Working together through separation

As we slowly start to come out of our Covid-19 hibernation, it is a very sad reality that not all marriages and relationships will have survived.

Some families may have enjoyed the “strange new reality” of all being together all day everyday and posted it all over their social media accounts; you know the one’s, family Yoga in the garden at 6am. Or maybe they’re baking croissants for breakfast  before the children start their school work without needing to be reminded 20 times, or being told by said children that they prefer going to school than having you as a teacher.

But unfortunately for many, the forced confinement , lack of support with added financial pressures and the general stress of it all will have been the final straw. Rightmove has already recorded a huge spike in enquiries about rental properties and their report points the finger to a large extent at family break-up following the Covid-19 lockdown.

We have already seen an increase in media postings from family lawyers about a likely increase in divorce enquiries and that is unfortunately going to be the case. However, just because a marriage has broken down and divorce is happening does not mean that there is ‘one way fits all’ approach to a divorce.

Collaborative Law

At Verisona Law, our family law team are members of Resolution (resolution.org.uk), which supports an amicable approach to separation and we have trained Collaborative Lawyers who approach family and divorce law in a different way.

Where appropriate, we can have roundtable meetings and agenda’s rather than formal letters passing backwards and forwards and each party states right at the beginning of the meetings what their individual priorities are in a divorce.This can help focus minds when blips happen in meetings and there are disagreements, we use the anchor statements to remind everyone what was important to them at the beginning.

We work with you to see what the best approach to a divorce will be for your family. This is especially important when you have young children when you will be keen to ensure that their needs are prioritised and hopefully you and your former partner can still work together as parents long after your divorce. For many the goal is to remain civil, if for no other reason than sitting together at the Christmas Pantomime without their children worrying.

Collaborative law may not be the right option for everyone, but when it is, it benefits the whole family.

At Verisona Law we can offer Collaborative Law on fixed fee basis. If you would like more information about the Collaborative Law approach please email connect@verisonalaw.com or call us on 02392 98 1000.