JMW’s family law solicitors supported a client after she made the decision to leave a controlling and coercive relationship. We guided her through divorce, financial remedy and children proceedings, helping her secure the stability she needed to move forward with her life.

The Case

Our client had made the decision to separate from her husband, and leave a controlling and coercive relationship. Her husband had a successful career, while our client had been the homemaker and primary carer for the children for the past decade. She had very little financial independence, had been isolated from her family and wanted to leave the marriage and begin rebuilding her life.

Our client needed a solicitor who understood the subtleties of coercive control and economic abuse. She was extremely nervous and frightened, and needed someone who could work at her pace while helping her rebuild her confidence and trust in the decisions she was making.

Her priority was her children and the impact the controlling and coercive behaviour was having on them. Alongside divorce and financial remedy proceedings, she needed advice and support in relation to arrangements for the children.

How Did JMW Help?

Our client chose JMW because she needed a solicitor who could combine technical expertise with a clear understanding of the emotional realities of coercive control and economic abuse. It was important for our client that she felt supported, listened to and able to move forward.

We worked alongside our client by tackling one issue at a time. Alongside providing strategic and legal advice, we gave her consistent reassurance and support throughout the process. We made sure she felt confident that her decisions were understood and supported, and we explained each stage clearly so that she always knew what to expect.

We prepared divorce proceedings for our client and simultaneously issued an application for financial remedy. We advised her through each stage of the case, ensuring that her position was fully and clearly presented and that the court understood the emotional and financial impact the relationship had had on her and her family.

We also guided our client through complex and acrimonious Children Act proceedings. Her husband was aggressively pursuing a shared care arrangement with no regard to the children’s wishes and feelings. We supported our client throughout these proceedings and liaised with a number of agencies on her behalf, including Cafcass, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, the children’s school and the local Independent Domestic Violence Advisory Service.

The Outcome

We secured an outcome that enabled our client to move away from the former family home into a new property, where she and the children could begin to move forward with their lives.

We also secured a maintenance order that gave our client the time and financial support she needed to adjust to her new independence and return to work in a way that allowed her to remain present for the children.

In the children proceedings, we secured an order confirming that the children were to live with our client and spend time with their father in accordance with their wishes and feelings, which was in their best interests.

From the outset, JMW’s family law experts understood what mattered most to our client and helped her take practical steps towards rebuilding her life. By approaching each stage carefully and clearly, and by explaining timeframes, terminology and practicalities throughout, we helped her feel supported and informed at every stage.

This outcome gave our client and her children the security and stability they needed to move forward.