Relationship breakdown is never easy. Despite common images in the media, most couples simply want to split amicably and fairly, even though emotions might be running high. In order to help them do this, many choose to engage the services of family solicitors in Portsmouth.
One of the first tasks that family solicitors in Portsmouth will do is help the couple decide what kind of separation applies to their union. There are a number of different kinds and it’s worth engaging a solicitor, like Andrew & Andrew, that have a broad range of experience.
Divorce
This is still the most common form of separation. It involves dissolving a standard, legal marriage. The first step with a divorce is to decide the grounds. There are 5 standard definitions that the person who files for divorce can choose from. They are:
- Adultery – where one party has had heterosexual intercourse with another person
- Two years of separation – where both parties consent to the divorce
- Five years of separation – only requires one party to consent
- Unreasonable behaviour – covering a wide range of possibilities
- Desertion – where someone has left the marital home permanently without returning.
Family solicitors in Portsmouthcan help someone decide which of the grounds for divorce will be most advantageous for their circumstances.
Dissolution
Same-sex partnerships can end in divorce or dissolution. The former happens when a marriage needs to be ended while the latter applies in the case of civil partnerships. Grounds are the same except that intercourse between 2 people of the same sex is not currently recognised as adultery.
Annulment
There are a number of circumstances under which an annulment might be more appropriate. If an annulment is possible, it is generally quicker and simpler. There are 2 types of annulment. One basically confirms that the marriage wasn’t valid in the first place, so it is as if it never took place. This might apply if, for example, one of the participants was already married. The other acknowledges that it took place and was legal but was obtained under some sort of false circumstance that invalidates it such as one party being pregnant with a child that is not biologically related to the other party.