Family Law

Our family solictors in Horsham are committed to offering the very best client service. As such, we make the following commitments to our clients:

  • Client Promise: We commit to responding to all emails within 24 hours during working hours.
  • Accessibility: Our phones are always answered, ensuring you can reach us when you need assistance.
  • Direct Communication: Speak directly to an experienced family law expert, your dedicated solicitor.
  • Personalised Service: We listen to your unique circumstances, providing tailored advice.
  • Client Care: We genuinely care about our clients, treating them as we would want to be treated.
  • Clear Communication: We explain complex legal matters in plain English, avoiding unnecessary jargon.

Facing divorce or family law issues can be incredibly challenging. We understand that you need both practical solutions and emotional support to help you find a fresh start. At Lewis Denley, our experienced family law solicitors are here to provide compassionate, clear guidance to help you navigate these difficult times.

Contact us today to schedule your free 30-minute consultation. Whether you’re just beginning to consider your options or have specific questions, we’re here to listen and advise. Simply call our team on 01403 456430 to arrange a convenient time for your consultation, either over the phone or via videoconference.

Why choose our family law team to support you?

With over 14 years of experience, our family law solicitors offer clear advice with empathy and a commitment to simplifying the process. We serve clients across Sussex, Surrey, and beyond, including in Dorking, Crawley, Reigate, Guildford, and Midhurst.

Our Family Law Services Include:

  • Divorce and Separation – Guiding you through each step of divorce, including financial settlements and child arrangements.
  • Civil Partnership Dissolution – Helping you manage the personal and practical aspects of ending a civil partnership.
  • Child Arrangements – Prioritising the best interests of your children with a focus on safeguarding parental relationships.
  • Pre- and Post-Nuptial Agreements – Protecting your future financial security through thoughtfully crafted agreements.
  • Cohabitation Agreements – Ensuring fair asset division in cases of separation for unmarried couples.
  • Police Divorce and Pensions – Specialist support for police officers and their families nationwide.
  • Domestic Abuse Protection – Providing urgent and confidential assistance for all forms of abuse.
  • Name Changes – Assisting with name changes for adults and children through the necessary legal processes.

Our team is committed to offering the highest level of client care, with a promise to respond to emails within 24 hours during working hours, direct communication with dedicated solicitors, and clear, jargon-free explanations.

About Lewis Denley Solicitors

  • We are one of the highest rated solicitors by clients in Sussex and the highest rated in Horsham on Trustpilot and Google reviews.
  • We take advantage of modern technology to make your life easier. You don’t have to worry about sending in identification or printing and posting documents. We have invested in IT systems that can help you do this remotely in complete safety.
  • Unlike traditional law firms, we don’t reward our staff based on their billing and time spent on your matter as this does not encourage an efficient service for clients. Instead, we reward our staff based on the thing clients actually care about – the quality of the service we provide.
  • Although we are a young firm, we are experienced. Many of our legal team have worked in their practice areas for years, with a wealth of combined experience across the firm.
  • The majority of our work is obtained by word of mouth, reflecting our commitment to great service and giving us a real incentive to continue to deliver on that commitment.
  • We are proud of our town and county and are keen to support local. Our staff are mainly local and we are passionate about our community, sponsoring and getting involved with a number of organisations throughout West Sussex.

Find out more about Lewis Denley Solicitors.

 

Our family law services

Divorce and separation

The end of a relationship is never easy, but going through divorce proceedings can be particularly daunting. On top of the legal process to end your marriage, there are also usually a range of other issues to consider, including what happens to your home, savings, pensions and any children you have.

Our family law solicitors in Horsham can be by your side through every part of divorce proceedings, making sure every issue is properly considered and dealt with in the best way for your future.

Our expertise includes:

  • Initiating divorce proceedings
  • Responding to divorce proceedings
  • Divorce financial settlements
  • Arrangements for children

See how we can help with divorce and separation.

Civil partnership dissolution

Dissolving a civil partnership is similar to divorce in most ways, although the legal process is slightly different. What isn’t different is the need to balance the personal issues against the practicalities that have to be worked out.

Our family lawyers can advise you on the process for ending a civil partnership, as well as assisting with all of the related issues you need to resolve.

Our expertise includes:

  • Initiating civil partnership dissolution proceedings
  • Responding to civil partnership dissolution proceedings
  • Division of finances in civil partnership dissolution
  • Arrangements for children during civil partnership dissolution

See how we can help with civil partnership dissolution.

Divorce financial settlements and disputes

Dividing your finances is normally the most technically challenging part of divorce, civil partnership dissolution and separation. It is essential to make sure any settlement you reach is sufficient to meet your needs and the needs of any children you have.

Our family lawyers are highly skilled in dealing with divorce finances, including complex assets such as pensions and business interests. We can give you the best chance of reaching a fair settlement amicably, while also being fully prepared to take robust action through the courts where needed.

Our expertise includes:

  • Negotiated divorce settlements
  • Using mediation for divorce financial disputes
  • Applying to the Family Court for a Financial Order where a settlement cannot be agreed

See how we can help with divorce financial settlements and disputes.

Child arrangements

If you have children, this can make the end of a relationship particularly difficult for the whole family. However, with the right approach, it is usually possible to achieve a ‘new normal’ that works for both parents and, crucially, for your children’s best interests.

Our family lawyers take a child-focused approach to these issues, making sure that what is best for your children is always kept at the heart of matters. However, we also strongly believe in protecting the rights of parents, so will work proactively to make sure your relationship with your children does not suffer.

Our expertise includes:

  • Negotiating arrangements for children
  • Applying to a Family Court for a Child Arrangement Order
  • Relocation of children following divorce and separation

See how we can help with child arrangements.

Pre-nuptial agreements and post-nuptial agreements

It is increasingly common for couples to make a pre-nuptial agreement (‘pre-nup’) before marriage or a post-nuptial agreement (‘post-nup’) during the course of their marriage. This can provide both parties with peace of mind over their future financial security and avoid the potential for disputes in the event of separation.

Our family lawyers understand how sensitive these matters can be, as well as the importance of getting a fair agreement for both parties. We can advise on what to include in an agreement and advise on whether an agreement reflects your best interests.

Our expertise includes:

  • Negotiating pre-nups and post-nups
  • Drafting pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
  • Reviewing pre-nups and post-nups
  • The application of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements during divorce

See how we can help with pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.

Cohabitation agreements and disputes between unmarried couples

Most couples now live together before getting married or entering a civil partnership, with a growing number of couples choosing to remain unmarried. While this can be the right choice for many couples, it is important to consider what would happen if you ever separate.

Our family lawyers can advise on making a cohabitation agreement that sets out how your assets (including your home) would be divided in the event of separation. This can remove the potential for tension in your relationship and make things much simpler if your relationship ends. We can also support you through a separation, whether you have made a cohabitation agreement or not.

See how we can help with cohabitation agreements and unmarried couples.

Police divorce and pensions

For police officers and their families, divorce and separation can be especially hard. This is particularly true when it comes to the matter of police pensions, but also the need to deal with the process and make plans for the future around the shift patterns of serving police officers.

Our family law solicitors have particular expertise in advising police officers and their families on divorce, civil partnership and dissolution, having helped more than 500 Police Federation members nationwide.

Our expertise includes:

  • Police pensions
  • Child arrangements for police officers working irregular hours
  • Family law advice for Police Federation members

See how we can help with police divorce.

Domestic abuse injunctions and harassment protection

Domestic abuse can take many forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, sexual and financial abuse. None of these types of abuse are acceptable and it is important to realise that there are strong steps that can be taken to deal with your abuser.

We can take swift action to protect you and your loved ones if you have suffered domestic abuse. We recognise how hard these situations can be and how difficult it is to reach out for help, but please be assured we will always be ready to listen to you and advise on your options in complete confidence.

Our expertise includes:

  • Emergency Protection Orders
  • Non-molestation Orders
  • Occupation Orders
  • Restraining Orders
  • Prohibited Steps Orders

See how we can help with domestic abuse injunctions.

Changing your name and changing children’s names

Changing your own name as an adult is often relatively straightforward, especially when getting married or divorced. However, there are situations where things can be more complicated and, if you need to change the name of a child, there is a legal process you need to go through.

Our family lawyers can advise you on everything you need to do to change your name or the name of a child, making the process as swift and straightforward as possible.

Our expertise includes:

  • Change of name deeds (changing your name by deed poll)
  • Obtaining parental consent to change a child’s name
  • Applying to the Family Court for a Specific Issue Order to change a child’s name without the other parent’s consent

Our family law solicitor’s fees

The legal costs involved in divorce and family law are, understandably, a concern for many people. We are committed to transparency with our family law pricing, so will always be upfront about the costs involved in dealing with your matter, including our fees and any third-party costs.

We offer fixed fee divorce and deferred fee agreements where appropriate. We will be happy to discuss all of the likely costs involved once we have a clearer picture of your requirements, which is something we can cover during your free initial consultation.

Book a free 30-minute consultation with our family law solicitor

We want to make divorce and family law as easy as possible. If you have any questions about how we can help you navigate this challenging time, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our specialist family law solicitors will be happy to offer a free 30-minute consultation over the phone or via videoconference.

To arrange your free 30-minute consultation, please contact our team on:  01403 456430  today.

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      Carla and Amy have been amazing helping me with my divorce. Both super professional offering great advice whenever I needed it. Responding fast to emails and always available to speak to on the phone. Will definitely return in the future if needed. Thank you both so much for your help :). Highly recommended!

      Carla Fishlock at Lewis Denley has been great throughout the process. Thank you for all of your help.

      Thank you so much for all your hard work and good solid advice along the way.  I am very pleased with the outcome and feel I can finally start to think about building a new life for me and the children.

      I just wanted to thank you for all your help. I really couldn’t have hoped for a better result and I was so worried. I can only thank you for your kindness. Your response to the pension report made excellent reading and I could tell that a lot of work had gone into it.

      I am very grateful for all the support you have provided me with over this very stressful time and you have always been utterly professional, thank you

      I would like to thank you for all the patience and assistance you have given me during this time and for getting me through to the end with my health, sanity and pension untouched.

      Just a quick message to say thank you for all your help in resolving my divorce efficiently. You are a credit to your profession

      I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to you for all your efforts over the last year. It has been a very stressful time to be and I’m glad that you managed to achieve what we set out to achieve in that I’m having contact with my daughter

      I recently had the service of Lewis Denley Solicitors and in a short, few words I can give confidence to whoever may be considering using them for legal representation. I received a level of professional commitment that was a pleasure to be involved with. An outstanding firm that were interested and on point from day 1. Thank you.

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