparing a Financial Statement (Form E)
BUNDLE 10 - Assistance with preparing your "Questionnaire"
BUNDLE 11 - Receiving advice on preparing for the First Appointment
BUNDLE 12 - Representation at the First Appointment only (We can instruct a barrister to represent you, in which case you will cease to be a litigant in person for the period of the hearing only) In addition to our fixed fee you will have to pay the fees of the barrister as a separate "disbursement".
BUNDLE 13 - Assistance with answering the other sides Questionnaire
BUNDLE 14 - Receiving advice on financial disclosure issues, including advice on the Replies that the other side has made to your Questionnaire
BUNDLE 15 - Receiving tactical advice in the run up to the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (FDR)
BUNDLE 16 - Representation at the FDR Hearing (We can instruct a barrister to represent you, in which case you will cease to be a litigant in person for the period of the hearing only). In addition to our fixed fee you will have to pay the fees of the barrister as a separate "disbursement".
BUNDLE 17 - Assistance with witness statements whilst preparing for the Final Hearing (Trial)
BUNDLE 18 - Assistance with financial disclosure issues whilst preparing for Trial
BUNDLE 19 - Assistance with drawing up the Statement of Issues prior to the Trial
BUNDLE 20 - Assistance with preparing the Trial Bundle (if you are the Applicant)
BUNDLE 21 - Representation during the trial (we can instruct a barrister to represent you at the Trial. You will not then be a litigant in person at the Trial). In addition to our fixed fee you will have to pay the fees of the barrister as a separate "disbursement".

ISSUES CONCERNING CHILDREN SERVICE

BUNDLE 22 - Receiving advice on the range of possible outcomes, including the most likely outcome regarding residence and contact disputes; applications to remove children permanently form England and Wales (Richard Crallan practised as a barrister and solicitor specialising in family law in Australia for 3 years);
BUNDLE 23 - Assistance with drafting an application to the court
BUNDLE 24 - Assistance with drafting witness statements
BUNDLE 25 - Advice on the contents of the report that you have received from CAFCASS
BUNDLE 26 - Representation at court hearings. (We can instruct a barrister to represent you at the Trial. You will not be a litigant in person at the Trial). In addition to our fixed fee you will have to pay the fees of the barrister as a separate "disbursement".

Each Bundle is supported by access to a specialist family law solicitor by telephone, email and face-to-face meetings (or Skype if that is more convenient for you). However, the service is designed for clients who wish to be largely independent. Those clients requiring more than someone standing behind the scenes should opt for our fixed fee REPRESENTATION SERVICE.