Whether your case involves private businesses, large property portfolios, or international/hidden assets, Vardag’s legal professionals excel in identifying the best strategic solutions for your unique circumstances.
Vardags’ elite team of expert divorce lawyers and family law solicitors are restless in the pursuit of gaining the best outcomes for our clients.
We offer a free consultation to all qualifying clients, typically those with net assets in excess of £1m or combined incomes surpassing £150,000. Our exceptional divorce lawyers will commit themselves to thoroughly understanding the intricacies of your specific situation and will help you through the subsequent legal stages. After our discussion, we will be best placed to provide an insight into potential outcomes and to provide an estimate for the likely costs.
Our divorce lawyers also serve the surrounding areas, including Bath, Newport and Weston-super-Mare, ensuring the best legal solutions are available to those in need.
Vardags’ team of top divorce lawyers provide our clients in Bristol with the highest quality legal support, our solicitors ensure the best chance of achieving a positive result. We strive to provide a service that is both compassionate and the very best in terms of quality.
Our award-winning divorce lawyers and family law solicitors for Bristol specialise in:
Filing a divorce petition first can give you the legal edge over your spouse, ensuring that our top divorce lawyers deliver the best outcome for you and your family. If you think you may need our help, don’t delay. Contact Vardags before your spouse does.
Bristol County Court is situated just off the A4044. For those driving, there is lots of parking across the city, including Just Park which is 0.3 miles from the court. If arriving by train, the court is accessible with Taxi’s and busses.
We offer a free consultation to suitable clients, typically those where the family's net assets are in excess of £1m or the combined income is in excess of £150,000
Please note that the following guide only applies to divorces started before 4pm on 5th April 2022. For divorces after this date, no fault divorce now applies.
Please note that the following guide only applies to divorces started before 4pm on 5th April 2022. For divorces after this date, no fault divorce now applies.
A couple is allowed to divorce once they have been married for at least a year and it can be shown that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. There are five facts that can be used to evidence the breakdown of the marriage:
The court has to be satisfied that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and that the parties have been separated for a continuous period amounting to at least five years.
Where these requirements are met, the respondents consent is not required, although this does not mean that the petitioner can continue without the respondent being involved. The divorce process still needs to be followed as with every other ground.
If you’re considering or going through a divorce, click below for a free initial consultation with one of our expert solicitors.
Click here to read more or here for our complete list of Divorce FAQs
Vardags is one of the UK’s top divorce law firm serving clients in Bristol. We specialise in complex, high net worth and international cases. The Legal 500 has said of Vardags lawyers: “The team is noted for its sheer intellect”
Vardags is among the leading family law firms serving clients in Bristol. Our solicitors specialise in complex cases for high net worth individuals, including international child relocation, child abduction, and prenuptial agreements. The Legal 500 has said that "clients feel in totally safe hands" with Vardags' Children & Family lawyers.
Our reputation and privacy attorneys, headed by top media lawyer Alex McCready, work in and out of the public eye on cases involving defamation, privacy and reputation management. We provide expert advice and representation across the full range of reputation and privacy related matters, including crisis management, emergency injunctions and actions against online and new media.
Our criminal defence solicitors are led by top criminal defence lawyer Rob Conway. Vardags is a successful and rapidly-growing law firm with an outstanding reputation for winning cases for clients in Bristol.
Vardags is a top law firm with a trailblazing fertility and surrogacy department. We have had success with some of the most groundbreaking cases of the last decade in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court, with rulings that have changed the law. Vardags remains at the cutting edge of fertility law, pushing for further improvement of the outdated legislation in place in Britain.
Led by the vastly experienced Frank Ryan, a lawyer who “delivers results, time and again, often with devastating effect”, Vardags’ civil litigation team is renowned for its nous and its consistent ability to deliver results.
Vardags is a top professional negligence law firm with expertise in complex and substantial claims. You may have seen our name in the press as our clients are often very high profile. Equally we settle many claims entirely out of the public eye. Our solicitors are led by top professional negligence lawyer, Frank Ryan, who has over 30 years of experience across a range of professional negligence cases.
Vardags’ top employment team represents high net worth individuals and companies in substantial employment disputes in Bristol. We are a firm with an exceptional record of representing clients in matters including unfair dismissal, workplace discrimination, and in the transfer of contracts under TUPE.
Vardags' wills and trusts team has the specific expertise to cater to the wills and trusts needs of high-net-worth and high-profile individuals. Richard Todd QC, Leading Counsel for Yasmin Prest said of Vardags: “a note to acknowledge your firm’s pivotal role in achieving such an outstanding result in the recent Supreme Court case of Petrodel v Prest”.

“Britain's top divorce lawyer” Ayesha Vardag rose to fame for winning the landmark Supreme Court case of Radmacher v Granatino in 2010, changing the law to make prenuptial agreements legally enforceable in England and Wales.
The founder and President of Vardags, Ayesha specialises in high-net-worth divorce, often with an international or celebrity element. Ayesha, described as “The Diva of Divorce” (TIME Magazine), has a reputation for hard-hitting litigation, commercial savvy, fearlessness, and strategic intellectual vision. This, coupled with a no-nonsense style, and a passion for her cases informed by her own experience of divorce, has won her an ultra-high-net-worth, high-profile client base second to none, made up of clients who expect the very best.
Simon McKirgan is Senior Partner at Vardags and a top international divorce lawyer, with experience in representing individuals or their spouses/partners from commercial, City, banking, investment, media, entertainment and sporting sectors, and entrepreneurs.
Simon specialises in high and ultra-high-net-worth divorce and financial disputes often involving complex jurisdictional issues, and separation and cohabitation disputes and private children proceedings, including international relocation. He has a wealth of experience in handling celebrities and the sensitivities around their cases.
David is a Senior Partner at Vardags. With over 35 years of experience at the forefront of the profession (Lawyer of the Week in 'The Times’ October 2024), David’s practice comprises a wide ambit of family law issues, namely high net worth and ultra-high net worth divorce and matrimonial finance issues with complex legal, financial and factual disputes and international elements. David also takes a strong interest in non-disclosure and enforcement issues as well as nuptial and cohabitation agreements.
Robert Hines is a Partner at Vardags, advising on all aspects of family law particularly cases involving contentious or strategic planning elements.
Robert has particular expertise in advising HNW and UHNW clients, often in connection with complex financial disputes, including those with significant disclosure issues and/or involving international dimensions/multiple jurisdictions and/or complex trust, business and/or other intricate structures, or with publicity issues. He has also advised on all forms of marital agreements, cohabitation disputes and private law children matters, including applications for leave to remove children from the jurisdiction.
Hannah is an Associate at Vardags. Although Hannah works on all aspects of family law, she has a particular interest in complex financial disputes, trusts, artwork, valuation disputes and pre and post-nuptial agreements. She is also a collaboratively trained lawyer, having completed the Collaborative Practice training programme with Resolution, a community of family professionals committed to helping families and individuals resolve issues constructively.
Lucy is experienced in advising on all matters arising out of divorce and separation, and is experienced in the complex issues that arise with high net worth clients, with a particular focus on private children matters. She has built a reputation as a rising star, both within the firm and from peers in her field. Lucy is also heavily involved in the development of junior lawyers at the firm and is the Deputy Training Principal for the firm nationally.








