Death and Divorce may sound brutal but the subject of Wills and inheritance is important when dealing with divorce.

What do I do if I have divorced but then my ex spouse dies shortly afterwards?  This may be an unusual situation but it can happen.

Our clients are advised during the divorce process that they should have a Will or review their existing Will. This is because divorce, meaning the Final Order, formerly known as the Decree Absolute affects inheritance under a Will.  The Final Order effectively treats the former spouse as if they have died and any provisions in a Will where any property or assets are bequeathed to the former spouse will pass as if that former spouse had died.  In other words if a spouse was to benefit under their spouses Will then that clause will fail and they will not inherit.

With the advent of the no fault divorce

Our Amy Trevellick shares some advice for those who are newly separated or divorced this Christmas.

For many people, Christmas is a particularly special time of year. Spending time with their loved ones, and seeing glee on their children’s faces as they open their presents on Christmas morning. But for others, Christmas can put a huge strain on their relationship and you may find yourself dreading spending another Christmas at home with your partner or spouse.

It is of course, commonly said that January sees a “divorce boom”. The press has even coined the first working Monday of January “National Divorce Day”. But what is the reality of a divorce, and could you see yourself spending Christmas 2021 as a single person?

One of the most rewarding things about being a family lawyer, if not the most rewarding, is to see my client’s go through the journey and come out the other end

It’s not true that there is no such thing as a good divorce. Although any separation is a cause for some sadness, it’s also clear that when the couple in question is on friendly terms and doing everything in their power to base the divorce process on fairness and cooperation, then the experience can be tolerable, or even harmonious.

 1.  Commit at the outset to breaking up amicably. Essentially, any break-up is as amicable as both partners want it to be. Obviously, if the split is something that both partners want equally, then the chances of keeping it civil and cooperative are much, much higher. If one partner wants it less, then keeping everything on good terms becomes much harder. Just remember that you have nothing to gain by making things more difficult than they need be, and if you make things hard for your partner, you’re also making them hard

The long awaited no fault divorce process is getting closer.  The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill has now reached its journey’s end in the House of Commons and now its with the House of Lords to review  before it receives Royal assent.  It is anticipated that it will be Autumn 2021 before the new law comes into effect.

This change in the law has been campaigned for for many years.  Resolution has been campaigning for decades for a change to remove the requirement to place blame on your spouse in order to obtain a divorce.  This need to place fault with your spouse and give details did not sit comfortably with many couples who remained amicable and did not wish to ruffle the other’s feathers by having to blame the other.

The detail of the rules process are not yet known.  Ironing out the finer details may mean the introduction of the

Our Francine Bristo looks at why is September one of the Busiest Months for Divorce?

Every year as with January, we notice an increase in enquiries during September.  This may surprise some as it sees the return of children to school and is could be looked upon as a positive and optimistic time for couples.  Whilst it may be for some, September can be a difficult time for many couples and is a popular time of the year for spouses to file for divorce.  It is not clear why more petitions are lodged in September, couples do not consciously choose a time of year to separate, we suspect there are many reasons for this.

Couples may have used a summer holiday as a time to reflect on their relationship.  Returning to ‘normality’ and everyday routines may mean spouses decide to finally give up the struggle of pretending to be a ‘normal’ and

TAX-FREE GIFTS TO FAMILY MEMBERS

Are you a parent, grandparent, or godparent? Do you make use of your annual gift exemption? If you answered ‘yes’ to the first question you should also consider doing the second as a good way of Estate planning for Inheritance Tax purposes.

WHAT IS THE ANNUAL GIFT EXEMPTION?

Everyone is entitled to give away assets or cash up to a value of £3,000 annually without it being added to the total value of their estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. Any unused part of the exemption can also be carried forward for one tax year.

Parents can gift up to £3,000 tax-free per year to help towards a house deposit, renovations, or as a gift to a new grandchild, for example. Remember that this is your personal allowance, so you cannot give each of your children £3,000. You would need to split the annual exemption between your children if

A testimonial from one of Amye Aris’ happy clients

“Throughout the process, you have dealt with all correspondence both efficiently and with great professionalism, for which we are most grateful.  We will have no hesitation in recommending your services to anyone who wishes to carry out the same procedures”.

RF

I am not sure what to do next ?

When you enter a relationship and you become close you may inevitably think about living together and/or having children together. What sort of things should you consider? Disputes can arise out of quite trivial disagreements initially. What steps can you take to prevent this from happening?

If you buy a home together and it is put into joint names, what steps can you take to protect your respective interests? Has one of you paid or about to pay a significantly greater share of the deposit? Can you protect that money? If the house is going to be in one person’s name (for example one of you has a poor credit history or are self-employed) should you consider a Living Together Agreement? Whilst this may increase your initial costs at a time when you cannot necessarily afford to incur those costs the consequences financially