Services

We understand that when you need a family lawyer, you are likely to be going through a difficult and emotional time. Our family law experts will get to know you in order to understand your needs. We provide high-quality advice in a sensitive and supportive manner.
 

Our aim is to achieve a fair outcome for you and your family. We believe that it is best to try to resolve matters with the least amount of conflict possible. Our family lawyers are members of Resolution, the leading association of family lawyers promoting a constructive approach to family law matters.
 

We also recognize that sometimes disputes cannot always be avoided. Our family lawyers can represent you in court and handle complex litigation on your behalf.


• DIVORCE


We understand that the breakdown of a marriage can be a deeply emotional and stressful time.  Our advice is tailored to suit your legal and personal needs.  Our pragmatic approach ensures that your requirements and objectives are always taken care of.
 

We focus on helping you achieve an amicable resolution with the minimum of fuss.  When a conflict cannot be avoided, our family team will support you in achieving a fair outcome.  If you have children we will advise on how to minimise the effect your divorce has on them.
 

Our experienced team of family lawyers regularly deal with complex financial arrangements and international assets.  We will simplify the issues and technicalities and give you commercial advice that meets your needs and achieves the settlement you deserve.
 

Whatever stage your divorce has reached, there are always options available to you.  We will discuss the approach you wish to take and provide a service that suits your needs.


• FINANCES


Family law is a discretionary area of law.  When considering financial settlements on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, a number of factors are taken into account including:-
 

• The length of the marriage.

• The ages of you both.

• Your assets and income and earning capacities.

• The needs of you both and any dependent children.
   

Choosing the right lawyer is absolutely vital.
 

Our experienced team of family lawyers regularly deal with complex financial arrangements, often including international assets.  We use this wide range of experience to make sure you get the financial settlement you are entitled to.
 

Our family team work extremely closely with our tax and trust lawyers, as well as accountants, financial advisers and pensions actuaries to secure the most appropriate financial settlement for you. We aim to avoid the costs and stress that come with contested proceedings and will therefore where appropriate, encourage you to try to reach an amicable settlement.
 

You may have already reached agreement with your spouse.  If so, it is important that you take legal advice to ensure that it is fair and reasonable.  It is also important to have your agreement made into a legally binding order to minimize the risk of a financial dispute resurfacing months, or even years later. We also have niche experience in taking steps to secure the privacy of our high profile clients, working closely with our IP and reputation management colleagues to ensure that you receive the discreet and tailored service necessary to in order that all of your individual needs are met.

• BUSINESSES ON DIVORCE


If you or your spouse own a business, it will be considered amongst all other assets when dealing with your financial settlement.

 

Divorce can result in serious damage to a business whether you are a sole proprietor, in partnership with others or run a limited company in which you hold a significant or majority shareholding.

Our family team specialize in negotiating equitable arrangements that avoid such damage and create as little disruption as possible.  We have extremely close links with top accountants and financial advisers who we can work with to ensure you secure the most appropriate outcome.
 

Due to the potential impact divorce can have on a business, we specialize in advising business owners on steps that can be taken to protect their business interests.  This could be by way of Pre-Nuptial Agreement, Post-Nuptial Agreement or company restructuring, all of which can avoid significant emotional and financial stress should a relationship break down.


• PENSIONS ON DIVORCE

 

Pensions are often the most complex consideration for divorcing couples.  Not only are they frequently the largest capital asset after the matrimonial home, they also represent the reward for many years hard work.
 

When a party has relied on the intention that their pension will fund their retirement, it can be extremely distressing to learn that it may have to be shared.  Similarly, one spouse may have been relying on their ex-partner’s pension, perhaps having given up work to raise the children, and feel in a very vulnerable position.
 

The law dealing with pensions can be extremely complex and confusing, and we work closely with accountants, financial advisers and pensions actuaries to ensure that you achieve a fair financial outcome.


• TRUSTS ON DIVORCE


Trusts are frequently used as a tax efficient method of protecting wealth for future generations, and clients are often surprised to learn that their interests in such trusts can be taken into account when deciding the financial outcome of a divorce.
 

Having considered the type of trust and whether the assets within it are readily available, the court could regard it as an asset of the marriage and as such alter its terms so that an equitable financial settlement can be reached.  If the court decides that it is not an asset of the marriage, it may still nonetheless regard it as a resource of the beneficiary spouse, which whilst it may not be shared, its availability to that spouse will be considered.
 

The court’s powers have serious consequences and therefore those setting up a trust should seriously consider what protection can be put in place to avoid any unwanted court intervention.
 

Our family team frequently work with our private client lawyers to draft Pre/Post-Nuptial Agreements that clearly set out the intentions of both spouses and where appropriate the wishes of their families.


• CHILDREN


The issues relating to children, such as who they should live with and how often they see the other parent, may arise when parents separate.  Such disputes are inevitably stressful and can become protracted.
 

As members of Resolution, we take a constructive approach to child disputes believing that such issues should be resolved as quickly and as amicably as possible for the benefit of all involved.  Working with parents, step-parents and grandparents, we strive to achieve workable, appropriate and child focused arrangements in the children’s best interests.
 

Specific child related issues may sometimes arise such as relocation, change of surname, medical treatment, education or religious upbringing.  We can advise on all such matters.  Each case is as individual to us as it is to you and will be dealt with carefully and with sensitivity.
 

We also advise on international relocation and in relation to financial arrangements in addition to that provided by child support, be it the payment of school fees or where appropriate, a property in which the dependent child or children can live until adulthood.


• CHILD AND SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE


Separating couples often reach arrangements in relation to child maintenance between themselves.  In the event they are unable to do so, the Child Maintenance Service provides an excellent online tool, into which the couple can input relevant information, such as the number of nights the children spend with the paying party and that party’s income which then provides a maintenance figure that the couple can use to reach agreement.  If agreement cannot be reached, then the Child Maintenance Service can be asked to make a formal assessment and can arrange for the sum due to be taken from the paying party’s salary before they receive it.
 

Save in limited circumstances, for example where a child has special needs, or the paying party’s income is exceptionally high, all cases of child maintenance will be dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service.  In cases where the court does become involved, a Judge would be able to guide the parties or make an Order in relation to maintenance if the couple are still unable to agree.
 

Maintenance for a spouse is totally separate to that for a child and whilst there is a formula for calculating child support, there is no formula for working out spousal maintenance.  The court takes into account various factors to decide the level of spousal maintenance such as the length of the marriage, the standard of living enjoyed by the couple and the parties’ needs going forward.  Often spousal maintenance claims are reduced or extinguished in an overall settlement by an adjustment in the assets in the receiving party’s favour.
 

Our family team has extensive experience in this area and will be able to advise how best to proceed in your particular case


• PRE/POST-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS


Pre-Nuptial Agreements (entered into before marriage) and Post-Nuptial Agreements (entered into after marriage) are becoming increasingly popular in Ghana.  Whilst not currently legally binding, recent case law demonstrates the court’s growing willingness to honour nuptial agreements that are entered into properly.
 

Our family lawyers have a wealth of experience drafting such agreements and will work with you to create an agreement that clearly sets out how assets should be divided in the event of marital breakdown.  This will help in avoiding costly and emotional litigation in the event that you and your partner divorce.
 

Nuptial agreements will be particularly important where there is an imbalance in the respective wealth of the couple or where one of them wants to safeguard particular inherited or family assets.  They will also be of particular benefit for couples who are marrying or have married for a second time, who may have acquired assets independently of each other and want to protect those assets before remarriage.
 

Our family team has extensive experience in drafting nuptial agreements for high net worth individuals, many of whom have international assets and elaborate financial arrangements including complex trust vehicles.  We appreciate the sensitivity such agreements require and give each case the individual attention it needs.


• INTERNATIONAL FAMILY LAW


Our family team are highly experienced in dealing with complex financial arrangements including those with an international element.  Our worldwide focus allows us to act quickly to secure the best international jurisdiction for divorce.  Our membership of TAGLaw (a global alliance of high quality independent law firms) affords us quick and easy access to legal advice from lawyers around the globe whenever we need it and we regularly work with lawyers from other jurisdictions so as to achieve the best results for our clients.
 

If your child issues have an international element, our family lawyers will work with you so that a resolution is reached as quickly and as sensitively as possible.  We understand that international considerations can add to the stress that accompanies separation and divorce.  Our family lawyers are extremely sensitive to this and will tailor their advice to ensure that your needs are met as swiftly as possible.


• FINANCIAL INJUNCTIONS


Some cases will involve taking urgent steps to prevent the disposal or hiding of assets that would form part of the divorce settlement.  Similarly urgent action may be needed to prevent the potential catastrophic consequences of such steps being taken against you or your business.
 

Our experienced team will guide you through each step of the process, whichever side of the financial injunction you may find yourself on, to ensure the minimum amount of disruption to you, your finances and your business.
 

We also have niche experience in obtaining injunctions to secure the privacy of our high profile clients, working closely with our IP and reputation management colleagues to ensure that you receive the discreet and tailored service necessary to in order that all of your individual needs are met within the context of family law proceedings.