14/05/2018

Did you know that 15 May is the United Nations International Day of Families?

Held every year since 1995, this is a global celebration of the importance of families and this year’s theme is the role of families and family policies in promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.

With such a wide variety of living arrangements and household types in the UK, there is no longer any such thing as an ‘average family’.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 19 million families in the UK in 2017. 12.9 million of these were built around a married or civil partner couple, 3.3 million a cohabiting couple and 2.8 million lone parents.

The fastest growing family type is the cohabiting couple family, which has more than doubled since 1996. Similarly lone parent families have experienced a significant increase of 15.2% over that period. In contrast the number of married couple families has remained relatively static.

As a lawyer, the changing face of the UK family fascinates me. On a daily basis I see more and more clients with complex family arrangements, all adding to life’s rich tapestry: stepchildren, stepparents, half siblings, partners rather than spouses.

The one thing they all have in common is the desire to look after and protect their precious families, something which a good lawyer can support them to achieve.

Whether we are using collaborative family law to assist with divorce and separations, preparing cohabitation agreements to protect families if relationships breakdown or drafting wills to ensure families are properly provided for, your solicitor is there to help you protect yourself and your family.