Family Law

We work with family lawyers to find the right answers for your clients, to enable you to negotiate the best settlement.  Whether you're working through the courts or guiding your clients with collaborative law, we will look after your client's interests and keep you informed at key stages of our advice process to save you time.

Useful resources

Please click on the links below to access:-

State pension age calculator: simply enter your client's gender and date of birth.

Pension share checklist: a helpful checklist; please print and ask your client to sign.

Case studies

We've set out below some case studies to demonstrate how our services have helped clients of family lawyers.  For confidentiality, we've changed the names or initials of the clients.

The following case studies are based on clients' specific circumstances and should not be viewed as advice. Please seek independent financial advice before embarking on a course of action.

Using Equity Release to help in a divorce settlement

Henry was age 76 and was going through a divorce. He had been introduced to us by his family lawyer who needed to ascertain if he could raise funds towards his matrimonial settlement. If not, then he would have to sell the house to raise the funds and then move into rented accommodation. The thought of having to rent somewhere after living in his house for 42 years was not very pleasant. 

How did we help? 

Luckily, Henry had no mortgage on his house.  The amount of money that he could raise was dependant on his age and the lender's valuation and not his income.  We researched the best scheme to give him the maximum percentage amount and then applied for a lifetime mortgage.  The lender produced a mortgage offer and the family lawyer was then able to negotiate the settlement knowing that the funds would be available. 

After some negotiation, a settlement was reached and the lifetime mortgage funds were drawn down. 

The family lawyer was impressed that we had been able to assist.  Henry was delighted that the lifetime mortgage had a no negative equity guarantee which meant that even if the mortgage balance exceeded the value of the property that Henry could stay there until he went into care or passed away.  This meant that even if the mortgage balance exceeded the value of his house there would be no balance for his son to pay.

By the way, at our suggestion the only son had been involved throughout the transaction and he was pleased that we had been able to help his father without him having to sell his home.

Using Lifestyle Financial Planning to help after a divorce

One of our clients, Mrs W, aged 53, recently went through a divorce and received a settlement of £225,000.  Her solicitor recommended the services of Yates & Co.  Having given up her career to look after their two children (now at university) Mrs W had never dealt with the long term finances, although she had been used to budgeting monthly.  Mrs W also had some pension funds but was worried about her financial future and whether she would be able to afford the rest of her life.  She really needed some peace of mind. 

How did we help?

Simon offered Mrs W an initial meeting, at our cost and with no obligation.  At that meeting we explained our Lifestyle Financial Planning service and the fact that one of its key benefits is to ensure that people can live the lives they want without worrying that their money will run out.  Mrs W became a client and, despite being in a state of shock after a difficult divorce, we worked closely with her over a three month period.  We helped her to work out what she wants to do with the rest of her life and how much it will cost.  This life time cash flow forecast formed the foundation, on which we built her Financial Plan.  This gave Mrs W a clear picture of her financial future, which gave her peace of mind and the confidence to look forward to it.  She left our offices with a bigger smile on her face each time. 

We have set up a schedule to meet with Mrs W once a year to review and amend her Financial Plan with her, to ensure that it evolves in line with her circumstances and changing economic conditions.

Pension Sharing Order

Mrs D was referred to Simon by her Family Lawyer for advice on implementing a Pension Sharing Order. She had originally been quoted an annual pension of approximately £9,000 per annum and had been encouraged by a third party to accept this. By taking the time to understand Mrs D's needs and circumstances, Simon was able to secure Mrs D a guaranteed lifetime pension income of approximately £15,000 per annum from the same fund. This made a real difference to Mrs D.

Pension Sharing Order

Mrs L was referred to Simon by a Family Lawyer who had negotiated a Pension Share as part of the matrimonial settlement. Her share of the pension funds was £200,000, split between three pension companies. We ensured that the Pension Sharing Orders were implemented efficiently and we kept the Client and Family Lawyer informed throughout the process. By taking responsibility for the implementation of the order, we kept the Family Lawyer informed at the key stages, who continued with other duties safe in the knowledge that the order was being implemented.

Lifestyle Financial Planning

Mrs H was referred to Simon by her Family Lawyer. As part of the divorce settlement Mrs H received a lump sum of £325,000. Although Mrs H is working she was concerned as to whether her overall finances (salary, potential pension income and other investments) would maintain her desired lifestyle. Mrs H engaged with our Lifestyle Financial Planning process which helped her to work out the cost of the life that she wants to enjoy. We implemented her financial plan which included our investment advice. Our comprehensive annual reviews will ensure that she does not have to worry about money. We were able to complement the excellent work undertaken by the Family Lawyer who obtained a settlement sufficient to provide Mrs H with financial security for the rest of her life.

Equity Release

Mrs S was referred to Phil by her Family Lawyer and the intention was to remortgage the matrimonial home to provide funds towards buying a new home for herself and her son. Although the client had reasonable income to obtain a mortgage and some savings of her own, she was still short of deposit to make up the purchase price. She was an only child and her widowed father owned his own home. The solution was to raise funds on her father's property by arranging a lifetime mortgage (equity release). Her father took independent legal advice and the result was that he raised sufficient funds so that plus her savings and a new mortgage she was able to purchase her new home.

Mortgages and Finance

Mrs C was referred by her Family Lawyer as she needed to remortgage to pay out her ex-husband. Due to his unwillingness to accept that the relationship was over and inability to keep his finances under control the ex-husband had missed some mortgage payments. Using the whole of market approach Gareth was able to source a realistically-priced remortgage that enables Mrs C to sever financial ties with her ex-husband and also raise sufficient funds to clear the legal bill which had accumulated over several years. Using the services of the in-house property department the Family Lawyer was able to work closely to obtain a rapid conclusion to events.

Mortgages and Finance

Mr M was referred to Gareth by a local Family Lawyer as he needed to see exactly what level of mortgage could be affordable for him and his three children following his divorce. To enable him to achieve a greater lump sum from the sale of the former marital home than would be released if ‘standard' income multipliers were applied a detailed breakdown of income and expenditure was completed. Using his knowledge of the lenders and their lending criteria, together with an industry forecast on future interest rates, Gareth prepared a detailed report highlighting why income multipliers should not be used in this instance as Mr M would be grossly over-committed and would need a greater percentage of the sale proceeds to provide for the children. The Judge agreed with all points raised and awarded the full amount requested to Mr M.

Personal protection planning

Mrs J was referred to Phil by her Family Lawyer, initially for mortgage advice but subsequently he identified that, in the event of her ex-husband's death or long-term illness, her maintenance payments would be severely affected or cease completely. The solution was to effect sufficient life cover and income protection benefits on Mr J. We referred Mrs J back to her Family Lawyer and her colleagues for advice on protecting the benefits by means of a trust arrangement.