BTTJ continues expansion with appointment of family law specialist

Brindley Twist Tafft & James (BTTJ) is continuing the expansion of its Balsall Common office with the recruitment of family solicitor Natasha Abel to its team.

Qualified since 2003, but with prior practical experience, Natasha specialises in areas such as divorce, custody, marital finances, pre-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, and injunctions.

Natasha is BTTJ’s first dedicated family law specialist to serve full-time from Balsall Common as the firm expands its services to include a multi-discipline offering for local residents and businesses.

Her appointment comes as UK divorce laws introduced earlier this year make it quicker and easier for couples to divorce. Since the changes in April 2022, Natasha said there she had seen a rise in the number of separated men and women seeking legal help. She said:

“Divorce is far less acrimonious than before – people don’t have to apportion blame for adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion – they can just say there is an irretrievable breakdown of the relationship.

They also don’t have to have been separated for at least two years, so it is a quicker, far easier process.

As a result, we are seeing more people are coming forward to file for divorce.”

Natasha said that she is also seeing an increased demand for pre-nuptial agreements and also cohabitation agreements. She continued:

“Whereas previously prenups could be a taboo subject, now people take a much more practical approach before they take the leap – and this is true whether they are getting married for the first time or whether they have been married before.

Prenups are now used more than ever […] The more assets people have the more conscious they are of protecting them and prenups are the ideal solution.”

Natasha joins BTTJ from another local solicitors firm where she was Head of the Family Law department for five years.

She is a member of Resolution and is also a long-standing member of the Law Society’s Family Law Panel, which seeks to signpost parents only to professionals committed to giving the best level of service.