If you’ve been injured, you can often face issues in relation to your family and relationships – past, present and future.
Relationship breakdown
Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for someone who has suffered an injury to experience difficulties in their relationships. Sometimes these problems can be worked through, and counselling or other support might help with that.
If that’s not possible, there’ll be various things that you might need to consider:
- Are you thinking about separating, either for a trial period or permanently?
- If you have children, what will the arrangements for them be?
- What’ll happen to the family home?
- If you were married, are you going to get divorced?
- What’ll happen to your pensions?
- How will any other assets or debts be dealt with?
- What’ll happen if you have a compensation fund following an injury?
- Will there need to be ongoing regular maintenance payments?
These things might be particularly worrying if you’re coming to terms with an injury and perhaps court proceedings relating to that. But these are all questions that solicitors deal with every day, and can help you with.
You don’t necessarily have to go to court to resolve things. There are other ways of reaching solutions without a judge having to be involved, such as mediation and negotiation. We can explain the options, and provide support and advice throughout your chosen process.
Protecting your funds
If you have a compensation award, you’re likely to want to make sure it remains available to meet your needs in the future. But if you get divorced, your former spouse might be able to make a claim for some of your funds.
There are ways to avoid that, especially if you can agree arrangements with your spouse before you separate, or better still before you marry.
We can advise on the best ways to protect your award, including:
- Pre-nuptial agreement – an agreement you enter with your partner before you get married
- Post-nuptial agreement – an agreement you enter with your spouse
- Cohabitation agreement – an agreement between you and your partner with whom you live, even if you don’t plan to get married.
The earlier you take advice, the more options you have, and the better your chances of securing your position.
Children
Sometimes separated parents can find it hard to agree arrangements for their children.
If one parent has been seriously injured, there may be additional practical things to think about. But having an ongoing quality parent-child relationship will of course be a priority, and will almost always be in the best interests of the child.
It’s preferable to try to agree on the following without going to court:
- Where a child will live
- Where they’ll go to school
- Where they’ll spend time.
Other options such as mediation are particularly effective in helping parents sort things out more amicably for their children.
As well as advising on these things, we can also help to sort out appropriate financial support for children.
New relationships
If you’re considering living with a partner, it’s important to be clear about:
- Who owns the property
- What the financial arrangements are going to be
- What will happen if you split up.
Although couples who aren’t married don’t have any financial obligations to each other, they can sometimes acquire an interest in each other’s property. A simple cohabitation agreement can help avoid a lot of argument and expensive legal fees if things don’t work out in the future.
Getting married creates legal and financial obligations. This means a court can make a wide range of orders dividing up money, property, income and pension if you get divorced.
Even if you’ve built up assets such as your pension before you get married, the court can still order that they’re shared. Compensation awards aren’t automatically excluded from the assets that the court can divide.
If you’re planning on getting married, a pre-nuptial agreement can help to protect your assets and give you more certainty in the event of a divorce.
Taking action
It can be difficult to take the first steps to talk about your situation. But talking to a trained family lawyer about your options, without obligation or judgement, can be constructive, and feel like a weight lifted from you. With the right advice, it’s easier to make decisions about your future.
Further reading
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