AFP Bloom Palma provides international families direct access to a specialist London family law team, based on the island. It only provides English legal advice but where specialist Spanish issues arise, introductions can be made to recommended advisors.
We act for British and international families living on, relocating to, or spending significant time on Mallorca, wherever English law has a role in their situation: divorce, financial settlements, jurisdiction disputes, cross-border assets, and pre- and post-nuptial planning.
AFP Bloom sits among 19 firms recognised nationally by Chambers & Partners in its Ultra High Net Worth family finance table, with four of its lawyers ranked individually within it. Legal 500 names eight more as key lawyers across children, family and financial remedy work.
AFP Bloom Palma isn't a separate practice or a referral arrangement, it's the same partner-led team, the same standard of advice, now reachable directly on the island.
Arrange a confidential meeting in Palma
Zoë Bloom - Founder
Zoë will be introducing AFP Bloom Palma directly to Mallorca's private wealth, banking and relocation community and is the first point of contact for the island.
William Healing - Partner and Co-Founder, International
A senior member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, William leads AFP Bloom's work across borders, coordinating with lawyers across Europe on cases that rarely sit inside one jurisdiction alone.
Where you married doesn’t decide where you divorce. What counts is your connection to each country now.
The English court may have jurisdiction and that will be fact specific. It will depend on your pattern of residence and domicile. The Spanish courts can hear it because you live in Spain. Some couples in Mallorca have a choice.
That choice matters. England and Spain take very different approaches to dividing money, ongoing maintenance and pre-nuptial agreements, and the same marriage can end with a very different settlement depending on where the case is heard.
There are also lots of cases where the divorce will happen in Spain but due to ongoing financial ties to England, there will be proceedings there too.
Take advice in both countries before either of you starts proceedings. We advise on English law, and can introduce you to Spanish lawyers we trust for the Spanish side.
Sometimes. Living in Spain doesn’t shut you out of the English courts.
For British families on the island, the usual route is domicile. Domicile isn’t the same as where you live. Broadly, it’s the country you regard as your permanent home. Plenty of people who moved to Mallorca years ago are still domiciled in England, because they always meant to go back, or never decided to stay.
Domicile turns on your history and your intentions, and it can be challenged. If your spouse would rather divorce in Spain, expect them to test it, even if they themselves are clearly domiciled in England. Clear advice before anything is issued puts you in control of the timing.
Yes. In an English divorce the court looks at everything you both own, wherever it is: the house on Mallorca, a flat in London, businesses, pensions, investments and trusts held overseas.
The English court can’t change the ownership of a Spanish property directly. Instead, it makes orders against the person. It can require your spouse to transfer or sell the property, or to pay a lump sum that reflects its value. If they don’t comply, there are ways to enforce, though steps may also be needed in Spain.
We plan for this from the outset, so the order you come away with works where the assets actually are, alongside Spanish lawyers where needed.
Owning a house in England doesn’t, on its own, give the English court the power to deal with your divorce. That still depends on domicile and where each of you lives.
The house still matters, though. If you can divorce in England, it becomes part of the full financial picture, alongside everything you own on Mallorca and elsewhere.
And if the divorce goes ahead in Spain, a home in England can open a route back to the English court for financial orders afterwards. The court’s permission is needed, and its powers in that situation are limited to the English property.
It’s one more reason to think carefully about where to divorce before anyone acts.
Not necessarily. Since Brexit, there’s no automatic rule between England and Spain that the first country to start a divorce wins.
If the English court has jurisdiction, you can still issue here. The English court will then look at which country is the more appropriate place for the case to be heard, and either side can argue it should be England or Spain.
This is a contest you want to go into prepared. Time matters, so speak to us straight away, and to a Spanish lawyer about the proceedings already under way.
Sooner than most people think. If your divorce could be heard in England or in Spain, the timing of the first step can shape everything that follows, including the rules that decide your financial settlement.
The best time to take advice is before anything is issued in either country. That doesn’t mean you have to start proceedings. It means knowing your options while they’re all still open.
If you’re worried money or property is about to be moved, or you need protection, we can act urgently, including applying for injunctions.
An English divorce ends your marriage under English law. To rely on it in Spain, for example to update the Spanish civil register or deal with property on the island, Spain has its own process for recognising it.
Since Brexit, this no longer happens automatically under EU rules, so it’s worth planning for from the start. We handle the English side and work with Spanish lawyers on recognition, so both ends join up.
This is a complicated question and you need specialist advice around it.
Foreign agreements are taken seriously. But many Spanish marriage contracts are signed quickly at a notary, often to choose a property regime, without either person thinking about what would happen in an English divorce. That can affect how much weight it carries.
Whatever the agreement says, an English court will make sure both of you, and your children, have your needs met.
If you have a Spanish agreement, we can tell you how it’s likely to be treated in England, and a Spanish lawyer can advise on how it works in Spain.
It’s worth considering. Moving abroad can change which courts could hear a divorce, and which rules decide what happens to your money. Having that discussion now, and deciding what financial provision will be in place may save a lot of money and heartache later on.
To carry real weight in England, it should be made with independent legal advice for each of you, full financial disclosure, no pressure, and terms that are fair. For a pre-nup, sign it well before the wedding.
Because your life will span both countries, the agreement should work in both. We draft the English side and work alongside Spanish lawyers so it holds up wherever it’s needed.
No. Taking a child to live in another country without the agreement of the other parent, or the court’s permission, can amount to child abduction. England and Spain are both parties to the Hague Convention, which means a child taken without consent can be ordered to return.
If you want to relocate and your spouse won’t agree, you can ask the court for permission. The court’s focus will be what’s best for your children, not what suits either parent.
If you’re worried your spouse is about to take the children abroad contact us immediately. Our children team, led by Victoria Toy, can act urgently.
No. AFP Bloom Palma advises on English law, which is what we do best.
Most families on Mallorca need both, so where Spanish issues arise we introduce you to Spanish lawyers we trust and work alongside them. You get specialist advice in each country, without having to coordinate it yourself.
No, we meet clients in Palma, and work involving London can be done by video call and email.
Many English family court hearings now take place remotely. Some, particularly final hearings, may need you there in person. If so, we’ll tell you early so you can plan around it.
