Family Matters

Our Family team offer a professional, flexible and personal service, advising on a range of family legal matters.

We know that the modern family has changed and we have experience of preparing Pre-Nuptial agreements and Cohabitation agreements. We can offer you practical advice on the onset of your new life or in the unfortunate event that your partnership or marriage breaks down.

We are not here to judge you or to make decisions for you, but to help you make informed decisions in a friendly supportive and professional setting. We believe in offering practical and constructive advice and avoiding, as far as possible, the acrimony that so often takes over during separation or other stressful circumstances.

We also know that any children and their interests are the first concern.

Our prices are flexible and transparent and range from bespoke solutions to fixed prices for straightforward circumstances.

Breakdown Of Family

Disagreement between family members can cause extra difficulties if they are also in business together. Planning for such eventualities can assist if they do occur.

Rural Divorce

Dealing with divorce in the farming context is different to other marriage breakdowns. There are a wide range of issues that apply uniquely in relation to a divorce in a farming family. Often the assets have been passed down to one spouse from previous generations and there are tax implications and business effects that can occur outside the split.

Our specialist family lawyers understand the farming implications of divorce and are best placed to deal with these difficult situations. We also assist in the preparation of premarital arrangements which can be useful if a marriage breaks down in influencing a Court as to how assets should be divided. Pre-nuptial agreements are especially useful in a farming context when there will be several people who derive an income from the family farm and the consequence of a marriage break up can extend beyond the immediate family relationship.

The Family Farm Is Your Business

Most farmers live on the main holding on which they farm.

This is often essential for the majority of livestock farmers to ensure that they are within close proximity to the animals under their care. Farming is, after all, a full-time job in the truest sense. It can be difficult to accommodate all those who need to live close to the farm or on the holding itself.

Partnership/Business Structure

One of the most important considerations should be who owns the assets, their relative values, and what happens when the partnership comes to an end. It is easy to forget to consider how to end an agreement when you are positive about its position at the moment. JCP's Rural team can advise on the most appropriate structure for your business and assist with the preparation of the necessary legal documentation.

Informal, oral agreements tend to be the order of the day for most farming businesses however this is a risky strategy. For example, if you do not have a written partnership agreement it is possible for any partner at any time to bring that partnership to an end. This could cause huge practical difficulties in terms of frozen bank accounts or the management of livestock.

Every farming business should consider:

1. How to minimise tax liability

2. How to manage business debts

3. Ease of operating the business

4. Flexibility should the objectives of the business or its members change

5. Who carries out the management responsibilities

6. Cost reduction

7. Planning for the future

8. The best interests of all parties involved