Family Divorce Solicitors
Helping Your Family Find Stability During Divorce
Untangling a life built together can feel extremely complicated, especially when you're a parent. Alongside the divorce itself, you may need to decide where your children will live, how they will spend time with each parent and what will happen to the family home. There may be questions about maintenance, school routines, childcare costs and how your income will support two households. Even when you and your former partner broadly agree, it can be hard to know which arrangements should be recorded formally and what needs to happen before the divorce is completed.
At Hilton Spence Family Law, our family divorce solicitors provide joined-up advice on the divorce process, your children, your finances and your future family life. We will help you understand what needs attention now, what can be resolved later and how to move forward without creating unnecessary conflict.
Supporting Parents & Children Through Divorce
We help you consider the legal and practical issues together. This may include where your children will live, how they will maintain a relationship with each parent, whether either parent can remain in the family home and how everyday costs will be met.
Expert legal advice at an early stage can reduce uncertainty and help you avoid making arrangements that are difficult to maintain. The aim is to give your children as much stability as possible while protecting your own financial and legal position.
Who Our Specialist Family Law Services Support
Parents of Babies & Young Children
Divorce with babies and young children can affect nursery, childcare, feeding, sleep and handovers. We help you build arrangements around your child’s age, routine and care needs, while considering maintenance, housing and how those arrangements may need to change as they grow.
Parents of School-Age Children
School-age children need arrangements that work around term dates, school runs, homework, clubs and friendships. A routine that appears fair on paper may be difficult for a child if it involves long journeys, frequent changes of home or missed activities. We help parents look at the practical effect of each proposal, including weekday arrangements, weekends, school holidays and special occasions.
Parents of Older Children & Young Adults
As children grow older, their wishes may carry more weight. We help families plan flexible arrangements as a young person moves into sixth form, college, university, an apprenticeship or their first job. They may continue living at home or rely on one or both parents for accommodation, travel and everyday expenses. We can advise on how these changing needs may affect housing, maintenance and the wider financial settlement.
Families of Children With Medical orAdditional Needs
Children with additional needs or medical conditions may depend on familiar routines and continuity of care. We take time to understand how your child’s care works in practice, including which services are involved and how responsibilities are currently shared. The financial arrangements may also need to reflect higher or longer-term costs, including housing needs, specialist equipment, travel, education and paid care.
Your Family Law Solicitors in Wirral & Liverpool
Our family law and divorce solicitors advise parents across Wirral, Liverpool and the surrounding areas. You may be preparing to separate and want to understand your position before speaking to your spouse. You may already be living separately but have no formal arrangements in place. You may agree on the children but remain uncertain about the home, maintenance or wider finances.
Whatever stage you have reached, you will receive advice shaped around your family matters rather than a standard process.
As a boutique firm focused entirely on family law, we can look at the divorce, children and financial arrangements together. This helps make sure that a decision in one area doesn’t create an unexpected problem or further family disputes later.
Our approach is calm, private and constructive. We will support an agreement that is workable while taking firmer action where your position or your child’s well-being needs protection.
Our Offices
You can meet with us at our head office in Heswall or at our Liverpool office within the Port of Liverpool Building. Both locations provide a private setting where you can speak openly about your children, finances and future plans.
Meetings are not rushed. You will have time to explain what has happened, ask questions and consider your next steps with clear legal guidance.
About Hilton Spence Family Law
Hilton Spence Family Law is a boutique firm dedicated to family law. The firm was founded by Laura Spence to combine specialist legal knowledge with a more personal and considered service. Clients receive partner-led advice, clear communication and close attention throughout their case.
We advise on divorce, child arrangements, child maintenance, financial settlements and more complex circumstances.
This means you can receive coordinated advice as decisions about your marriage, children, home and finances develop. Where specialist input is needed, we can introduce you to our trusted network of independent financial advisers, pension advisers, property valuers and mortgage advisers, helping you build a clearer picture of your financial position and options.
The Divorce Process for Parents in England & Wales
Divorce is the legal process that ends a marriage. It doesn't decide where your children will live, how they will spend time with each parent or how important decisions about their upbringing will be made. Financial matters, including the family home, maintenance, pensions and other assets, are also dealt with separately.
These issues are often managed alongside the divorce, so the arrangements work together. Where parents agree, they may be able to put a practical routine in place themselves and record it in a parenting plan. Legal advice can help check that the arrangements are workable and explain whether any part should be made formal.
Where parents disagree, discussions may take place through solicitors or mediation. If contact has stopped, communication has broken down, or there are concerns about a child’s safety, a court application may be needed. We will explain the options, help you decide what needs attention now and guide you through each part of the process.
The Family Divorce Process
Making the Divorce Application
The process begins when one or both spouses submit a divorce application to the court.
Divorce in England and Wales is based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. You don't need to rely on allegations about your spouse’s behaviour to make the application. This early stage is often a suitable time to discuss temporary arrangements. You may need to decide where everyone will live, how the children will spend time with each parent and how mortgage, rent and household costs will be paid.
The 20-Week Waiting Period
Once the court has issued the divorce application, there is a minimum 20-week period before an application can be made for the conditional order.
This time can be used to begin financial disclosure and discuss longer-term arrangements.
For parents, this may include:
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Temporary living arrangements
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Childcare and school routines
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Child maintenance
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The family home
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Household expenses
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Property, savings, pensions and debts
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Longer-term financial needs
You don't have to resolve every issue during this period, but starting discussions early can help identify areas where advice, negotiation or mediation may be useful.
The Conditional Order
The conditional order confirms that the court sees no legal reason why the divorce can't proceed. You remain legally married at this stage. Discussions about your finances and children may continue alongside the divorce. If you have reached a financial agreement, it may need to be recorded in a consent order and approved by the court.
We will explain how the timing of the divorce may interact with your financial position, including pensions, inheritance and rights arising from the marriage.
The Final Order
The final order legally ends the marriage. An application can generally be made from 43 days after the conditional order has been granted.
It's sensible to seek advice before applying where financial matters remain unresolved. Ending the marriage before a financial order is in place can have consequences in some circumstances. We'll help you consider the timing and make sure you understand which arrangements will continue after the divorce has been completed.
Alongside the Divorce: Arrangements for Your Family
The divorce application is only one part of the wider process.
Some parents agree on most issues and need help recording the details. Others agree on the children but not the finances, or they may have a workable temporary routine but no longer-term plan.
We can advise on arrangements for children, child maintenance, and financial provision for children while making sure the overall arrangements work together.
Reaching Agreements Without Going to Court
Many parents can resolve arrangements for children and finances without asking the court to decide. The right route depends on how well you can communicate, whether information is being shared openly and whether there are any concerns about pressure, safety or contact being stopped.
Parents Who Agree
If you agree on the arrangements, we can review the details, identify gaps and record what has been decided. Across a range of family law matters, we may use collaborative law or prepare a parenting plan or consent order, helping you achieve the best possible outcome without legal representation in court.
Solicitor-Led Discussions
Where direct conversations are difficult, arrangements can be discussed through solicitors or with the help of a mediator. These routes give both parents a more structured way to raise concerns, test proposals and work towards an agreement without placing the child in the middle.
When Court Action May Be Needed
Court action may be needed where agreement can't be reached, contact has stopped, financial information is withheld or there are safety concerns. It may also be required for urgent decisions or where an existing order is not being followed. We will explain the available options.
Laura provided some calming reassurance when I was at a really difficult point. Her professionalism and clear focus enabled us to reach an amicable solution which at one point seemed unthinkable.
Client
Why Choose Hilton Spence Family Law?
Choosing the right family solicitor can make a difficult period feel more manageable. At Hilton Spence Family Law, we take time to understand the full picture, from your children and home to your finances and longer-term plans.
Where specialist financial guidance would be helpful, we can introduce you to our trusted network of independent financial advisers, pension advisers, mortgage advisers and property valuers. This joined-up support can give you greater clarity before moving forward with divorce proceedings.
We also have experience advising on high-net-worth and complex family law issues involving businesses, pensions, property and other significant assets. Meetings are available at our Heswall office or at the Port of Liverpool Building, which is well placed for clients attending the nearby family court.
Our approach is calm, thoughtful and personal, with family law advice shaped around your children and the outcome you hope to achieve.
Family Divorce Solicitors FAQs
Family divorce solicitors can advise on the divorce application, arrangements for children, the family home, maintenance and the division of finances.
They can also help you understand which matters can be agreed informally, which should be recorded in a legal document and when an application to court may be needed.
Receiving advice across the full situation can reduce the risk of making a decision about one issue without considering how it affects the others.
You don't normally need to go to court simply because you're separating. Parents can agree where their children will live and how they will spend time with each parent. The agreement can be written in a child arrangements plan, but that plan will not be legally binding.
We can advise if you need a consent order or another formal arrangement.
You may be able to resolve the disagreement through solicitor-led discussions, mediation or another form of non-court dispute resolution.
If an agreement remains impossible, either parent may be able to ask the family court to make a child arrangements order. The court can decide where the child lives, when they spend time with each parent and other matters connected with their upbringing.
We can help you consider the options and prepare any application that may be required.
The same solicitor can't normally advise both spouses during a divorce because their interests may differ. Even where you agree on most matters, each person may need separate advice before signing a financial agreement. One solicitor may prepare documents on behalf of their own client, but they can't give independent legal advice to the other spouse.
The outcome depends on the family’s needs, financial resources and ability to secure suitable housing. Possible arrangements may include selling the property, transferring it to one spouse or allowing one parent and the children to remain there for a period of time.
The court’s approach will depend on the full financial circumstances. You should get advice before leaving the home permanently, agreeing to a sale or changing the mortgage arrangements.
You can get advice from a family divorce solicitor before making a final decision to separate or at any point after separation.
Early advice may be particularly helpful before leaving the family home, moving with a child, changing school arrangements, transferring money or agreeing a permanent financial settlement.
Speaking to a solicitor doesn’t commit you to starting court proceedings. It gives you a clearer understanding of your position and the options available.
We advise civil partners on dissolution and the related arrangements for children, housing, maintenance, pensions and other finances. Dissolution legally ends the civil partnership, while aspects of family life and financial matters are handled separately alongside the process. We can help record agreed arrangements or support negotiation, mediation and court applications where agreement is not possible.
The breakdown of a relationship can send shockwaves through the whole family, and this can be particularly upsetting for young children. Having clear routines, reliable arrangements and lower levels of adult conflict can help children adjust to changes in family life.
Try to keep children out of negotiations and avoid asking them to choose between parents. Their views can be listened to in an age-appropriate way without making them responsible for the final decision.
Legal advice can help parents identify practical arrangements and resolve disagreements without involving the child in adult discussions.
