For You and Your Family
Our family lawyers have many years of experience in helping armed forces personnel. If you are contemplating a divorce or separation, then please contact one of our family lawyers who all have a strong understanding of working with military personnel and dealing with related issues such as pensions and service family accommodation.
The breakdown of a relationship is never easy, but it can be particularly difficult for those in the armed forces. It’s often the case that arrangements for children, pensions and splitting assets can be more complicated than usual.
At BakerLaw, our divorce solicitors regularly represent military personnel and spouses of military personnel through the challenging process of separation and divorce. We have a strong understanding of the issues that particularly affect those in this sector, and we know how to deal with the unique aspects of an armed forces divorce.
Our armed forces divorce solicitors in Farnham can advise on a full range of family law requirements, including:
Our Family Law team are approachable and supportive and will do all they can to help you. We always work proactively to move matters along efficiently and we will aim to finalise your case without delay.
We understand the busy life of service personnel and the fact that work commitments can make dealing with issues difficult. We will do our utmost to make your life easier by taking on the burden of the work as much as possible. We can keep in touch by email and telephone so that even if you are not local to our offices or you are moving around or overseas, you will still receive prompt and effective service.
To speak to one of our expert military divorce solicitors, contact your local BakerLaw office or email us at enquiries@baker-law.co.uk.
We provide advice and representation in respect of all aspects of divorce, separation and civil partnership dissolution for those in the army, navy and RAF.
While the legal process of divorcing or dissolving a civil partnership is the same for armed forces personnel as for anyone else, some of the associated matters will be unique, including dealing with military pensions and military housing.
We can advise you of your rights and what to expect from the process and ensure that your interests are protected at all times. We understand how stressful a separation is and we will make sure that we are available to speak to you as needed. We will keep you updated on the progress of your matter and answer your questions clearly and honestly.
Wherever possible, we work to resolve matters without the need for litigation. Where necessary, we can support and represent you through alternative dispute resolution. This is usually a faster and more cost-effective way of resolving matters than court and can substantially reduce the amount of conflict involved.
As well as obtaining a divorce or civil partnership dissolution, you will need to deal with other issues at the same time, including the division of your assets and arrangements for your children, if you have any.
We provide a complete service, ensuring that all aspects of your separation are dealt with promptly and effectively so that matters can be finalised as soon as possible.
When you divorce or end a civil partnership, it is essential to have an order in place dealing with financial matters. Without this, your former spouse or civil partner could potentially make a financial claim against you in the future.
We can represent you in financial negotiations to ensure that you receive the financial certainty you need. If matters can be dealt with by way of agreement, we will ask the court to seal this by way of a consent order which will be legally binding.
Where necessary, we will prepare the best possible case for you if your financial claims need to be decided by the court.
As well as financial issues for spouses and civil partners, we also deal with maintenance for children and related issues such as boarding school fees.
Dealing with pensions in a military divorce is more complex than other types of pensions. A cash equivalent value will need to be requested and used for the basis of a claim or defence to a claim. If the military spouse retains all of their pension, the other may receive more of other available assets such as property and investments by way of compensation, known as offsetting.
It is essential that any experts who deal with an armed forces pension in divorce have experience in this type of pension as it is different to all other types of pensions.The cash equivalent value may be considered to be lower than other types of pensions, but the other available benefits mean that the value alone should not be relied on in offsetting other assets.
As an alternative to pension offsetting, a pension sharing order can be made, transferring a share by way of percentage of a military pension to the non-military spouse, so that when they reach retirement age, they will be able to draw on this.
It is important to take into account Early Departure Payments if the military spouse is long-serving. These are payments made every month to those who have served for 18-20 years or more as well as a lump sum. A pension sharing order is likely to negatively impact these payments and so that situation must be dealt with carefully by an expert military divorce solicitor who fully understands the complications in dealing with armed forces pensions.
Making arrangements for children can be challenging for the families of service personnel, with extra complications such as accommodation and overseas postings to take into consideration.
We can help you work to find the best solution for your family, without the need for court intervention wherever possible.
If necessary, we can refer you to mediation to try and resolve matters amicably. We can draw up a child arrangements agreement on your behalf setting out how matters will be dealt with and ask the court to seal this into a binding order.
While the process of divorcing forces personnel is legally the same as any other divorce, the related issues can make the situation far more complicated.
Where there are children of the relationship, matters such as service family accommodation, boarding school and maintaining a meaningful relationship need extra care to ensure that the best possible arrangements are made.
The actual divorce process will take a minimum of six months, however the related issues that need to be dealt with usually mean that matters take longer than this. If the serving spouse is overseas for any period, then delays may happen.
We know how important it is to move forward and have some certainty for the future in respect of finances and arrangements for children. We understand the challenges of managing the divorce process for armed forces personnel and non-serving spouses and we always work to deal with issues effectively in the minimum amount of time.
In a longer marriage where a spouse is entitled to an equal share of the matrimonial assets, the court can consider awarding them half of the army, navy or air force pension. However, there are often other options available, such as a larger share of other assets. Where service personnel want to keep as much of their pension as possible, up to 100%, we can work to find other solutions.
We know that finances are likely to be of concern during a divorce or dissolution. However, it is crucial to have the best advice available when so much is at stake for your future and it is likely to be in your best interest to use solicitors with sound expertise in military divorce and the associated issues.
Our armed forces solicitors have a high level of experience and provide outstanding value for money. We always aim to ensure our pricing is fair and transparent so that you are aware at all times how much our services are.
We can provide representation on a fixed fee basis where possible so that you will know exactly how much you will be charged for certain work. We also provide some services on a fixed hourly rate. In this case, we will agree on all work in advance with you so that you are in control of expenditure.
Find out more about our pricing.
If you are a military spouse or civil partner or a non-serving spouse or civil partner, we can give you the advice and representation you need to achieve the best possible outcome for your future.
You can contact your local BakerLaw office or email us at enquiries@baker-law.co.uk.
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