Two parents, two shift rotas, and a child who has to be collected from school in Werrington at three o'clock. Arrangements for children in Peterborough have to fit around warehouse and factory shifts that change weekly, and the parenting plans that family law solicitors here draft are more detailed than most: who covers which week, what happens when a rota changes, how handovers work when one parent has no car. The family court at Peterborough Combined Court Centre decides the cases that cannot be agreed, after a mediation information and assessment meeting that most parents must attend first, and Cafcass reports on the child's welfare.
The city's international population shapes the rest. Children taken to visit relatives abroad and not returned, grandparents in another country who want contact, marriages that began overseas and relationships between people with different immigration statuses all add a layer that a solicitor must understand before advising. Forced marriage protection orders and female genital mutilation protection orders are available from the same court as non-molestation orders. Where there is domestic abuse, an injunction can be obtained within days and legal aid is available for it, and legal aid also covers parents whose children are the subject of care proceedings brought by Peterborough City Council, whatever their income.
Cohabiting couples, who make up a large share of the young families on the new estates, have few of the rights of married ones when they separate; a declaration of trust on the house and a cohabitation agreement are the cure. Prenuptial agreements are growing in popularity among families with a business or farm to protect.
Peterborough family solicitors generally offer a fixed-fee or free first appointment, fixed fees for agreements and hourly rates for contested proceedings.
Listed below are the family law firms serving Peterborough, verified firms first. Read what family law covers, the general family law solicitors guide and the divorce process, and for the marriage itself see divorce solicitors in Peterborough.
