How Family Law Solicitors Can Support You Through Major Life Changes

Family law is a specialised area of legal practice covering relationships, domestic arrangements and family disputes. It covers formal legal steps, such as divorce or a prenuptial agreement, as well as informal but equally important arrangements, such as living together without marrying. At its core, the aim is to reach fair outcomes while protecting the wellbeing of everyone involved, particularly children.

Getting married or entering a civil partnership changes your legal position. It affects things like next of kin rights, inheritance and financial responsibility for your partner, most of which apply automatically from the day you marry or register your partnership.

Some couples choose to put a prenuptial agreement in place beforehand. This sets out how assets, property and finances would be divided if the marriage or partnership later ended. It is a particularly practical step for anyone bringing significant assets, a business or an inheritance into the relationship.

A prenup will not automatically be upheld by the courts, but it will generally be taken into account provided both parties received independent legal advice, disclosed their finances honestly and were not pressured into signing.

Cohabiting couple families made up 17.6% of all families in the UK in 2025, around 3.5 million families, as reported by the ONS. Yet the law still offers far fewer automatic legal protections to cohabiting couples than it does to married couples. Many people assume that living together for long enough gives them the same legal rights as a married couple, sometimes called a “common law marriage”, but this has no basis in law. Without a joint plan in place, one partner can be left with little claim to a shared home or assets if the relationship ends.

A cohabitation agreement sets out, in writing, matters such as:

• Who owns the property and in what shares
• How outgoings are split
• What happens to shared debts if the couple separates
• Arrangements for children from previous relationships

Our cohabitation agreement solicitors can help you draft an agreement suited to your circumstances.

Starting a family is one of the biggest changes a couple can go through, and for unmarried couples, it also comes with a legal step that’s easy to overlook.

Under family law, a child’s mother automatically holds parental responsibility from birth, but an unmarried father does not. He gains it only by being named on the child’s birth certificate, entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother or obtaining a court order. Without one of these in place, a father can be left with no legal say in decisions about his child’s education, medical treatment or where they live, even if he is fully involved in their life.

This is worth addressing early, regardless of how stable the relationship is. Even a long-term partnership does not itself grant an unmarried father this status. Only the birth certificate, a parental responsibility agreement or a court order can do that. Alongside this, unmarried parents may also want to consider a cohabitation agreement to set out arrangements for the family home and finances.

Divorce and civil partnership dissolution mark the legal end of a marriage or partnership. Under the no-fault system, either party can apply after being married for at least one year, without needing to prove wrongdoing. A civil partnership can be dissolved on similar grounds, where the relationship has irretrievably broken down.

Children and money matters can also need resolving when unmarried couples separate. These are simply resolved differently, without a divorce or dissolution process attached.

Child Arrangements

If children are involved, decisions need to be made about where they will live and how they will spend time with each parent. This applies regardless of whether the parents were married. Where parents cannot agree, a Child Arrangement Order from the court sets this out formally.

Financial Settlements

Divorcing or separating couples are expected to disclose their assets and reach a fair agreement on how savings, property, pensions and debts are divided. Formalising this in a consent order, approved by the court, prevents either party from making a financial claim against the other in future. Unmarried couples do not have access to this process, and instead need to rely on property law and any cohabitation agreement already in place.

Sometimes a major life change is forced by circumstances rather than choice. If you are living with domestic abuse, whether physical, emotional, financial or coercive control, legal protection is available. Orders such as a non-molestation order or an occupation order can help keep you and any children safe. Legal aid may also be available depending on your circumstances.

Our earlier guide on how a domestic violence solicitor can help you covers this in more detail. If you are in immediate danger, always call 999.

Not every family matter needs to end up in front of a judge. If you are exploring your options, you may be wondering what mediation and collaborative law actually involve.

What Is Family Law Mediation?

Mediation involves a trained, neutral mediator helping both parties reach agreement on issues such as finances or child arrangements. It is typically quicker and less costly than court, and for most family applications, attending a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) is a legal requirement before applying to court.

Our guide to the advantages and disadvantages of mediation in divorce covers this fully, including what to expect from a MIAM and the situations where attending one isn’t required.

What Is Collaborative Family Law?

Each person keeps their own solicitor throughout. Rather than negotiating by letter or in court, both parties and their solicitors meet together, face to face, to work through the issues jointly.

Both sides commit to reaching an agreement without going to court. If the process breaks down, neither solicitor can continue to represent their client in court proceedings, which gives everyone a genuine incentive to make it work. A solicitor can advise whether this route, or another, suits your situation.

Neither approach is right for every situation, particularly where there has been abuse or a serious imbalance of power. In these cases, or if mediation and collaborative law don’t lead to an agreement, court proceedings remain an option, and our family law team can guide you through that process too.

Family law exists to protect people during some of the most emotionally difficult moments of their lives. It ensures decisions about children’s welfare are made fairly, and that money and property are divided in a way that reflects each person’s needs and circumstances. It also ensures that anyone experiencing abuse has a legal route to safety. Without it, informal arrangements could easily become unfair or unsafe, particularly for the more financially vulnerable party or for children caught in the middle.

Getting advice early, whether you are moving in together, getting married, having children or facing a separation, helps you understand your rights from the outset.

Whatever stage of life you have reached, our family law solicitors are here to offer clear, compassionate advice. Contact us today for a free 15 minute consultation.