The waiting area of the family court in Bromley holds, on any weekday morning, the whole range of the borough's family law: a couple with a barrister each arguing over a Chislehurst house and a pension, a mother from Penge waiting for a non-molestation order, a father from Orpington hoping to see his children at weekends, and a grandmother from Beckenham who has been told she needs the court's permission before she can apply at all. Family law solicitors in Bromley have the advantage, rare in outer London, of a family court in their own town, and most of their clients' cases are heard there.
Children come first. Before applying for a child arrangements order a parent must normally attend a mediation information and assessment meeting, and most Bromley disputes are settled in mediation or between solicitors, with the agreement recorded in a consent order. The disputes that reach a judge are about relocation, often to Kent or Sussex for space, about schools, where the borough's grammar and private schools raise the stakes, and about parents who cannot agree on anything. Cafcass reports on what is in the children's interests.
Domestic abuse applications are dealt with urgently, with legal aid for the applicant and injunctions obtainable within days. Parents in care proceedings brought by Bromley's children's services get legal aid whatever their means. Cohabiting couples, of whom the borough has more each year, learn on separation that the law divides their home by ownership rather than fairness, which a declaration of trust at purchase would have avoided, and prenuptial agreements are increasingly asked for by couples marrying later in life with houses already owned.
A first appointment is often free or fixed-fee; contested cases are charged hourly.
Family law firms serving Bromley are listed below, verified first. For background see what family law covers and the general family law solicitors page; the divorce and the finances are covered by divorce solicitors in Bromley.
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