Frequently Asked Questions

McIlvenny law has been established by a leading divorce and family law practitioner, advising clients throughout Northern Ireland. We specialise in all areas of family law and our priority is to ensure that our clients receive the best representation possible in their case, tailoring our advices to the specific needs and circumstances of each client’s case. We ensure this is done through our promise to every client which involves; listening carefully; providing transparency in relation to fees; clear communication; continuity of services of a senior, experienced family lawyer.

Our office can be contacted in one of the following ways:

  1. Sending an email to: team@mcilvennylaw.com
  2. Submitting a request through our website.
  3. Telephoning the office on: (028) 90 91 2761.
  4. Telephoning or sending a text message/whatsapp to the work mobile: 07593258113.

Whenever spouses or partners separate, there are often children of the family who need to be cared for. At McIlvenny Law, we always put the welfare and needs of children at the centre of the process. By using the paramountcy principle, defined within the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, we ensure that on any question with regards to the upbringing of children, their welfare and best interest are always the paramount consideration. This is the guiding principle for a court when making such a determination.

When determining the issue of child custody we take the approach that, where possible, court proceedings should be avoided. In the first instance, as your solicitor, we will attempt to reconcile any disputes regarding the upbringing of a child directly with the solicitor representing the other parent. This can be done through exchanging correspondence/speaking directly with the other side/having a joint consultation to try to negotiate a reconciliation. It is possible to then draft an informal agreement between the parties which details the relevant aspects of the agreement as to how the children/child should be brought up by the parents.

Unfortunately, in certain situations, the collaborative law approach to trying to resolve issues regarding children may not be successful and consequently the court process needs to be invoked. This can be initiated by either parent through there legal representatives and the process involves issuing an application to the relevant court (which depends on where the children live). At any stage throughout the court process a resolution can be reached and at McIlvenny Law we will continually strive to do so without the need for a full evidential Hearing before the court. If the matters in dispute cannot be resolved prior to the listing of the case as a full evidential Hearing then the matter will proceed to court. Both parents will usually be required to attend court and the case/custody of the child(ren) will be determined by the Judge after listening to and considering all the relevant evidence in the case.

Collaborative law a term that refers to an alternative dispute resolution process for separating couples/spouses that can be utilised in place of court proceedings. It usually involves a series of meetings between couples/spouses and their legal teams which can take the form of round table discussions to try to resolve the outstanding issues between the parties (to include financial issues) without going down the route of court proceedings. Other professionals can also provide assistance at these collaborative law meetings, such as family consultants or child specialists. The benefits of collaborative law are that parties can keep costs down and can set their own timetables/agendas, without having the timetable being dictated to them by the court. At McIlvenny Law we are keen to encourage a collaborative law approach to cases in an effort to resolve divorce and financial matters as smoothly as possible.

This is one of the most common questions faced by McIlvenny Law. Whenever spouses separate, there are usually two main aspects of what is commonly known as the ‘divorce process’, these are; the divorce; the resolution of financial matters. Very often, the length of time taken to conclude each of the aspects of the divorce process will largely be dependent of the specific facts of the individual case. Sometimes the divorce will be completed first and the resolution of the financial matters second and vice versa. There will be a number of reasons as to the particular order that is taken in the process. On other occasions, both the divorce and the resolution of the financial matters can be addressed simultaneously.

At McIlvenny Law, we always adopt a pragmatic approach to the divorce process and we strive to ensure that the timetable for the process is suited to the specific needs of each individual client. In Northern Ireland there are typically 4 methods to secure a divorce; 2 years separation with consent; 5 years separation; unreasonable behaviour; adultery. The first two methods/grounds for divorce are often referred to as the ‘no-fault’ grounds. If the divorce process is initiated on one of the no-fault grounds and there are no unforeseen obstacles to the process then typically we estimate the time frame from the beginning of the process to the issuance of the Decree Absolute (the document that finalises the divorce) to be somewhere between 9 and 12 months. If one of the two fault grounds is used to initiate divorce proceedings, this can result in the process taking longer. In other instances, the divorce process may only begin after the financial matters have all been resolved. We provide clear communication to all our clients in relation to the timeframes involved in the divorce process throughout the process.

Very often when spouses/couples separate the main financial asset that will require division/determination will be the family home. The prospect of having to sell their home or move out of their home can be extremely stressful and daunting for clients. Where possible, if one party is very keen to remain in the family home, we will aim to ensure that this is the case. It is common that spouses and couples who live together will have a mortgage attached to their house. In order to have one spouse or partner remain in the home, there may be a need to buy the other out of any joint mortgage that is connected to the property.

We will carefully guide our clients through any such situations that arise in the course of their divorce/separation. We will always advise our clients that one of the fundamental tenets of divorce law in Northern Ireland is that the ‘needs’ of the parties must be met.

The most common need of any divorcing or separating party is their housing need. It is imperative that separating parties are left with a roof over the head at the end of the legal process and this is something that we work extremely hard to secure for our clients.

Ancillary relief is the family law court process which deals with the outstanding financial matters between separating spouses. An application for ancillary relief can only be made to the court whenever a divorce petition has been presented to the court. The mechanism to issue ancillary relief proceedings is through the filing of a ‘grounding ancillary relief affidavit.’ This is a document of evidence which sets out the financial landscape of the marriage according to the spouse who is filing the affidavit. After the grounding affidavit has been filed, the other spouse will have the opportunity to file a reply to this document through the filing of a ‘replying affidavit’. Either spouse can initiate the proceedings through filing the grounding affidavit.

 

The ancillary relief process is usually heard by a Matrimonial Master (Judge specifically with the financial matters between two separating spouses). If the case proceeds to an ancillary relief Hearing, this Hearing is known as a Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing. In addition to the filing of an affidavit of evidence, the parties will be required to exchange financial discovery and usually 2 weeks in advance of the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing, the parties will be required to file a document of core issues, which sets out their final position in relation to the resolution of finances. Often within this document each party will include a proposal to settle the case.

 

The ancillary relief process can sometimes appear quite complicated to clients. At McIlvenny Law, we ensure that each step of the process is explained to our clients in clear and concise language to give them the best opportunity to achieve a successful outcome in their case.

Financial discovery basically refers to documents and information that provides an accurate picture of a family law client’s financial situation. In all financial family law cases the mutual exchange of financial discovery is a requirement conferred upon parties by the Northern Ireland legal system.

Documentation that is commonly exchanged in the financial discovery process include; bank statements, payslips, P60s, pension documentation (the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value), benefit statements and property valuations. The exchange relevant financial documentation enables us to provide clear and informed advices when it comes to negotiating financial settlements for our clients.

The term full custody is one that can often be confused with the term within family law in Northern Ireland that refers to the parent with whom a child(ren) normally reside or reside for the majority of the time following the separation of parents. The more accurate description is ‘residency’ or the ‘resident parent’. Within Children Order court proceedings, one parent can obtain an Order for Residency which essentially means that the court recognise that this parent is the one with whom a child normally lives. It is important however to note that the granting by the court of a Residency Order in favour of one parent does not mean that the other parent is excluded or prevented from having contact with the child. Indeed, the other parent may have extremely frequent contact which can include overnight stays on a regular basis. There must be a compelling reason presented to the court to result in a parent being prevented entirely from seeing or having direct contact with their child(ren), for example if the court deem there to be a risk of significant harm to the child while in the care of that parent.

There are a number of remedies available to clients who are being domestically abused, harassed or coercively controlled. In certain circumstances, if an abuser is deemed to be an ‘associated person’, for example a spouse or relative, the victim may be able to obtain a Non-Molestation Order from the court which will prevent the abuser from continuing with their pattern of abuse against the victim.

If an abuser is not deemed to be an ‘associated person’, for example, an unrelated neighbour, the victim can apply to the court for a Protection from Harassment Order.

At McIlvenny Law, we have vast experience of applying for all types of Orders from the court to ensure that any of our clients who are being abused are granted the full protections available in law.