Clients have described us as the “fourth emergency service”. Sadly, there are occasions when you may need to use the court’s powers to protect you or members of your family from physical and emotional harm, or to protect assets in your divorce proceedings from being disposed of or dissipated in this country or abroad.
Protecting you from physical and emotional abuse
We provide an emergency injunction service. Our experts can obtain emergency injunctions at short notice, where the circumstances require. We act quickly to seek the court’s protection on your behalf.
If you have been assaulted, are being subjected to psychological abuse, or are a victim of coercive control we can help get you the protection you need in the absence of police assisance.
Clients are often dissatisfied with the police response to their complaints and we frequently see a misapplication of officer discretion in interpreting law and guidance on domestic violence, leading to poor outcomes. We can help and work closely with a hand-picked team of criminal law specialists who can advise on what is best practice by the police and what should victims expect and demand.
Defending false allegations
Unfortunately some clients find themselves on the receiving end of false allegations of abuse. These false allegations are often made with the sole purpose of exerting pressure on the other party to vacate a property, or to agree to a financial arrangement that is unfair, or limits contact with children. We can help.
We strongly advise anyone accused of a criminal offence to have legal representation. If you have been falsely accused and are detained by police, ensure that you obtain legal representation at the police station from a criminal law specialist as soon as possible. Read our blog here
https://www.manderslaw.com/is-it-a-crime-sade-once-asked-we-aim-to-answer/
If you are served with a non-molestation order, which has been granted following false allegations having been made against you, and you have not yet had the opportunity to make representations to the court, seek expert family law advice immediately.
Keeping your confidential information private in the context of family proceedings
If you are a client who, due to your public profile, requires injunctive orders to prevent or regulate media coverage of your case, we can help you.
Preventing marital assets from being hidden, transferred or sold following a relationship breakdown
The court has very wide powers to order the freezing of assets anywhere in the world. If you have good reasons to suspect that your spouse is planning to place assets out of reach by selling them or moving them out of the country, you can apply to the court to have those assets frozen. You may also be concerned that there will be an attempt to transfer assets to relatives, friends, or business associates, or even to place them in a trust in order to distort the true financial picture.
Provided that there is evidence of a real and imminent risk that assets will be dissipated or placed out of reach with a view to defeating or reducing your financial claims, our expert team will
guide you in applying for a freezing order. These orders can be served on third parties, such as banks to prevent any imminent transfer of money.
If assets are abroad, we will seek advice on your behalf from local lawyers with a view to ensuring, where possible, that the foreign court will recognise the English freezing order, or whether a mirror order should be obtained in that jurisdiction.
Read our blog on hidden assets here
https://www.manderslaw.com/hiding-in-plain-sight-hidden-assets-in-financial-remedy-proceedings/
International family law
We have specialist knowledge in cases with an international dimension.
The United Kingdom is an established international location. Over 8 million who were born elsewhere live here. In addition, many UK nationals own properties abroad or hold assets offshore.
If your case has a “foreign” element you need expert advice on two separate issues as a matter of law:
International divorces and separation cases.
If there are several jurisdictions in which you or your spouse can bring divorce proceedings, we can provide essential advice on the appropriate forum and any associated financial and children proceedings.
There may also be issues around habitual residence and domicile. Nationality is not the same as domicile, nor is it the same as habitual residence and great care must be taken when dealing with any criteria reliant on domicile.
International family law cases are complex and involve a thorough working knowledge of the service of legal documents both within and outside the EU.
How we work with foreign experts in the context of family proceedings
We work with foreign lawyers and other professionals and can advise on procedure, costs considerations and regulatory considerations in addition to helping to identify a suitable expert.
If you own property overseas, we can advise on the powers of the English Court and will explain how to assess the equity, costs of sale, and any tax and inheritance considerations. We can also assist you with tracing assets overseas by using local land registries and obtaining third party evidence in this regard.
Through our network of international family law contacts we will ensure that you receive the appropriate advice in other jurisdictions. We have considerable international reach and a specialist knowledge of the international conventions that govern cross border disputes, which may involve assets, children, or both.
If you require further information on emergency injunctions contact our team of specialists on 01245 895105 or send your enquiry to enquiries@manderslaw.com.
