Family Law Solicitors in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

Divorce

Ending your marriage is never pleasant, but having the right legal advice can take some of the stress away. Our Nottingham family law solicitors take the legal burden off your shoulders, managing the practical aspects of your divorce while you focus on your wellbeing and your family. We’ve guided hundreds of people through this process, and we understand not just the law, but the human side of what you’re experiencing.

From preparing and filing your divorce application to helping you negotiate a fair settlement with your ex-spouse, we are here to guide you through the process with confidence.

We can even assist you with alternative dispute resolution, like mediation, helping you avoid the time, stress and expense of court wherever possible, so you can move on to your next chapter sooner and with less stress.

Children matters

When your relationship ends, your first thought is likely your children. How will they cope with this upheaval? Where will they live? Will they still see both parents regularly? Can you protect them from conflict and confusion? These questions can consume you, especially when you and your ex-partner can’t agree on what’s best.

We can assist with child arrangements orders, detemining where your children will live and when they will see each parent. Specific issue orders are another thing our solicitors can help with. These allow the courts to make a binding decision about a particular dispute (such as where a child goes to school, relocation or medical treatment) without determining all aspects of their care. We can also help with prohibited steps orders, preventing your child’s other parent from taking action that could harm their welfare or relationship with you.

No matter your situation, our Nottingham family law solicitors approach every case with sensitivity, always putting your children first. We work constructively with parents to find solutions that minimise disruption to children’s lives, reduce conflict, and respect both parents’ rights and responsibilities. Wherever possible, we resolve matters without court intervention, keeping things cooperative and calm. 

Cohabitation and TOLATA

Did you know? Unmarried couples have no legal recognition under UK law, regardless of how long they’ve been together. This can create difficulties around shared assets or joint finances if the relationship ends. 

You can give you and your partner clarity and peace of mind with a cohabitation agreement. This is a document that sets out what will happen to your property, finances and other joint assets if you were to separate. It’s not nice to think about a breakup, but it’s important to protect yourself for the future.

If you are splitting up with your partner without an agreement in place, the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) may come into play. This determines disputes about ownership and rights concerning property. It’s a complex area of law, so if you’re facing a TOLATA dispute, get in touch with our family law solicitors today.

Financial disputes

Untangling your financial lives after separation often feels more daunting than the emotional breakup itself. After years of shared bank accounts, joint mortgages, combined savings, and intertwined financial decisions, figuring out who gets what, and what’s actually fair, can feel overwhelming.

Our Nottingham family law solicitors provide clear, strategic advice to help you understand your financial position, know what you’re genuinely entitled to, and negotiate settlements that are fair and sustainable. We’ll conduct thorough assessments of all assets, including property, pensions, savings, investments, businesses, and debts, explain how the law applies to your specific circumstances, and help you reach an outcome to protect your financial security.

We can help with financial settlements and property division, spousal and child maintenance arrangements, pension sharing or offsetting, business valuations and protection, debt allocation, and consent orders that make agreements legally binding and prevent future claims.

Mediation

In most family law cases, ushing into court litigation isn’t always the answer. Court proceedings are expensive, emotionally exhausting and unpredictable. However, other options are available to help you reach an agreement without going to court.

Mediation is a process where you and your ex-partner can meet with a qualified, impartial mediator who facilitates constructive discussions about finances, property, children, or any other issues that need resolving. The mediator doesn’t make decisions for you or take sides—instead, they help you both explore options, identify common ground, communicate more effectively, and work towards agreements you can both accept.

Many of Setfords’ family lawyers in Nottingham are also trained mediators, helping you come to a decision to enable you and your family to move forward. If you’re facing difficult decisions about finances, children, or property after separation, mediation could help you resolve matters fairly, quickly, and with far less damage to relationships and bank accounts than going to court.

Pre- and post-marital agreements

While discussing what happens if your relationship ends isn’t romantic, having a clear agreement in place can actually strengthen your marriage by removing uncertainty, preventing future disputes, and ensuring both partners enter the union with transparency and mutual understanding.

Prenuptial agreements (prenups) are no longer seen as pessimistic or unromantic. They’re increasingly recognized as sensible financial planning, particularly when either partner has significant assets, children from previous relationships, business interests to protect, or simply wants clarity about expectations from the outset.

Post-marital agreements (postnups) work similarly but are created after marriage, often when circumstances change, such as receiving an inheritance, experiencing business success, or when couples want to formalise arrangements they didn’t address before their wedding.

While prenuptial and post-marital agreements aren’t automatically legally binding in England and Wales, courts will generally uphold them provided certain conditions are met, including: both parties received independent legal advice, there was full and honest financial disclosure, the agreement was entered into freely without pressure or duress, sufficient time was allowed before the wedding (for prenups), and the terms are deemed fair.

Our Nottingham family law solicitors draft comprehensive agreements that cover property division, savings and investments, pensions, business interests, debts and liabilities, spousal maintenance, and inheritance provisions. The result is clear, legally robust documents that protect both partners fairly while respecting individual contributions and circumstances.

Separation

Not every couple who decides to live apart is ready to divorce. Whatever your reasons, whether it’s hope for reconciliation, religious convictions that discourage divorce, or financial considerations like preserving pension or tax benefits, choosing separation over divorce is a legitimate and valid decision that the law fully recognises.

However, simply living apart without formal arrangements creates uncertainty and risk. Who pays the mortgage? How will you support yourselves? What happens to joint accounts? Where will the children live? A separation deed is a legally binding agreement that formalises the terms of your separation while you remain married. This document provides legal certainty, financial protection, reduced conflict, peace of mind for children, and a foundation for either eventual divorce or reconciliation.

Our Nottingham family law solicitors work with separating couples to create clear, fair separation deeds that protect both parties’ interests during this transitional period. A separation deed doesn’t change your marital status, but it establishes rules that prevent disputes, protect your finances, and allow you to move forward with confidence.

Parental alienation

Parental alienation occurs when a child becomes unjustifiably hostile, distant, or rejecting towards one parent as a result of the other parent’s influence. This isn’t about a child naturally expressing preferences or struggling with separation, it’s a specific pattern where your child suddenly refuses to see you, repeats criticisms that don’t reflect reality, or shows intense hostility without cause. It can affect both parents and children deeply.

UK family courts take parental alienation seriously, because children generally benefit from meaningful relationships with both parents unless there are genuine safeguarding concerns. Our Nottingham family law solicitors understand these cases and know how to build effective legal responses while keeping your child’s welfare paramount. We’ll help you gather compelling evidence (documenting missed contact, alienating communications, and behavioral patterns), apply for or vary Child Arrangements Orders to restore meaningful contact, work with CAFCASS officers and child psychologists who can provide independent expert assessment, seek therapeutic interventions like family therapy or specialist reunification programs, take enforcement action when existing orders are being breached, and represent you in court.

If you’re experiencing parental alienation or concerned it may be developing, contact our family law team today. The earlier we can intervene, the better the outcome for you and, most importantly, for your child.

Domestic violence

Domestic abuse isn’t always about violence. It’s about power, control, and one person systematically undermining, intimidating, or harming another to maintain dominance in a relationship. It can be physical, emotional and psychological, sexual, financial, or coercive control.

Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, and there is legal help available. Our Nottingham family law solicitors can help you access urgent legal protections, including:

• Non-molestation orders (court injunctions that prohibit your abuser from using violence, threatening you, or contacting you)
• Occupation orders (regulating who can live in your home, allowing you to stay while requiring your abuser to leave, or preventing them from entering the property or surrounding area)
• Emergency protection when you’re in immediate danger (sometimes obtained within 24 hours)
• Divorce and separation proceedings (including special court measures like separate waiting areas or video links)
• Child arrangements that protect you and your children
• Financial settlements that account for how abuse has affected your earning capacity and economic position.