Recent Articles

"Christmas Eve with Dad? Christmas Day with Mum?"

Richard Sharp
December 01, 2011 22:43

Standing in line at a supermarket checkout in Bath the other day, I overheard two teenage sisters and a friend discuss Christmas. It wasn’t a conversation filled with joy or excitement about the forthcoming festivities but on where and with whom they would be this Christmas...

"In Remembrance of ... Families in Bath & Bristol"

Richard Sharp
November 13, 2011 17:41

Remembrance Sunday events were held today all over the country to honour the UK's war dead. For some, with past or present personal experience of lost friends or colleagues, it will have been particularly poignant.  Outside Bath Abbey, the personal message on a wooded cross placed in the...

Helpful Information could Save Tax on Divorce

Richard Sharp
September 12, 2011 20:58

An inheritance had enabled Karen and Mike to buy a second home – a weekend apartment in Bath. It proved to me a perfect bolt hole for Mike to spend some time after Karen announced she wanted to end their 20 year marriage. But when divorce proceedings were begun a year or more later, both were...

"Divorce can Stretch Waistlines as well as Finite Resources"

Richard Sharp
August 22, 2011 16:15

BBC News reports today that both marriage and divorce can trigger weight gain. This is the finding of research being presented at the American Sociological Association. Their study of 10,071 people from 1986 to 2008 showed that there is an increased risk of piling on the pounds in the two years...

Helping Families Out in Bath & Bristol

Richard Sharp
May 15, 2011 19:45

I am excited to be able to announce the expansion of our professional services to clients in Bath and Bristol. Clare Webb, a specialist family lawyer, has joined the Firm. She will advise and assist those going through the changes brought about by family and relationship breakdowns. She shares...

The Royal Wedding: Did they or didn't they sign a Prenup?

Richard Sharp
April 16, 2011 15:46

As Prince William and Princess Kate bask in the early days of marital bliss we can only wonder what preparatory work was carried out in the run up to what was undoubtedly the wedding of the year if not the decade. From a specialist family lawyer’s point of view, one can only assume that, at...

"New Year Resolution - To Resolve Conflict with Your Ex Spouse"

Richard Sharp
January 01, 2011 16:41

‘Tis the time for New Year’s resolutions. Our perennial attempt to lose weight, pay off debt, quit smoking, become organised and spend less time at work. For divorcing and divorced couples, one of the best New Year resolutions you can make is to resolve conflict with your ex-spouse or...

"Walk Away into Conflict - Collaborative Law offers an Alternative"

Richard Sharp
December 28, 2010 20:32

Walking away from an argument can be a warning sign of divorce. This is the finding of researchers at the University of Michigan after evaluating how 373 couples resolved conflicts.After 16 years, 48% of the couples had split – and a strong predictor of divorce was the tendency of one partner...

"Christmas Actually"

Richard Sharp
December 01, 2010 23:12

Screens will be filled once again this Christmas with stories of love in all its various guises and on a multitude of levels. The 2003 Christmas film “Love Actually” followed eight very different couples as they dealt with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all...

"Guidance for Parents - from the Family Courts on Helping Your Children"

Richard Sharp
November 20, 2010 10:10

During my years of practice as a family and divorce solicitor in Bath and Bristol, I have seen many parents whose greatest concern was how a divorce would affect their children and who wanted direction on how to minimise that affect. Christina McGhee, internationally acclaimed divorce coach and...