Garratts Law
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Our Firm
Garratts was established in 1982 and has grown into a multi-service firm with 8 partners and 65 staff. We have 6 offices across Greater Manchester, those being in Ashton, Oldham, Worsley, Radcliffe, Newton Heath and Stalybridge where we can meet with you to discuss your matter. Our solicitors can come to whichever office is closer to yourself to ensure that you can conveniently access legal help.
We are proud to offer a wide range of services to support growing families. Here at Garratts we understand that we can become involved in family life for various reasons and offer a professional, no judgment approach when dealing with matters. Whether you are thinking about cohabiting with your partner, considering separating from your spouse / partner, are the victim of domestic abuse, are having trouble formalising child contact arrangements or find yourself involved with care proceedings, we have a dedicated team who can be on hand to assist you. Our family solicitors are members of Resolution, and our care solicitors are all Children’s Law Accredited which means that we are committed to acting in the best interest of you and your children.
How we can help you
We can offer assistance to individuals or families in many different ways and at various times.
Co-habitation / Pre-nuptial Agreements
If you are thinking about moving in with your partner to start a cohabiting relationship, it is a good idea to have a co-habitation agreement drawn up. A cohabitation agreement sets out arrangements for finances, property, and children whilst you are living together and in the unfortunate event of your separation. It is wise to do this before you move in together, but they can be amended and updated as your life together progresses.
Equally if you are engaged but have pre-marital assets that you wish to protect prior to getting married, our team can help you with drafting a pre-nuptial agreement that will clearly show how assets should be divided in the unfortunate event of divorce.
Separation from Partner
If, however you find yourself in a position whereby your cohabiting relationship has ended and a dispute has arisen as to how you should divide your assets or manage the children with no cohabitation agreement in place, our solicitors can help assist you in negotiating the most appropriate settlement or arrangement for yourself.
Divorce / Separation from Spouse
If your marriage has broken down, our team can assist you with what steps to take next.
If you wish to separate and not get divorced, we can help you negotiate and draft a separation agreement which will reflect how you and your spouse wish for your assets to be distributed following your separation.
If you wish to get divorced, then we can advise and guide you through the divorce and finances process including how this will relate to any dependent children you may have. It is important upon divorce that not only do you obtain a decree absolute but that you also sever the financial ties between yourself and your ex. Our dedicated team can negotiate this settlement both out of court and before the courts on your behalf to ensure that you obtain a fair and reasonable settlement.
We appreciate that all family circumstances are unique, and we have a wealth of experience in dealing with the most straightforward situations right through to complex circumstances involving a multitude of assets.
Child Arrangements
We know that the most pressing issue when families separate is the children and what arrangements will look like for them with both of their parents. Our team have experience in dealing with all aspects of child arrangements in many different circumstances from parents who agree that the children shall see both parents but cannot agree on what arrangements should look like right through to parents who seek to stop contact with a parent because circumstances mean it is not safe for the children. Whilst our solicitors will always act in your best interest, our advice is guided by what is in the best interest of the children.
Where appropriate we can help with with keeping matters out of court by assisting with drawing up parenting plans and making referrals to mediation. Additionally, though if you are engaged with court proceedings or wish to issue the same, we can provide advice on the court process and we can represent you at court.
If there are some specific matters that you cannot agree on we can also assist. Such disagreements often include where the children should go to school or whether the children should change their surnames. We can help with making specific issue applications to consider these specific matters before the courts. We can also help parents make an application to stop certain things happening such as prohibiting one parent from taking the children abroad or removing children from school.
Finally if you are a grand parent who feels that their relationship with their grandchildren is being impacted by the families separation, we could also help you. We have experience in making court applications and representing grand parents in court proceedings to help them maintain their relationship with their grand children.
Care Proceedings
Sometimes a Local Authority may issue Care Proceedings if they feel a child is not being properly cared for or is in danger. We understand how traumatic and daunting Care Proceedings can be and our dedicated team will guide you through the legal process. We can assist you at any stage Social Services or the Local Authority become involved and pride ourselves on being able to take on your matter at very short notice. We can represent you from initial meetings through to court proceedings whether you are facing the possibility of losing your children or, you have already lost them through care proceedings.
Domestic Abuse
We can also offer help and guidance to people who have been the victim of domestic abuse. Whether you are male or female and whether the abuse also involves the children, we act with sensitivity and efficiency in ensuring that you are offered the protection that you and/or the children may need. Our team can help you obtain a non-molestation order or occupation order against your ex-partner that will seek to protect you from further abuse.
If you have been served with a non-molestation order and disagree with the application because you feel that what is being alleged against you is untrue, we can also help. We understand that in some circumstances the application before the courts may not be the whole truth and we have a vast amount of experience in advising you of the contents of the non-molestation order and what to do next.
Legal Aid
Here at Garratts we are also very proud of the fact that we have a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and are able to provide our service to clients who qualify for the same on a Legal Aid basis. Legal Aid is available to certain individuals and can be used to fund your legal proceedings. If we think that you will qualify for Legal Aid, we will advise you of the criteria relating to the specific matter that you have when we speak to you to establish whether this would be a possibility.
Please note Legal Aid is not available to everyone.
Get a consultation- Divorce & Separation
- Children Issues
- Pre/post Nups
- Domestic Violence
- Forced Marriages
- Child Abduction
- Grandparents Rights
All our solicitors are regulated by the SRA.
As well as being regulated by the SRA, our private family solicitors are Resolution members and our care solicitors are Children’s Law Accredited.