Legal Services

Our team are qualified and trained to offer advice, guidance and support through all aspects of Family Law.

We recognise that every case is different and so the support we provide is special to your situation.

• Divorce / Separation. Divorce and separation can be very stressful and upsetting. Our aim is to provide sensitive advice with decisive action and to provide a personal service with minimum distress. Upon separation it is important that you contact us so that we may advise you of what steps you may need to take, we will give you sound legal advice from the outset in order that you are properly informed before making any decisions with regards to the breakdown of your marriage. We can offer advice on separation agreements, judicial separation, divorce and financial matters relating to the breakdown of your marriage.
  
  
• Finance Matters. Upon the breakdown of your marriage, sorting out financial issues can be particularly stressful especially deciding what happens to the former matrimonial home. We have a sensitive and sympathetic approach to the issues you are facing. It is important that you contact us as soon as possible before making any decisions so that we can give you the best advice about the various options available to you. We can advise you on spousal maintenance, transfer of property, pension sharing, lump sums and child maintenance.
  
  
• Domestic Violence . We specialise in making urgent applications to the court for injunctions. We offer our client's emergency appointments in order to deal with the matter immediately and effectively. If you have been assaulted, threatened or mentally abused by your partner or anyone else we can help take the right immediate and long term steps to resolve the problem.
  
  
• Co-Habitation. The law treats unmarried couples differently to married couples.  This area of law is quite complex  and we can help couples who decide to live together and not marry by resolving any legal issues or by preventing future problems by advising on entering into a cohabitation agreement.  We can advise on matters such as maintenance, property and children
  
  
• Children Matters. At Makin Dixon we have members of staff who specialise in children act proceedings. We have children panel membership and our staff have many years of experience of dealing with matters relating to children. Matters concerning children should always first be dealt with parents trying to come to an amicable agreement with regard to the children’s residence, contact and other child care issues. In cases where this isn’t possible as a last resort it may be necessary to issue an application at court to safeguard the interests of the child or children. We can advise appropriately on matters such as residence (where the child should live), parental responsibility, contact, prohibited steps and care proceedings
  
  
  
• Adoption from Care. In situations  particularly where the family have been involved in social services or care proceedings, children are not able to carrying on living with their natural parents. The alternative can be adoption, this will result in the natural parents losing their parental responsibility for the child, and the full rights and duties of a parent are acquired by the adoptive family. These cases involve difficult and sensitive issues and require a specialist team, such as Makin Dixon, who have the knowledge and experience required
  
  
• Step Parent Adoption. In order for a child to be fully integrated into their new family, step parents may feel it necessary to adopt their step child as they may feel it is in their step child's best interests to be adopted.  Step parent adoption may be the best solution for a child, but there are also other options which we can advise on, which give the step parent legal status and recognition of their involvement with their step child, but enable the child's relationship with the non-resident birth parent to continue.
  
  
• Care Proceedings. If your Local Authority Social Services Department warn you that your children may be removed from your care you should take legal advice straight away .  If your child is being taken into care, or there are problems within the family which mean that care proceedings look likely, you'll need the best legal advice. Our team of childcare experts have extensive experience of dealing with care proceedings, representing both parents and children and working with all parties to get the best possible result for the child or children involved. .
  
  
• Emergency Representation. At Makin Dixon we pride ourselves on been able to offer immediate advice in emergency situations. Our office opening hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday - Friday.
  
  
• Civil Partnerships. Same sex couples who enter into a civil ceremony have very similar legal rights as a married couple.  Children who are born to either partner are treated as children of the family.  If a situation arises whereby the parties separate, the partners are entitled to apply to the court for similar financial orders as divorcing couples.
  
  
• Child Abduction. This situation can arise as a result of family breakdown where one parent has family outside  England and Wales and returns to that family with their children without the consent of either the other parent or the Court.  Ian Dixon of Makin Dixon specialises in this area of law, representing parents whose children have been removed without consent or parents who have removed their children from the jurisdiction. If you believe there is an imminent risk of abduction there are emergency steps that can be taken to prevent the removal and protect the child.  In the event you do fear that there is a risk to your child you should contact us immediately in order to get urgent legal advice.