l aw ad v er t i s i n g feat u re
Meet the Family Lawyer Cardiff has hundreds of law firms, all offering conflicting statements and slightly different services – our handy guide helps you to find the right one for your family’s legal needs...
Gaynor Dickens Geldards LLP 029 2038 6524; 07714 093 465 Gaynor.Dickens@geldards.com; www.geldards.com What’s your favourite part of the job? Unknotting legal tangles, minimising stress and encouraging respect between couples. What are the biggest misconceptions surrounding family law? That it’s expensive. The costs of not having a good lawyer can be enormous. For example, Dale Vince married in 1981 and separated after three years when neither party had any money. 27 years later he was the multimillionaire owner of Ecotricity but didn’t have a final financial remedy order, so when his ‘very’ ex-wife took him to court he had to give her hundreds of thousands of pounds. Also, that common law partners have the same rights as married ones. There is no guarantee that you will be entitled to a share of the property you call home, even if you’ve spent years living there – getting a cohabitation agreement will help. What do you specialise in? I have 30 years’ experience dealing with high net worth divorce and separation, pre and post-nuptial agreements and complicated children’s matters. What key advice would you give to someone considering a divorce? Keep communicating. It helps keep costs down and hopefully allows you both to attend your children’s weddings!
92 I CARDIFF LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk
Sandra Horwood
Catrin Stephens
QualitySolicitors J A Hughes 029 2061 9700 www.qualitysolicitors.com/jahughes
Peter Lynn & Partners 02920 600799 www.peterlynnandpartners.co.uk
Which aspect of family law do you specialise in? I have specialised in financial settlements following relationship breakdown and children matters for more than 30 years, although as a firm we deal with all aspects of family law. I am a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Advanced Panel and I am also a trained Collaborative Lawyer, working with families to resolve issues outside of court wherever possible to avoid extra stress and uncertainty.
What do you specialise in? I specialise in financial issues in divorce and separation. I regularly deal with cases which include family business, farms, property portfolios and inherited property and I have a lot of experience dealing with police, fire service and military pension division on divorce.
How has family law changed in the last few years? The biggest change is that Legal Aid is largely no longer available except in limited cases e.g. where domestic violence or child abuse is involved. What professional accomplishment has made you most proud? We are one of the few firms to obtain exceptional Legal Aid funding for a client with a disability, who otherwise would not have qualified for public funding and wouldn’t have been able to have professional legal support. It is always a rewarding moment to go above and beyond for clients. What is the biggest mistake you see your clients making? Many clients believe that the Decree Absolute also covers financial arrangements in a divorce, which is not true. We advise every client to obtain a final financial order to avoid claims against finances in the future.
What advice would you give someone considering divorce? Firstly, I would say choose a lawyer who is a specialist family practitioner with expertise in the area that you are looking for. Also look at the firm as a whole. At Peter Lynn and Partners we have lawyers with a wide range of expertise, for example we have Wills, Trusts, Company and Commercial departments which can help with the finances on divorce. What is the biggest mistake you see clients making? The most difficult thing for most people going through a divorce is to try and separate their negative emotions and hurt about the relationship breakdown from their finances. They need to take a rational approach to financial division. It is important to be realistic about settlement and not waste money on chasing a settlement that is clearly unrealistic. If you could change one area of family law, what would it be? I would definitely change the fault-based divorce system and I think that most family law practitioners would agree that the present system leads to futile court battles.