Alison Fielden & Co. - Family Department

The breakdown of any Relationship is often a very difficult time, both emotionally, and also because it can involve having to make decisions that may affect the rest of your life.

Our Family Department are able to provide expert advice and assistance on all aspects of separation, divorce, and family breakdown. We will do all we can to try to find the settlement that works for you and for your family, in a way that endeavours to keep the emotional and financial cost to a minimum.

We are able to provide specialist advice in the following areas:

• Separation
• Cohabitation
• Arrangements for Children
• Divorce
• The Financial Aspects of Divorce
• Domestic Violence
• Collaborative Family Law
• Pre-Nuptial and Cohabitation Agreements
• Change of Name

Our aim is to help you to resolve matters by negotiation, and in a constructive way. We are therefore able to offer a Collaborative Family Law service.

Collaborative Law is a relatively new way of specially trained family lawyers helping couples and families to manage their separation in a dignified and non-adversarial way, and without the intervention or threat of Court proceedings.

Our Family Department is headed by Heather Weavill. Heather is an Accredited Family Lawyer with Resolution (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association) and qualified as a solicitor in 1992. She has specialised in family law since that time and is also a trained Collaborative Family Lawyer, having been the first Family Lawyer in Cirencester to have qualified to practise in this field. She has also qualified as a family lawyer in Western Australia, where she practised for 3 years. Heather joined Alison Fielden & Co. in May 2007 from Thring Townsend Solicitors in Bath, where she was an Associate Solicitor.

Working alongside Heather is Steven Barratt. He qualified as a solicitor in 1982. He is also an Accredited Family Lawyer with Resolution. Steven is also a member of the Law Society's Children's Panel meaning that he is accredited to be able to represent Parents and Children in Care Proceedings. He is the only solicitor qualified to do this based full time in Cirencester. Steven joined Alison Fielden & Co. in April 2013 having worked extensively in Bristol and Bath for over 30 years.

We are the only firm in Cirencester with a contract allowing us to provide legal aid in appropriate cases. Unfortunately in recent years there have been significant cutbacks in the scope of proceedings for which legal aid is available. Please see our Legal Aid page for more details.

For more information about any of our family services, please contact our solicitors Heather Weavill or Steven Barratt, or secretaries Linda Rogers, Debbie Bonanos and Shirley Townsend.

Please visit the factsheets page for information on areas of Family Law, or see our special leaflets on Children and Social Services, Family Breakdown and Grandparents' Rights.