Family Law
Separating Without Solicitors: What You Can and Can't Do Yourself
If you and your partner are separating and broadly agree on arrangements, you may not need a solicitor for everything. An honest guide to what you can handle yourselves — and where you need professional help.
If you both agree on how to divide your belongings, savings, and other assets, you can document this yourselves in a written agreement. While this is not legally binding in the same way a court order is, it gives you both a clear record of what was agreed.
If you have children and you both agree on arrangements for where they will live and how often they will see each parent, you do not need to go to court. A parenting plan sets out the arrangements clearly and courts actually prefer that parents agree between themselves without involving legal proceedings.
When it comes to divorce itself, if you have been married for over a year and both agree the marriage has broken down, you can apply for a divorce online through the government website. The process has been simplified since 2022 and you can do it jointly without needing a solicitor.
However financial matters are where things get more complicated. If you have a house together, pensions, significant savings, or debts, you need a consent order approved by a court to make any financial agreement legally binding. Without this, either party can come back years later and make a financial claim against the other, even after remarrying.
This is where having a paralegal service on your side makes a real difference. We can help you draft the documents, check that your agreement covers everything it needs to, and make sure nothing is left open that could cause problems later. We do not replace a solicitor but we make sure you are properly prepared and protected at every step.