family: family affairs are our business

family family affairs are our business

Did you know?

• The concept of common law marriage is a myth. If you are not married or in a civil partnership, you do not have an automatic entitlement to claim capital or income on the breakdown of a relationship • We successfully represented the husband in the case which is now the leading authority on freezing injunctions and without notice orders • A new relationship is a relevant factor to be taken into account in financial remedy proceedings, even in the absence of cohabitation. In a recent case the judge warned that new relationships are “a significant fly in the ointment in the assessment of need”.

“ Family law affects human relations and personal emotions and so a pragmatic but sympathetic approach is vital.

We have a creative and commercial understanding of our cases to ensure that we provide you with personalised and dedicated advice.

This is all the more important with family dynamics becoming ever more elaborate and intricate.�

Lois Langton, Partner Howard Kennedy

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Relationships can be complicated; our advice won’t be Recent decades have seen families become ever more diverse. Rising divorce rates, civil partnerships, same-sex marriages, more second and third families, international relationships, increasing numbers of cohabiting couples…. all have contributed to the need for a more nuanced and sophisticated approach to managing the legal issues arising out of relationships.

We know that you don’t want your family affairs to become complicated or controversial. We understand that you want them managed in a professional, personal and practical manner.

We aim to create legal solutions that will result in an amicable and acceptable outcome for you and your family.

Our goal is to help you create the right framework to solve/prevent family disputes so that you can look with confidence to the future.

We are available at a moment’s notice and strive to give a 24/7 service.

Where your case cannot be resolved by agreement and Court proceedings are necessary, we are known for our forthright and no nonsense approach.

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Our services We provide clear and concise advice on all aspects of family law. We have extensive experience advising on pre-nuptial and postnuptial agreements, divorce and separation, civil partnerships, cohabitation, the financial implications of relationship breakdown, children issues, injunctions and enforcement proceedings.

Our clients (or their spouses) include wealthy business people, particularly in the property industry, City professionals, owners of family businesses, and high profile media, entertainment and sports personalities.

We have a strong track record of advising clients with complex tax, trust and corporate structures, and around 80% of our cases have some form of international element.

We bring a commercial approach to your personal affairs, offering professionalism and commitment to our clients. We work closely with the private client, corporate, property and reputation management teams at Howard Kennedy, and we have close contacts with accountants, financial advisors, counsellors and other intermediaries. This all helps to ensure that the right people are involved in your case to ensure the best possible outcome for you.

We are committed to negotiating where possible rather than litigating, and we will explore with you the options, including mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, available to you to help resolve your case. We have specialist trained mediators and collaborative lawyers who are always on hand where appropriate.

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Market insight “ So far as pre-nuptial agreements are concerned, English law was long regarded as retrograde and paternalistic in its failure to reflect modern society and how couples wished to arrange their relationships and regulate their future affairs. Whilst pre-nuptial agreements are not yet enshrined in legislation, recent developments in case law have seen a shift in approach by the English Courts and there is an increasing trend towards accepting that individuals should be able to choose to create a framework for the division of their finances in the event of separation. That trend is not confined to the wealthy.”

“ Pre-nups are becoming as much about inheritance as they are about divorce. They are increasingly sought by parents concerned that, if their children marry and subsequently divorce, the wealth will remain in the family”.

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Recent work

Key contacts

• A cting for an international millionaire who was a third party in divorce proceedings involving his son and daughter-in-law and who claimed ownership of the family home which was at the centre of a highly publicised 10 day High Court trial

Lois Langton Partner, Family lois.langton@howardkennedy.com +44 (0) 20 3755 5559

• A cting for a mother where the father had unlawfully removed the child from China to England and where there were substantial allegations of sexual and other inappropriate behaviour • A cting for the wife of an ex-footballer in divorce proceedings which included an application for enforcement by way of committal to prison

Juliette Peters Partner, Family juliette.peters@howardkennedy.com +44 (0) 20 3755 5658

• A cting for a husband in High Court proceedings involving complex issues relating to off-shore companies and entities as well as related High Court proceedings for breach of confidence by the wife against the husband • A cting for the spouses of the children of a wealthy industrialist in relation to complex post-nuptial agreements.

Jay Patel Partner, Family jay.patel@howardkennedy.com +44 (0) 20 3755 5650

“Howard Kennedy (Family team) is ‘very good at what it does, with excellent client care skills’.”

Legal 500 2014

No.1 London Bridge London SE1 9BG DX 144370 Southwark 4 Tel: +44 (0)20 3755 6000 Fax: +44 (0)20 3650 7000 www.howardkennedy.com