Barking and Dagenham has one of the youngest populations in London, and the family law that goes with it: parents separating before their children start school, domestic abuse in overcrowded flats, grandparents stepping in to raise grandchildren, and a council that applies to the family court often. Family law solicitors in Barking and Dagenham handle more care proceedings, in proportion, than their colleagues in most of the capital, and more cases funded by legal aid.
Care proceedings carry automatic legal aid for parents, whatever their income, and run to a tight timetable; a parent who engages early, with a solicitor, has far better prospects. When a relative rather than a parent ends up caring for a child, a special guardianship order gives them the legal standing they need, and grandparents in Dagenham and Barking apply for them regularly.
Domestic abuse is the other large category. Non-molestation and occupation orders can be obtained within days, with legal aid, and a solicitor will look at the tenancy at the same time, since a council or housing association tenancy can be transferred between separating partners by the family court. Disputes between separated parents over where children live and how time is shared usually begin with a mediation information and assessment meeting and are heard, if needed, at the East London Family Court in Canary Wharf.
Unmarried couples, who are the majority of young families here, have no financial claims against each other on separation beyond trust law and claims for the children, and a cohabitation agreement, however unromantic, prevents the worst disputes.
Most local firms offer a free or fixed-fee first meeting, and legal aid where it still applies.
Family law firms serving Barking and Dagenham are listed below, verified firms first. Read what family law covers and the general family law solicitors page; for the divorce itself see divorce solicitors in Barking and Dagenham and the divorce process.
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