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I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your support over the course of our case. We both really appreciate it and your approach and advice was massively appreciated. Everyone at Machins has been both a delight to work with and as professionally reliable as we could have hoped, no one less than you. It’s been really tough as you know and we couldn’t have done it without you all.

About Thomas

Thomas is a solicitor in the Machins family team in Berkhamsted. He joined Machins in July 2020 and qualified in 2022, completing his two year training contract which included 18 months within the private and public family law departments.

Thomas advises on all areas of family law, including divorce, financial remedy, cohabitation and private children matters. He has experience assisting the department head with complex high net worth financial cases, involving businesses and foreign assets, and with international child abduction and international relocation matters. Thomas also has experience in commercial law and consequently has a comprehensive understanding of corporate structures and the commercial considerations that can arise in family law matters.

Thomas graduated with a degree in Law and Business from the University of Warwick before studying the Legal Practice Course at BPP University in Cambridge, achieving a Commendation in 2019.

Before joining Machins, Thomas worked as a criminal disclosure paralegal at the Serious Fraud Office and as a document review paralegal on a public inquiry for the Cabinet Office.

Specialist practice areas

  • Divorce and dissolution following marriage or civil partnership
  • Financial arrangements following breakdown of a relationship including financial orders and deeds of separation, and situations where there are businesses, crypto-assets and other complicated financial arrangements
  • Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
  • Private Children Act cases including residence/contact, internal and external relocation, , prohibited steps and international child abduction
  • Cohabitation agreements and disputes

Latest news by Thomas Palmer

Successful application for termination of Parental Responsibility

Termination of Parental Responsibility is rarely made by the Court and only ever in exceptional circumstances. Following a recent private family law case acting for a mother who successfully obtained a termination of Parental Responsibility order to end the father’s Parental Responsibility, we asked Laura Martin-Read, Senior Associate Solicitor to explain what Parental Responsibility is

Spring Budget – Key highlights for businesses

Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget on 6 March, and it will probably be his last major fiscal announcement ahead of this year’s anticipated general election. With a focus on reducing tax for the working population and helping parents, there were several announcements in the Budget that affect businesses and employees which I consider and

Top Tips to Help Separating Parents at Christmas

With Christmas fast approaching, it is important separating parents start planning early to agree their child arrangements for the festive period in advance to avoid any uncertainty and tension into the run up to the holidays. The Christmas period can be overwhelming to separating couples and emotions can run high. Issues with child arrangements can

Resolution Awareness Week and Cohabitation Reform

Resolution Awareness Week and Cohabitation Reform Resolution’s ‘Awareness Week’ is taking place between 27th November and 1st December 2023. Resolution is an organisation of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve family issues taking a constructive and non-confrontational approach. All Machins Family Lawyers are committed to the Resolution Code of Conduct.

#AskMachins – No-Fault Divorce

The new ‘No-Fault Divorce’ legislation came into effect from April 2022, but what does this mean and what has changed for separating couples? Thomas Palmer, a solicitor in the Machins Family Team has some FAQs! What was the old divorce law? Under the old law, those starting the divorce process would have to prove their

Divorce rate for over-60s

The divorce rate among the over-60s has decreased in the last few years, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), however in the medium-term there has been an upwards trend in the divorce rate among the over-60s seen in the last few decades. This is in contrast to total divorce figures which have fallen over the same period.

Pets on Divorce: who keeps the family pet?

Introduction Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pandemic pet, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association. This means the country now has 17 million pet-owning homes. The usual first ‘port of call’ when a relationship breaks down is agreeing child arrangements and

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