Amid calls from legal affairs minister Harriet Harman to streamline divorce laws across Europe, Woolley & Co, the family law specialist, has compiled the plain English guide to help struggling couples pick their way as smoothly as possible through the divorce process.

Surviving Family Conflict and Divorce covers a wealth of topics using the depth of knowledge of the firm’s experienced lawyers, based around the UK.

Prenuptial agreements, how to make a separation legal, sorting finances – including pension assets – the collaborative approach to divorce, step-parents, grandparents’ rights and divorce options for ex-pats are among the sections featured in the book.

“Divorce is never a pleasant experience and we have found that many couples considering separation are distressed further by simply not knowing what is involved,” said Andrew Woolley, senior partner at Woolley & Co, which operates uniquely in the industry without town centre offices but with lawyers working remotely and making optimum use of the latest web-based technology to serve clients.

“We pride ourselves on working differently and that includes making complex legal issues as simple as possible for our clients to understand. Picking out some of the main issues on separation and putting them in a discreet book that people can keep to hand is another way of us doing that.

“The idea is not to encourage more divorce, but to ensure that those who do feel their marriage has broken down irrevocably can be properly informed about what to do.”

There were 141,750 divorces in 2005, compared with 153,399 in 2004.

Woolley & Co can be contacted for advice on any aspect of family law via the website www.family-lawfirm.co.uk 

Surviving Family Conflict and Divorce, can be ordered free through the Woolley & Co website or by calling 01789 267377.  It's also available at any good bookshop, priced £3.99 (ISBN 10: 0-9551677-4-4)

Woolley & Co was founded in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire in 1996. It has legal experts in Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Burton on Trent, Cirencester, Chippenham, Gloucester, Worcester, Northampton and Norfolk.