When a relationship becomes impossible, whether it is your decision, your partner’s or a joint realisation, the prospect of family change is a daunting one. There is now a bewildering array of information available and a variety of services to choose from.

We are experts and can offer you the relevant information, support, legal advice or mediation, so that you can start to make the decisions that are right for you and your family, to keep you in control of your separation or divorce and plan for the future.

Getting Started: We meet with you to understand the issues that are important to you, your goals, the right process, the legal framework, preparing effectively, your budget and funding.

Your Children: We will be at the centre of your concerns and we will put your children first, plan how to parent and communicate effectively now and in two homes.

Financial Preparation: Understanding, gathering and exchanging your financial information is essential in all processes. Expert advice and reports may need to be arranged.

Agreeing Solutions: We will look at options that meet family goals in one of the following processes:

Personal Negotiation: You may do this face to face, by email, with the help of a trusted person or with the help of technology.

Task-Specific Legal Advice: Your circumstances may be that you prefer to have a meeting to review particular issues or to prepare documents or implement agreements. This may be advice during mediation, review of financial information, coaching for personal negotiations or mediation.

Mediation: We can offer Mediation and Mediation and Information Meetings. Lisa Broddle is an Accredited Mediator. The Mediator will set an agenda, deal with financial disclosure and manage the mediation process, help both partners listen and have their chance to speak in a respectful way, summarise, clarify, test and explore options in a flexible, problem-solving way, provide legal and practical information, indicate what independent legal advice is needed, manage next steps, produce Open Statement of Financial Information and Without Prejudice Memorandum of Understanding to make into an order or agreement with independent legal advice.

Collaborative Separation and Divorce: GROWing Apart Successfully. There is a common goal to resolve arrangements for the future for the benefit of the whole family working with your partner and the two collaborative lawyers to find a solution in meetings where all the mediators’ skills are used with legal advice and implementation of the agreement, providing a seamless process.

Solicitor Negotiation: Mediation or The Collaborative Divorce is not suitable for everyone. Where you need to have more separation from your partner, negotiations in the traditional method either by correspondence, telephone calls or meetings may be the best solution for you.

Court Application or Arbitration: You may decide that you and your partner are so apart in your views that a negotiated agreement is simply not possible and you may prefer the court to decide at the outset or if one of the other processes has not achieved an agreement. Arbitration is a private legal decision and can be used if you and your partner agree to use this process.

Personal Preparation: however you resolve your separation and divorce you need to be aware there are repeating stages in the Loss Cycle: Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression and Acceptance. There may be a sense of relief that your relationship has ended or failed because you were powerless to stop it from ending. The changing strong emotions of distress, anger, inertia, paranoia, grief, fear of change, rushing ahead, loss of worth, confusion, guilt and punishment. We provide sensitive and clear advice, information and referrals to family consultants, helping you recognise the behaviours, moving at your pace to acceptance and achieving awareness in your decision making.

Whichever process you decide to use, make sure that you prepare for the best outcome with specialist independent legal advice. The money you spend is an investment in your future.

If you would like to speak about the issues raised in this article, please contact Lisa Broddle, our Accredited Family Mediator, who will be able to answer any questions you may have. Please call 020 8891 6141 or e-mail mediation@srb.co.uk.

Working together to achieve a “Good Divorce”
The Right Team and the Best Advice

Lisa Sollors, from Stone Rowe Brewer’s Teddington office, looks into the increasing importance of your home’s Energy Performance Certificate rating when moving.

Now that Winter is almost upon us and the nights are drawing in, many of us will be bracing ourselves for higher heating bills and perhaps wondering if there is more we can do to make our homes energy efficient.

Homeowners who have bought or sold property in recent years will probably be familiar with some of the Government initiatives and regulations relating to energy efficiency and the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is one of the more prominent of these. EPCs are needed whenever a property is built, sold or rented –although there are some exceptions, notably listed buildings are exempt from the requirement.

I know that some of my clients feel that the EPC is just another bit of red tape of little relevance to their sale or purchase but equally, I have other clients who are keen to ascertain the energy performance of their home and want to do all that they can to increase energy efficiency. Whatever your view, EPCs will be taking on an increased importance over the next year or two as we head towards further changes that will be implemented in 2018.

The Energy Act 2011 contains a number of provisions that affect owners and occupiers of property but perhaps the most significant is that which will make it unlawful from 1 April 2018 to let a residential or commercial property with an EPC rating of F or G – the two lowest ratings on the EPC ranking of A-G. The regulations will come into effect for new lets from 1 April 2018 and for existing tenancies from 1 April 2020. Unless there is an applicable exemption, it will be an unlawful act to rent a property without a minimum E rating. A civil penalty of up to £4,000 will be imposed for breaches.

With this in mind, those purchasing a property with a view to renting it will need to consider the EPC rating for the property carefully and, in the event the property has a low rating, they would be wise to fully assess the costs and benefits of improving energy efficiency to reach the required standard. If you are a landlord who already owns and rents property that will not reach the required E rating and you have not yet taken steps, perhaps now is a good time. April 2018 will come around all too soon and I am sure no one wants to be faced with a £4,000 penalty for an unlawful rental!

Unfortunately the Government is no longer funding the Green Deal. This was their flagship initiative launched in 2013 which saw cashbacks paid to homeowners who installed measures such as a new boiler or cavity wall insulation. Blaming a low take up, funding has now been withdrawn. Unless they are able to secure funding from a provider who is administering their own scheme, a homeowner will need to find the cash to make the necessary improvements. All the more reason to read your EPC and take note of the contents!

For more information, please contact Lisa by calling 020 8977 8621 or 
e-mail her at l.sollors@srb.co.uk