Bath's two universities and its professional firms bring people here from all over the world, and when their relationships end the questions a family solicitor in Bath is asked are often international: can a mother take the children back to Germany, which country's court should decide, how is a marriage conducted abroad treated here, and what happens to a visa when a sponsoring spouse walks out. Child abduction conventions, mirror orders and relocation applications are familiar ground for the city's family lawyers.
The domestic questions are the same as anywhere, with a Bath accent. Where will the children live and go to school, in a city where school places are fiercely contested; how will a parent who commutes to London see them in the week; and who stays in the flat on Pulteney Street while the finances are sorted out. Most children applications must be preceded by a mediation information and assessment meeting, and the family court at Bath Law Courts on North Parade Road hears those that cannot be settled, with Cafcass advising on welfare. Bristol's family court takes some of the more complex cases.
Where there is domestic abuse, a solicitor can obtain non-molestation and occupation orders quickly, and legal aid is available for them, as it is for parents facing care proceedings brought by Bath and North East Somerset Council. Cohabiting couples, who have no automatic rights in each other's property, are advised to make a cohabitation agreement and a declaration of trust when they buy, which in Bath usually means a substantial sum is at stake. Prenuptial agreements are commonly requested before second marriages and by families with inherited property.
First appointments are often free or at a fixed fee; contested hearings are charged hourly.
The family law firms serving Bath are listed below, verified firms first. Read what family law covers, see divorce solicitors in Bath and the general family law solicitors guide, or the divorce process.
