Howard & Co. has two Barnsley offices, one on Victoria Road and one on Regent Street, and has advised people in the town since 1976. Our family and social services solicitors work from here, alongside colleagues who deal with conveyancing, wills and estates, employment problems, accident claims, disputes and business property. If you are not sure who you need, call 01226 215215 and we will point you to the right person.
Telephone: 01226 215215
Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Victoria Road is the firm's registered office, and its number is also our general enquiries line.
Telephone: 01226 211888
Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Regent Street is close to Barnsley Interchange, the town's bus and railway station. Jonathan Reece, a partner in our family department, is based here.
If getting into town is difficult, let us know and we can arrange to come to you or arrange a call or video call.
Since 6 April 2022, divorce in England and Wales has been "no fault". Neither of you has to blame the other, you can apply together or on your own, and a husband or wife cannot defend a divorce simply because they don't want it. You need to have been married for at least a year before applying, and the same approach applies to ending a civil partnership.
The minimum timetable is set by law. Once the application has been issued there is a 20-week wait before you can apply for the conditional order, and then at least six weeks and a day before you can apply for the final order, which is what actually ends the marriage. Many people hold off on the final order until the money has been sorted out, and we will tell you whether that makes sense in your case.
Deborah Marsh qualified in 2002 and concentrates on separation, divorce and the finances that go with them, in cases ranging from modest means to high net worth. She is a member of Resolution, a national organisation that promotes a constructive approach to separation, and sits on its South Yorkshire committee. She is also a collaborative lawyer. In the collaborative process each of you has your own lawyer, and the four of you meet to work out an agreement together rather than going to court.
A divorce ends the marriage, but it does not deal with money. The house, savings, pensions and any business have to be dealt with separately, along with maintenance for a husband or wife or for the children. Child maintenance is often agreed between parents, or arranged through the Child Maintenance Service when they can't agree.
Once you have reached an agreement, it can be made legally binding by asking the court to approve it as a consent order, which can happen after the conditional order has been made. Without a court order, financial claims between former spouses can stay open after the divorce. Our financial provision page explains how we approach dividing assets and maintenance.
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement records how money and property should be divided if a marriage or civil partnership ends. It is most worth considering where one of you already owns a home, has children from an earlier relationship, or wants to protect family or business assets.
Couples who live together without marrying have fewer rights than most people expect. There is no such thing in law as a "common law" husband or wife, however long you have been together, and an unmarried partner has no automatic claim on the other's property or income if you separate. A cohabitation agreement records what you have agreed about the home, money and children. There is more on our relationships page.
Tell us at the start so that we can act quickly. If you or your children are in immediate danger, call the police on 999. Legal aid can cover some cases involving domestic abuse, and we will tell you at the outset whether yours is eligible.
You may have heard the terms "custody" and "access", but the law replaced them long ago. The questions now are where a child lives and how much time they spend with each parent. If parents can't agree, the family court can decide by making a child arrangements order, and its starting point is always the child's welfare. Parental responsibility, meaning the legal rights and duties that come with being a parent, is a separate matter, and we can advise on who has it and how an unmarried father or a step-parent can obtain it.
Many arrangements for children are agreed without going to court. Before applying to court you will normally have to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) with an authorised family mediator, although there are exemptions, including where there has been domestic abuse.
Jonathan Reece, who supervises work in our family department from Regent Street, has been a solicitor for more than 35 years. His work covers children cases and financial matters as well as social services cases.
Social services can become involved with a family for many reasons, often after a school, GP or another professional raises a concern. Contact from a social worker does not mean court proceedings will follow. A great deal of this work happens on a voluntary basis, through assessments, meetings and written agreements, and many families resolve the concerns and carry on caring for their children.
If the local authority (for families in the borough, that is Barnsley Council) believes a child is at risk of significant harm, it may start the process known as the Public Law Outline. This usually begins with a letter inviting you to a meeting before any court application is made. Bring that letter to us straight away. We can attend the meeting with you, explain what the local authority can and cannot do, and make sure your side of things is heard.
In care proceedings we represent parents and others with parental responsibility, as well as children, and we deal with care orders, supervision orders, emergency protection orders and interim orders. We also advise grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives who want to be considered as carers or to stay involved in a child's life.
If you qualify for legal aid, the funding will be arranged at the start. The department is led by Heather Wheelhouse, a partner who holds the Law Society's Children Law Accreditation.
Emergencies outside office hours go to our social services line on 07876 220431. Our social care and social services pages explain more.
Without a will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits your estate, and they make no provision for an unmarried partner, however long you have been together. A will lets you choose your executors, provide for a partner, name guardians for young children and leave gifts to the people and charities you choose. Where there are larger assets, children from an earlier relationship or someone who will need long-term care, a trust within the will can control how and when money passes on. Our wills page explains the process.
A Lasting Power of Attorney does a different job. It covers the time while you are alive but unable to make decisions for yourself, whether about money and property or about your health and care. If someone loses mental capacity without one, their family usually has to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy, which means going through a court process at an already difficult time.
When someone has died, we can advise the executors on whether probate is needed and deal with the estate administration for them, from the paperwork through to distributing what is left. Our wills, trusts and probate work is supervised by Andrew Baines, our Head of Conveyancing and Private Client.
Our conveyancing team handles sales, purchases and remortgages, as well as transfers of equity, where someone is added to or removed from the ownership of a home. That often happens after a separation, which is one practical advantage of having property and family lawyers in the same firm. Ian Carnley, a residential conveyancer with nearly 25 years' experience, joined us in 2025, and the firm is a member of the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Everything specific to moving home in Barnsley, including local searches, typical timescales and help for first-time buyers, is on our Barnsley conveyancing page. To request a conveyancing quote, call 01226 215215.
We advise on unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination at work and settlement agreements. If your employer offers you a settlement agreement, it only becomes binding once you have had independent legal advice on it, and the employer usually pays for that advice. We check what you are being offered, explain what you would be giving up, and negotiate better terms where there is room to do so.
If you are considering an employment tribunal claim, take advice promptly. Most claims have to begin with Acas early conciliation, and the time limits are short. The general limit for most claims is due to rise from three months to six months under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Our employment page has more detail.
Many disputes start small: an invoice that goes unpaid, building work left unfinished, goods that turn out to be faulty, or an agreement one side has stopped honouring. We advise individuals and businesses on breach of contract, consumer rights and debt recovery. The courts expect both sides to set out their positions and consider settlement before a claim is issued, so a clear, well-supported letter at the right moment can resolve a dispute without proceedings. Our dispute resolution page has more.
For businesses, we act on buying, selling and leasing premises. A commercial lease can bind a business for years, so we draft and review leases and negotiate the terms that matter most, such as rent reviews, break clauses and repairing obligations. See our business property page.
For landlords and tenants, we deal with tenancy agreements, disputes and lease renewals. The rules for private residential lettings in England changed on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act. Section 21 "no fault" notices were abolished, most existing assured shorthold tenancies became periodic tenancies, and a landlord now needs a specific legal ground to recover possession. If you let property in Barnsley and your paperwork pre-dates those changes, it is worth having it reviewed. More on our landlord and tenant page.
Dodworth is about three miles from Barnsley town centre and one stop from Barnsley Interchange on the Penistone Line, so our Barnsley offices are the nearest for most people there. Houses in Dodworth fall within the Barnsley borough, which means the council searches for a purchase there are made with Barnsley Council, as they would be for a house in the town itself.
The firm was established in 1976 and has advised individuals, families and businesses in Barnsley ever since. We also have an office on Market Street in Penistone. Howard & Co. Solicitors LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 8000040). You can see who does what on our people page.
If you already know who is dealing with your matter, contact their office directly: 01226 215215 for Victoria Road or 01226 211888 for Regent Street. If you don't, call 01226 215215 or email law@howardandco.co.uk and we will make sure you reach the right team.
No. If you cannot get into town, we are happy to come to you. Some work can be done by phone and email, and we will tell you if anything has to be signed in person, as a will does.
Call us as soon as you can and keep any letters you have been sent. Advice is most useful early, particularly before a meeting with the local authority. Outside office hours, the social services emergency line is 07876 220431.
It depends on the type of case and your circumstances. Some of our work can be funded by legal aid, including care proceedings and some cases involving domestic abuse, and we will tell you at the outset whether your case is eligible.
For many kinds of work we can quote a fixed fee, including wills, divorce and separation, buying or selling a house, and settlement agreements. Where a fixed fee isn't possible, we will explain how we charge before you instruct us. You can pay as the matter goes along or arrange a payment plan, and we take debit and credit cards in person or by phone. Details are on our fees page.
Yes. You can use any of our offices wherever you live, and if you are in the west of the borough, our Penistone office on Market Street may be closer.
Call Victoria Road on 01226 215215 or Regent Street on 01226 211888, Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm, or email law@howardandco.co.uk.
© Howard & Co Solicitors LLP. All Rights Reserved. Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, registration number 8000040.
