Harold Stock & Co. Solicitors

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Parenting Through Separation: New Free Parenting Guide

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Available to separating families in Stockport, Failsworth and Mossley.

• Chris Bowen from Harold Stock & Co Solicitors is one of many resolution solicitors promoting the free guide to local families who are divorcing or separating
• The Parenting Through Separation Guide is written by family professionals and advises parents of how to put their children first during a separation
• The guide is launched during Good Divorce Week which runs from 29 Nov – 3 Dec, run by national family justice organisation Resolution
• This year the focus of Good Divorce Week is parenting through separation

This week (29 November – 3 December) Resolution is holding Good Divorce Week which aims to promote a national conversation about how parents can embrace a child-focused approach to separation. 

The week-long programme will focus on a number of tools and initiatives that can help family practitioners and their clients navigate the challenging experience of divorce, placing the best interests of children at the centre of discussions. One such initiative is the free guide which is available as a download here:- Parenting Through Separation Guide

Resolution is offering parents in Stockport, Failsworth and Mossley a free guide that contains advice and information to help them put children first during a separation or divorce.

Chris joins with thousands of family professionals to launch the Parenting Through Separation Guide during Good Divorce Week, an annual initiative by the family justice organisation Resolution to raise awareness of how families can separate amicably.

Darren McGuinness, Director of Harold Stock Solicitor & Co said:

“We know that the pandemic has put huge pressure on families and even more so on those who are separating. Every parent wants to put their children’s interests front and centre, but all too often they don’t know where to turn for help and aren’t given the support they need in order to do this.

“It’s important for parents to have access to good, authoritative and professional advice that helps them to parent responsibly through their separation. We hope all local separating parents will use the Parenting Through Separation Guide, to help them find a better way forward for them, and for their children.”

The free guide is available to any parent seeking help during their separation. It contains advice about how to co-parent with a former partner, background on the common disputes that arise between separating parents, and how to talk to children about the painful topic of divorce or separation, plus much more.

Juliet Harvey, national chair of Resolution, said:

“I’m really pleased to have Chris’ support during Good Divorce Week. Resolution members like him do really important work in their community to help families separate in a constructive and amicable way. The more families who know about and use the free Parenting Through Separation Guide, the better equipped they will be to navigate the challenges divorce and separation brings, particularly when it comes to putting children first.”

Here’s an extract of advice contained within the guide:

Top tips for discussing divorce with your children

• If your situation allows, try to have a joint conversation when all of your children are present. Keep this age appropriate.
• Plan a series of conversations, including different follow up conversations, if your children are different ages. Be mindful that their reactions will depend on their age, developmental stage and their individual personality.
• Reassure your children that it is okay to feel sad or scared and showing emotion is good. They can always talk to either of you and ask questions.
• Remember you are a role model and your children are watching how you manage this situation. If they see that you are still their parents, making decisions together about them, then they will cope better.

Image and video credit: Resolution.

The dangers of online divorce services

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It is frequently said that if you are buying goods or services “you get what you pay for”.  Recently that has proved to be particularly true for 28 people who thought they could save money by using a cheap “online provider” to do their divorce.

In a recent case report headed “Improper Petitions”, the Family Court struck out 28 divorce petitions. All of the 28 petitions had been prepared by an unregulated online service. The Court became suspicious about the petitions because they had all used identical wording to describe allegations of unreasonable behaviour.  Although the person behind the online company apologised to the Court and stated it had been a mistake, 28 people who thought that they had put their divorces into the hands of a reputable service will have found themselves all having to start over which means extra costs and delays for their divorces.

Hopefully, the provider of this online divorce service will give some kind of compensation to the people it failed, but unlike a Solicitor’s Practice which must follow the rules and keep to the standards set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and carry substantial professional indemnity insurance, such an online divorce service is not regulated and does not have to be insured, so anyone choosing to use it is not guaranteed to receive proper service or be paid any compensation if something goes wrong.

The moral of this story is that if you are going to do something as important as divorce, it is worth paying for proper advice! It will cost you less in the long term.

At Harold Stock & Co Solicitors we offer a free of charge, untimed initial meeting with a family law specialist. There is no obligation to instruct us following this meeting. We will outline the options available to you and also discuss the costs involved in the matter.

We offer a Fixed Fee Divorce Service. If you are issuing divorce proceedings, our cost will be £600.00 plus VAT plus the Court Fee (currently £593.00). If you are the Respondent in divorce proceedings, our cost will be £300.00 plus VAT.

For all other areas of family law, including financial proceedings, we charge a competitive hourly rate. There are no hidden costs and you will receive regular invoices and full breakdowns of the work undertaken by us in order to help you to manage the costs of your case.

Our family law department is led by Chris Bowen who specialises in Family Law – the legal aspects of family and relationship breakdown. This covers divorce, matrimonial finance, disputes between cohabitees, disputes about arrangements for children, and extends to pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements etc. Chris has substantial experience in this field. He is a member of the Resolution, the largest membership organisation for family justice professionals in England and Wales whose code of practice insists upon a conciliatory approach to resolving issues on the breakdown of a relationship. He is also trained as a Collaborative Family Lawyer and is a keen supporter of this process.

To get in touch with Chris, email him at cb@haroldstock.com or call 01457 835597.

Why it’s important to review pensions during a divorce

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Following the breakdown of the marriage, there are usually a number of financial issues to be resolved. Understandably, most often a separating couple concentrate on things like the future of the family home, and how any children of the family will be supported. However, this leaves out a major part of the matrimonial “pot” which are pensions.

For over 20 years, in England and Wales, it has been possible to split pensions on divorce, but recently published research from Manchester University and the Pensions Policy Institute seems to suggest that all too often, pensions are either ignored or not split fairly by couples during a divorce.

Most often, a separating couple concentrate on things like the future of the family home, and how any children of the family will be supported. However, this leaves out a major part of the matrimonial “pot” which are pensions.

Many people appear not to understand the significance and importance of having pensions in place for later life and most do not realise the true value of their pensions which can often be greater than the value of their house.  The researchers found that in many cases, it was still the male breadwinner who had the better pension provision and that men become emotionally attached to their pension assets. As a result, when it comes to divorce, women are far more likely to prioritise keeping the family home whilst men are more focused on keeping their pension. These findings suggest that a wife who was the main carer of children would prefer to keep the family home, believing this to be the ‘better deal’.

Often, that is not the case. The difficulty that this causes is that even the increase in the value of the house will not provide enough capital to provide a decent pension when the time comes to retire, so you could be left with a mortgage free home but unable to afford to live in it because your pension is not enough.

Most do not realise the true value of their pensions which can often be greater than the value of their house.

The conclusion that Family Lawyers have drawn from this research is that divorcing couples need to be helped to have a better understanding of the importance and value of their pensions so that they can make an informed choice that combines securing them both a home, with ensuring that they have some pension income in retirement.

If you are about to separate or divorce, make sure you get proper advice that takes into account pensions and the impact they can have upon your future financial security.

At Harold Stock & Co Solicitors we offer a free of charge, untimed initial meeting with a family law specialist. There is no obligation to instruct us following this meeting. We will outline the options available to you and also discuss the costs involved in the matter. To get in touch with Chris Bowen, who specialises in Family Law – the legal aspects of family and relationship breakdown, email him at cb@haroldstock.com or call 01457 835597.

Divorce fee to increase in England and Wales

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It is reported that following consultations in the Spring of 2021, and despite the majority of respondents opposing court fee increase, the government is set to increase some court fees for the first time since 2016. As a result, later this year the cost of divorce application in England and Wales is expected to rise from £550.00 to £593.00 as of September 30th 2021, representing a 7% increase.

“We at Harold Stock & Co intent to offer a competitive fixed fee service for undefended divorce cases”, said family law solicitor Chris Bowen. “However if you are planning to divorce in the near future, we advise you to issue your divorce application promptly to avoid the price rise caused by the £42.00 increase in the Court fee.”

If you have questions about our family law practice or think you might need help with your divorce, we offer a free of charge, untimed initial meeting with a family law solicitor. There is no obligation to instruct us following this meeting. We will outline the options available to you and also discuss the costs involved in the matter. We are able to offer confidential meetings over the phone, by video call or at a location to suit you.

Conveyancing searches: why are they necessary for a house or flat purchase?

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Searches are a necessary and crucial part of the conveyancing process. Although they are not a legal requirement for a purchase of a property, particularly if you are a cash buyer, your conveyancing solicitor would normally recommend that these searches are carried out so that you know all the essential information about the property and land you are buying. If you are buying the property with the help of a mortgage, then your lender will usually insist on searches being carried out.

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