Separation and Divorce Solicitors in Leamington Spa

If you are considering a separation or divorce, there will likely be lengthy conversations between you and your partner about the future financial arrangement of the relationship. There are many different ways to work out financial settlements. Many couples seek the expert advice of a solicitor to assist with the negotiations. At Kundert Solicitors in Leamington Spa, we have over 50 years of experience with helping couples through the legal side of their break up. Our services are available throughout Leamington Spa and surrounding areas.

DIVORCE SOLICITORS

Divorce and Separation in Leamington Spa

A family breakup can be a very difficult and emotional time for all involved, particularly if there are children of the family. At Kundert Solicitors in Leamington Spa we understand there are numerous factors to take into consideration and that client’s often have many questions and concerns around the practicalities of separation. For example: where will they live, how will they afford to rehouse themselves, who will be responsible for what payments and how can they share their time with the children.

Knowing your rights and having some clear practical information from the outset can really help clients to make informed and sensible decisions regarding their separation and divorce. This can also help to reduce stress, conflict, costs and improve co-parenting relations beyond divorce and separation.

If you are going through a breakup or considering your options speak to one of our specialist family law experts who can guide you through the process.

Collaborative Law in Leamington Spa:

Under the collaborative law process each person appoints their own collaboratively trained solicitor and you and your respective solicitors all meet together to work things out face to face. Both of you will have your solicitor by your side throughout the process and therefore benefit from their support and legal advice as you go. You and your solicitors sign an agreement that commits you to trying to resolve the issues without going to court and prevents them from representing you in court if the collaborative process breaks down. This means all are absolutely committed to finding the best solutions by agreement, rather than through court proceedings.

Sometimes only a couple of meetings are needed, in other cases four or five. These meetings follow agendas set by you both. You will also dictate how frequently the meetings happen. Once an agreement is reached your solicitors will put it into effect, obtaining a court order where needed. Some reasons why the Collaborative process may work for you are:

The traditional divorce process at its worse is costly, does little to resolve issues, allows clients little control over the process and encourages clients to litigate, which is often a poor basis for effective co-parenting.

In the collaborative process clients retain control over timing and how quickly they want matters to be resolved.

The process is less costly and more effective.

Clients work together around the table (not through letters or at court) within a safe environment which encourages resolutions to be achieved.

Clients pledge not to go to court : the mainspring for resolution.

The process is more dignified and respectful.

The process assists in helping clients communicate better.

All aspects of the parties’ separation are considered.

Celia Christie is a qualified collaborative solicitor and therefore if you would like more information on collaborative law please contact her at [email protected] or 07702492472.

Arbitration in Leamington Spa:

Family Arbitration is a direct alternative to court proceedings. You jointly appoint an arbitrator, who will make a decision that will be final and binding between you both, on any financial and property disputes arising from family relationships or arrangements for your children. The same arbitrator will deal with all stages of the case from start to finish and will make a binding decision after hearing each party’s case. The timetable is up to you both to agree, so this provides flexibility as to the time and place of the hearings. Arbitrators come from several backgrounds but are generally sitting or retired Judges or experienced Barristers.

Family arbitration was developed to enable parties to resolve family disputes more quickly, confidentially, cheaply and in a more flexible and less formal setting than a courtroom. It can also be applied to a specific aspect of a dispute, so if you can agree on most matters but cannot resolve one particular issue, this can be an attractive alternative to court.

Legal Aid Eligibility in Leamington Spa

What is Legal Aid?

Legal Aid is state funding of the costs of an individual’s legal case. Since the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) in 2013, the scope of legal aid entitlement for family law matters has significantly reduced.

Types of legal aid for family matters

There are two types of family legal aid available- Legal Help (enabling a solicitor to provide initial advice and assistance with your case) and Legal Representation (enabling a solicitor to represent you in court proceedings.

Generally, there are three considerations for legal aid entitlement:

Scope – your case must be eligible for legal aid
Means – an assessment of financial circumstances to check you cannot afford to pay legal costs. Some cases of child protection do not need a means assessment.
Merits – your problem must be serious, you must have a reasonable likelihood of success, and a reasonable person would use their own funds to pay for the case.

Whether your children case is eligible for legal aid depends on the type of case it is or whether you can prove you or your children have experienced abuse.

Types of family law

“Public Law” cases are automatically eligible for legal aid. This is where a Local Authority has concerns about safeguarding a child and has started an investigation or made an application to court. For example:

application for a care order
application for a supervision order
application for a secure accommodation order
application for a placement order
application to discharge a care order
social workers ask you to come to a meeting about your child

Often in public law cases legal aid is available to parents (or carers with parental responsibility) whatever their financial situation. For example, if the Local Authority has applied for a care order for your child, you are automatically entitled to Legal Aid. Public funding has been extended to opposing adoption orders in public family law proceedings involving the Local Authority.

Special Guardianship Orders – cases also now fall within scope for family private law proceedings however remain means tested.

“Private Law” cases are disputes between parents or family members about a child, often following a separation. For example:

Disputes about who a child should live with
Disputes about who a child should spend time with.

With the exception of cases of child abduction, legal aid in private law matters is only available to people who can prove they have experienced domestic abuse or their children have been harmed. LASPO 2012 sets out strict evidential requirements, known as “gateway” evidence, which must be provided in order to satisfy the test for legal aid, and the Legal Aid Agency who administers legal aid, has no discretion to accept alternative evidence or to waive the requirement for evidence.

Gateway evidence

Acceptable gateway evidence includes:

Domestic Abuse

An arrest or police caution for a domestic violence offence
A conviction for a domestic violence offence
A letter or report from an appropriate health professional or referral to a domestic violence support service
A letter from an organisation providing domestic abuse support services
Leave to remain in the UK as a victim of domestic violence
A protective injunction or undertaking
Findings made in a family court.

Child Protection

An arrest or police caution for a child abuse offence
A letter from social services confirming a risk or victim of child abuse
A letter from social services confirming a child protection plan
A copy of a child protection plan
A protection injunction.

In addition to gateway evidence, legal aid for private law matters is both means and merits tested. You must be financially eligible to receive legal aid, from both an income and capital (i.e. your assets) basis and the overall likelihood of success in your case should be sufficient to justify the use of public funds to assist you in your case.

Legal Aid for Family Mediation

Legal Aid is available for mediation in children cases; it is means tested.

Legal aid is also available for cases involving applications for protective orders in domestic abuse cases, and for cases involving forced marriage or female genital mutilation.

Contact us

Should you wish to discuss a family law matter, please contact our Family Law Team on 02476227741. A member of our team can discuss your circumstances with you in more detail and consider your eligibility for legal aid.

For further helpful information about Legal Aid please visit the Government website https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid

Competitive Fees in Leamington Spa

Our private family law team can offer fixed fees for specific areas of work as follows:

Initial Expert Advice Appointment – if you require some initial advice before deciding whether to formally instruct a solicitor, or to enable you to make informed decisions about your next steps, then the Family Team can help. We offer an initial expert advice appointment for up to an hour for a fixed fee of £125.00 + VAT, a total of £150.00.

Divorce Application – if you would like us to issue the divorce application on your behalf then we offer a fixed fee for this work, which includes taking your initial instructions, making the application on your behalf and all work up to providing you with the Final Order of divorce. The fixed fee is £750 + VAT plus the court fee of £593, making a total of £1,493.00.

Financial Consent Order (no pension sharing) – If you have managed to reach a financial agreement with your former spouse, either directly or via mediation, and want this to be approved by the court within your divorce proceedings then we offer a fixed fee for this work. Please note that the fixed fee does not include advising you on the settlement reached. The fixed fee covers all work including taking your initial instructions, checking the agreement with your former spouse, drafting the Consent Order and Statement in Support, arranging for this to be signed by you both, lodging with the court for approval, dealing with any queries from the court, if raised, and providing you with the final approved Consent Order. The fixed fee is £1,200 + VAT plus the court fee of £58, making a total of £1,498.00.

Financial Consent Order (with pension sharing) – If you have managed to reach a financial agreement with your former spouse, either directly or via mediation, and want this to be approved by the court within your divorce proceedings then we offer a fixed fee for this work. Please note that the fixed fee does not include advising you on the settlement reached. The fixed fee covers all work including taking your initial instructions, checking the agreement with your former spouse, drafting the Consent Order, Statement in Support and Pension Sharing Annex(s), obtaining approval from the pension administrator, arranging for these to be signed by you both, lodging with the court for approval, dealing with any queries from the court, if raised, and providing you with the final approved Consent Order. The fixed fee is £1,500 + VAT plus the court fee of £58, making a total of £1,858.00.

Pre / Post Nuptial Agreement – If you have agreed with your partner that you want to protect your assets before or post marriage and how they are to be protected, then we offer a fixed fee for this work. Please note that the fixed fee does not include helping you to negotiate an agreement. The fixed fee covers taking your initial instructions, advising on the pros and cons of having a Pre or Post Nuptial Agreement, drafting the agreement, and obtaining approval from your partner, arranging for the document to be signed by you both and providing you with a signed copy. The fixed fee is £1,500 + VAT, making a total of £1,800.

Please note that to benefit from any of our fixed fees payment is required in full at the start of the matter.

Speak to an expert

Gloria Prewett

Celia Christie

Sarah Warwick

Contact Kundert Solicitors

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Latest Customer Testimonials

Very satisfied with the service it is refreshing in this day and age to come across a company that is efficient and cares about their clients.

Ms W – PI – April 2026

“I’d like to thank Sarah and Chloe of the Kundert team for their legal help and support throughout the immensely sensitive situation I was involved with. Also I’d like to thank the barrister appointed by Kundert Solicitors for his representation in court. From the very first meeting Sarah reassured me the matter was in the best possible hands, and she didn’t disappoint throughout the process, her professionalism handling the case has been second to none, while retaining a friendly approach. The best possible outcome was made thanks to the hard work of the entire team and I simply can’t thank you enough for that.”

Coventry – Public Law Family Client – August 2025

We had two property sales and our own house purchase completed by Perminder at Kunderts recently. She went to a lot of trouble to make our sales/purchase as easy as possible.

Any issues found during the conveyancing were dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Was a pleasure to deal with Kunderts, as it has been over the years. So we will be back if we need legal support again in the future.

Rugby – Conveyancing Client – April 2025

I used Kundert for the conveyancing for the purchase of my first property and was provided with an excellent service from Perminder and Bev, I’m very grateful! Very professional all throughout. They were very proactive with chasing my bank for updates and always on the ball. I was pleasantly surprised because at the beginning of the process, I had heard from a couple of people that I would likely be experiencing delays with Kundert so initially I was hesitant to use them. However I did not find this to be the case at all and cannot identify any date where was a delay on their part. Perminder and Bev were always available and ready to help via email and over the phone. I really appreciate their help and fully recommend their services to anybody requiring a fantastic conveyancing service!

Rugby – Conveyancing Client – April 2025

I cannot begin to thank my legal representative, Louise, enough for everything she has done for me throughout my family court case. From the very beginning, she showed unwavering dedication, thoroughness, and a genuine passion for helping me through an incredibly difficult time.

Louise gave so much of her time, always ensuring every detail was handled with care and precision. What stood out the most was how she never treated my case as just another job—she truly cared, and that meant the world to me. Her professionalism, compassion, and commitment went above and beyond anything I expected.

This wasn’t just legal support—it felt like someone was truly in my corner, fighting with me every step of the way. I honestly couldn’t recommend Louise enough.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Coventry – Private Law Family Client – April 2025

I’ve been supported by Kundert solicitors for around 7 months and I was very much supported in every step of the way! My paralegal Chloe went above and beyond and I could not thank her enough. Very professional, polite, easy to talk to, honest and HARD WORKING. I would highly recommend this company to support you through your journey! Easy to reach and happy to explain and they will fight your corner until the end and be by your side every step of the way. Hardest journey I’ve been on and having Kundert solicitors by my side and how they treated me with respect dignity and communication I could not of done it without them. If I wasn’t happy with anything or did not understand they were greatly on the ball to respond and resolve and explain when needed. 5 * 100%

Coventry – Public Law Family Client – April 2025

Excellent, thankyou very much for all your help. I’ll obviously leave a top review on the survey. You put both mine and my mums mind at ease from the onset.

Rugby – PI Client – March 2025

We have had the benefit and pleasure of working with Kundert Solicitors and specifically Andrea Ward (Partner & Head of Conveyancing), for over eight years. During this time, Andrea has assisted us with several matters, including the buying and selling of our first home, which had an unusual and challenging title, and the purchase of our new home.

Andrea’s approach is exemplary. She is pragmatic, level-headed, and straightforward in her dealings.

What sets her apart is her ability to explain complex matters in simple, clear English, making intricate aspects of conveyancing easy to grasp.

Buying and selling property can be a stressful experience, but Kundert’s makes it manageable.

Their professionalism, combined with the friendly, approachable, and proactive service provided by the team ensure every detail is handled effectively.

We also found their services to be exceptional value for money given their willingness to go the extra mile.

If you’re looking for solicitors who will get the job done efficiently, effectively, and with a personal touch, we strongly recommend Andrea Ward and her team at Kundert Solicitors.

Coventry – Conveyancing Client – December 2024

Thank you for your kind attention to my case, and for being approachable at all times. I am pleased with the result. Your staff have also been very helpful, particularly Lyn.

Rugby – PI Client – November 2024

Delighted to have completed in less than 7 weeks! Thank you to all who worked to achieve this. Well done!

Coventry – Conveyancing Client – November 2024

Give one of our offices a call today on 024 7622 7741 or 01788 222850 to book an appointment.