“If you’ve invested in your grandchild’s new home without ring-fencing your monies, you should seek legal advice. Steps can be taken to protect your investment retrospectively, but the sooner you seek advice, the better.” Debra Emery, Partner and Head of Family

When a relationship breaks down, the wishes and feelings of grandparents and the wider family are often overlooked. Grandparents often do not realise that, where they have a well established relationship with a grandchild, they are entitled to seek permission of the Court to make their own independent application either in respect of residence or contact. We can help throughout this process.

Problems can also arise for grandparents who have been kind enough to help their grandchild onto the property ladder. With rising house prices, it now quite common for grandparents to gift or lend monies to help the adult child buy their first home. Many people do not think about protecting their investment at this stage.

However, the first home often becomes the joint home of the adult child and their partner. If this happens, grandparents should seek legal advice – either before or after. A retrospective charge can be registered to protect the investment, provided the couple are in agreement.

If the relationship breaks down, the grandparents should seek independent legal advice as to their own position, in order to protect and recover those monies for the family. We can assist throughout this process, even if divorce proceedings are already underway.