Most family disputes in Leeds never reach a judge, and the law is designed to keep it that way. Before applying to the family court about children or money, a separating parent must normally attend a mediation information and assessment meeting, and the court will ask what else has been tried. Mediation, solicitor-led negotiation and collaborative law resolve the majority of cases, and a family law solicitor in Leeds will say at the first meeting which route fits.
Some cases need the court quickly. Where there is domestic abuse, a solicitor can apply for a non-molestation or occupation order within days, and legal aid is still available for it. Where the local authority believes a child is at risk, care proceedings begin, and parents are entitled to legal aid regardless of income. Both are heard by the family court in Leeds city centre, which serves the whole district from Wetherby to Morley.
The rest of the work is the ordinary aftermath of separation. Parents who cannot agree where the children will live or how much time they spend with each of them, grandparents in Garforth who have been shut out, a parent who wants to move to Scotland or back to Poland or Pakistan with the children. Unmarried couples discover that the law gives them far fewer rights over a house in Chapel Allerton than they assumed, and that a cohabitation agreement or declaration of trust would have saved a great deal of money. Couples marrying later in life, often with property and children from before, ask for prenuptial agreements, which the courts now give real weight to if they are drawn up properly.
Fees in Leeds range from fixed charges for a straightforward application to hourly rates for contested hearings; a free or reduced first appointment is common.
Family law solicitors in Leeds are listed below this guide, verified firms first. Read what family law covers, the general family law solicitors page, divorce solicitors in Leeds and, further down the county, family solicitors in Wakefield.
