Lancashire County Council is the local authority for children's services across most of the county, and when it applies to take a child into care the case is usually heard by the family court in Preston. Care proceedings are the heaviest work a family law solicitor in Preston does: parents are entitled to legal aid regardless of income, the timetable is tight, and the outcome can be permanent. Firms that do this work hold a legal aid contract and usually have children panel solicitors.
Most clients, though, come with the ordinary consequences of a separation. Where should the children live, how should the weeks be divided, can one parent move away for work, and what happens when arrangements break down? The court expects parents to attend a mediation information and assessment meeting before applying, and many Preston disputes are resolved in mediation, with the solicitor drafting the agreement into an order if the parents want it binding. Contested cases go to the family court at the Combined Court Centre, with Cafcass reporting on the child's welfare.
Domestic abuse cases are urgent. An injunction against an abusive partner can be in place within days, legal aid is available for it, and Preston firms work alongside the local refuges and support services. Unmarried couples, who separate under property law rather than family law, need a declaration of trust or a cohabitation agreement while the relationship is good; prenuptial agreements are asked for more often than they were, particularly where family property or overseas assets are involved.
Most Preston firms charge nothing or a fixed sum for the first meeting, fixed fees for simple applications and hourly for contested work.
Family law firms serving Preston are ranked below, verified ones first; the Lancashire search covers the rest of the county. Read what family law covers for the basics and the general family law solicitors page for fees; the divorce and the finances have their own page, divorce solicitors in Preston.
