Divorce & family law

When your personal life changes, military life does not pause. Deployment, relocations and demanding schedules can make an already difficult situation feel even more uncertain.

If you are facing separation, divorce or a family issue, you are in the right place. You will receive clear, confidential advice from a solicitor who understands the realities of military life and how they affect legal decisions.

Why military families need specialist advice

Family law issues within the Armed Forces are rarely straightforward. What works in civilian cases does not always apply.

You may be dealing with:

• Frequent moves across the UK or overseas
• Long or unpredictable deployments
• Complex pension structures
• Housing tied to service
• Questions about which country’s courts should deal with your case

Getting this wrong early on can have long-term consequences. The right advice at the outset helps you stay in control.

You can access advice across all areas of family law, tailored to your circumstances:

• Divorce and separation
• Financial remedy and division of assets
• Armed Forces pensions and pension sharing orders
• Child arrangements and relocation
• Cohabitation agreements and disputes
• Pre- and post-nuptial agreements

Each matter is approached with a clear focus on achieving a practical and workable outcome.

Military cases require a detailed understanding of issues that do not arise elsewhere. You will receive advice that reflects this.

This includes:

• Armed Forces Pension Schemes, including AFPS 05 and AFPS 15
• Early Departure Payments and how they are treated in financial settlements
• Managing child arrangements around deployment and operational duties
• Jurisdiction issues, particularly where you or your family are based overseas
• Meeting housing needs after separation when couples have relied upon military accommodation

These factors can significantly affect outcomes. They need to be handled carefully and correctly from the start.

Supporting a serving member through transition and divorce

We advised a serving member of the Armed Forces who was planning to leave service while going through divorce. The case involved complex pension considerations and future housing uncertainty. A structured financial settlement was agreed, providing long-term stability and clarity for both parties.

Resolving child arrangements around deployment

We acted for a parent facing difficulties maintaining contact with their children due to deployment commitments. By agreeing a flexible arrangement that reflected operational demands, regular and meaningful contact was preserved without ongoing conflict.

Clarity on costs is important. We’ll always inform you of legal fees and any additional costs at each stage of your case.

Fixed fee services are available for certain types of work which we will discuss with you. Legal aid is not offered. If you require legal aid, you can find a legal aid adviser or family mediator here.

If you are unsure about costs, this can be discussed openly at the outset.

The firm is proud to support the Armed Forces community and holds Armed Forces Covenant Gold status.

We have one of the country’s largest Military Departments and is recognised as an industry leader in this field. We currently represent thousands of military clients for Military hearing loss claims and have extensive expertise in taking cases to trial where necessary. Our wider military team includes former service members, and our lawyers have received national recognition for their efforts on behalf of our military clients. For more information please see our full list of our military legal and financial advice services.