Legal
B P Collins LLP
32-38 Station Road
Gerrards Cross
Buckinghamshire
SL9 8EL
Email: familylaw@bpcollins.co.uk
Website: www.bpcollins.co.uk
Contact: Sue Andrews
Telephone: 01753 279045
Fax: 01753 887212
Geographical Regions Covered: Buckinghamshire, Thames Valley, South East and Midlands
Legal aid: No
Mediation: No
Collaborative law: No
Disabled access: Yes
Special Initial Interview Offer: No
Head of Family team: Sue Andrews
Family Team Members: Emma Baillie, Petrova Caldecourt,
Annette Keevil, Laura McSherry
Resolution members: All
Other departments:
Charity Law
Commercial Property
Corporate and Commercial
Elderly Client Law
Employment Law
Environment Law
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Public Notary
Property Litigation
Residential Property (Conveyancing)
Technology and Intellectual Property
Wills, Trusts and Probate
About us
The B P Collins family law practice is the pre eminent divorce specialist in Buckinghamshire and is highly ranked in both The Legal 500 and Chambers UK legal directories.
Practice Group Leader, Sue Andrews is described as "a formidable operator and has a great manner with clients" and as having a "reassuring bedside manner" (Chambers UK). She leads a team with broad experience in divorce, cohabitation and children cases of complexity involving significant assets including businesses and trusts as well as families with international connections. Petrova Caldecourt is a rising star and is ranked as an "associate to watch" within Chambers UK.
The five solicitor team include those with experience at city firms and large regional firms - meaning that B P Collins is well placed to provide excellent legal advice and representation in a cost effective way. All solicitors place a particular emphasis on client care and always seek to minimise the emotional impact of family breakdown on their clients.
B P Collins LLP has been accredited with the Law Society's Lexcel practice management standard continuously for many years, so you can be confident we meet the highest management and client care standards.
Judge calls for unmarried couples' rights 4 February 2011
Unmarried couples deserve a right to a share of property and money if they break up, a leading family judge has said. Speaking to the Times, Sir Nicholas Wall, President of the Family Division of the High Court, said the current system is not favourable to women.
"Women cohabitees, in particular, are severely disadvantaged by being unable to claim maintenance and having their property rights determined by the conventional laws of trusts," he explained.
Sir Nicholas told the newspaper that while marriage is still "the most stable relationship" for raising children, the current law penalises unmarried couples who spilt as they have to resort to other methods to deal with assets.
However, the final decision would remain with judges, he went on to say. "If cohabitation has been short and the contribution minimal, judges would not be sympathetic to a claim," the judge added. Sir Nicholas said he was "disappointed" that the government had not acted on a Law Commission report in 2007 that recommended extending rights to unmarried couples.
The comments come at a time when the government is looking at changes to family law in relation to pre-nuptial agreements, with the Law Commission considering whether such arrangements should be officially recognised by the courts.
Posted by Emma Baillie
Copyright 2011