Family Law & Child Abduction

  • Strong Legal Track Record In Family & Divorce Law
  • Skilled In Conflicts of Jurisdiction
  • Child abduction, kidnap, Hague Convention cases, child custody and visits or contact
  • Contentious divorce cases including financial, interim maintenance and maintenance for spouses and children
  • Divorce by mutual consent including separation and divorce agreements giving a clean break or division of property or assets on divorce
  • Co-habitation including registration of couples or parejas de hecho in Spain and the effects on property
  • Pre-nuptial contracts including advice on the application of these contracts in England and Spain
  • Guardianship or tutelage of family members and its effects
  • Tracing of matrimonial assets
  • Pension sharing orders and pension splitting in English law
  • Domestic violence cases and non-molestation orders

The family law department of De Cotta Law (De Cotta McKenna & Santafé) has a combined experience of Spanish and English law; providing family legal services to the English speaking community in Spain for over 20 years.

The team also has a growing reputation in the UK having worked on a number of high profile jurisdiction and child abduction cases, involving children both in Spain and the UK.

De Cotta Law is qualified and experienced in these areas when relating to both married and unmarried couples. De Cotta Law is also listed by the organisation Relate and the firm works closely with English and foreign firms on all these important matters.

Encompassing the complex and sensitive matters of matrimonial law, child custody, abduction, guardianship and adoption, De Cotta Law’s expertise is invaluable to both married and non-married couples.

For example, De Cotta Law effectively deals with matrimonial law, divorce and judicial separation in the Spanish courts. Financial settlements including child maintenance, spousal maintenance and pension arrangements. These can be agreed or contested and advice provided on jointly held property and assets whether in Spain or elsewhere. This type of specialist legal counsel is crucial where there is the potential for conflicts of legal jurisdiction; particularly for UK couples that have relocated to Spain.

The firm has many years of experience in the Spanish courts where proof of English Law or other foreign law may be required.

Sandra Wrightson heads the family department. She has been working in the Spanish jurisdiction since 1996 and provides current advice on English legal principles in family law to Spanish lawyers and the courts. As well as this academic work and work for English family lawyers she is also used to advising those in difficult family situations on the coast having lived here for more than 20 years.
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Reyes Gomez Llorente has been representing English speaking clients in the Spanish courts for more than 10 years. She has worked on a number of reported cases in Spain where public policy and the application of foreign law has been pivotal. Reyes clients benefit from her strong representation in court particularly in contested financial cases. She is also a specialist in the application of the Hague Convention on child abduction.
Javier Florido is a senior Spanish lawyer with extensive court experience. This is very helpful in contested jurisdiction cases in the family courts. He has also dealt with a large number of Domestic violence cases and his work in the criminal courts means that he can also work for the parties to these cases. Based at Coin office he now works with a new member of the family department Maria Corder to ensure that English speaking clients have somebody to contact while their matter is before the court.

Related news

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Filed under : Family Law

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