Practice Areas

Family Law
Family Law is an increasingly important part of a solicitor’s work and finding equitable and just solutions in cases of separation and family breakdown, especially where children are involved, requires knowledge, skill, patience, understanding and good will.

The breakdown of family relationships is fraught with emotional and financial upheaval to those involved. Family Law cases entail serious legal and financial issues which need to be addressed in a sensitive, constructive and effective manner.

Geraldine O'Neill Glynn has many years experience as a Family Law solicitor and is familiar with the impact that such cases can have on both the immediate and the extended family. Separation and divorce cases are highly emotive and it is in everyone’s interest to find some legally binding agreement that avoids the expense and acrimony often associated with lengthy court cases.

The initial approach is to try and reach some sort of accommodation between the parties involved. In some instances court orders will be necessary due to the nature of the assets or to give effect to certain elements of the agreement, however, the aim is to attempt this through consensus wherever possible. Where prior agreement cannot be reached, the only recourse available to the clients would be to pursue the case through the courts.

The main areas of a Family Law Practice at Geraldine O’Neill Glynn Solicitors include:
• Barring, protection and safety orders
• Child custody and access issues
• Cohabitation and non-marital relationships
• Dealing with the financial consequences of marital breakdown
• Nullity
• Paternity disputes
• Property disputes and disputes in relation to assets
• Separation and divorce

Collaborative Law
Geraldine O'Neill Glynn is a practitioner in the intricacies and application of Collaborative Law. The use of Collaborative Law in marital breakdown cases - which started in the US some years ago as a response to dissatisfaction with the adversarial system (i.e. the courts) - is now used increasingly by Family Law solicitors in Ireland. The main emphasis of this approach is that the parties involved - including solicitors and partners – meet to try and reach agreement on the issues instead of taking the case to court.

If you are interested in this approach, it can be explained to you in more detail at a consultation. However, for the process to work, each party must have a solicitor who is fully trained in the process and committed to the ideals of Collaborative Law.

Separation and Divorce

- Separation
Separation refers to couples who are living apart but where all the legal issues between them have been more or less resolved by way of a Separation Agreement or Judicial Separation. However, the parties are not free to remarry. All matters relating to the separation, such as the division of assets, custody, access and maintenance, are all dealt with in a legally-binding agreement or alternatively, by way of court orders and the format known as a Judicial Separation. There are several ways of achieving a legal separation: 1) Mediation; 2) The Collaborative Law process; 3) Negotiation through solicitors and 4) By court order.
The circumstances surrounding the separation of any couple are different and each individual would need to meet with a solicitor to discuss their case and what action to take.

- Divorce
Under Irish Law, parties are entitled to divorce once the couple has been living separate and apart for four years out of the last five years. All divorce cases must be resolved by way of a court order. As with separations, the circumstances surrounding each individual’s divorce are different. The specific details of each case would need to be discussed in detail with a solicitor in order to decide an appropriate way forward.
Break-ups of family relationships are by their nature difficult. Circumstances vary from couple to couple and it is essential that any person considering a separation or divorce should have a thorough consultation with a solicitor to decide the best way of handling the case. At the first consultation, the solicitor will give the client a general overview of what is involved in either their separation or divorce or indeed, any other difficulties which they may have concerning Family Law, for example, issues relating to maintenance, access or custody. A solicitor can then take full instruction from a client in relation to their particular difficulties or problems and advise them accordingly.
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