This site is not legal advice
Everything here is general information about family law in England and Wales. It is written to help you understand the landscape and decide what to do next. It is not advice on your situation, and it cannot be, because we do not know your situation.
Family law outcomes turn on facts. Two people with apparently similar circumstances can properly get very different advice. Please do not make a decision — about your house, your pension, your children, or a deadline — on the strength of a web page. Speak to a solicitor, whether that is us or someone else.
Contacting us does not make us your solicitors
Sending an enquiry, having a first call, or exchanging emails does not create a solicitor-client relationship. We act for you only once we have confirmed we can (including checking we have no conflict of interest), completed identity checks, and sent you a written engagement letter setting out our terms and costs.
We cannot advise both sides.
If we already act for your former partner, we will not be able to act for you, and we will tell you that immediately without discussing your matter.
For the same reason, avoid sending detailed information before we have confirmed we can act.
Accuracy and fees
We keep this site current and each fee shown carries the date it was correct at. Court fees and procedure change, sometimes at short notice — the divorce application fee and children application fee both rose in July 2026, for instance. Always confirm a figure with us before relying on it.
Where we describe how a process works, we are describing the usual position. There are exceptions to most of it.
Links to other sites
We link to organisations such as the Legal Ombudsman, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Information Commissioner's Office because you may need them. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or their handling of your information.
Content and copyright
The text and design of this site belong to us. You are welcome to read it, print it, and share a link with anyone who would find it useful. Please do not republish it as your own.
Liability
We take reasonable care over what is published here, but we do not accept liability for loss arising from reliance on general information rather than advice given to you directly. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded.
We do not guarantee the site will always be available or free of errors.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.
We advise on the law of England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate family law systems, and the divorce reforms described on this site do not apply there.
This site is a fictional demonstration build. Wharfedale Family Law is not a real firm and these terms are illustrative only.