Amy Cook
Senior SolicitorAmy Cook is a Senior Solicitor in MFMac's Family Law team, advising individuals and local authorities on a broad range of family law and adults with incapacity matters.
She provides clear, practical advice on complex and often sensitive issues, helping clients navigate challenging circumstances with confidence and clarity.
Amy advises on all aspects of relationship breakdown, including separation, divorce and the financial issues arising from divorce. She also advises on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, and child-related matters, including contact and residence disputes. In addition, Amy has significant experience advising on adults with incapacity matters, including financial and welfare guardianship orders and intervention orders.
Amy represents clients in negotiations and regularly appears in the Sheriff Court. She also has experience instructing counsel in complex Court of Session matters, ensuring clients receive strategic and effective representation in even the most challenging cases.
Alongside her wider family law practice, Amy has experience advising on public law family matters, particularly welfare and care arrangements for individuals who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves. She combines technical legal expertise with a practical understanding of the personal and family dynamics often involved in these cases.
Clients value Amy's reassuring and calm demeanour, as well as her ability to deliver pragmatic, straightforward advice in a sensitive and approachable manner. She is committed to building trusted relationships with clients and helping them achieve outcomes that reflect their priorities and long-term interests. Amy is also a member of the Family Law Association.
When Creative Thinking Changes the Law
This article examines a landmark Scottish family law decision which confirmed that, in exceptional circumstances, future legal fees can be considered as part of a claim for interim aliment. The case successfully challenged a long-standing interpretation of the law and may improve access to justice for individuals who cannot afford legal representation during divorce proceedings.
We've just had a baby – what do I do?
New parents must register their baby’s birth in Scotland within 21 days. Parents have legal parental rights and responsibilities, including caring for, guiding, and making decisions for the child. Married parents share these rights automatically; unmarried fathers only have them if named on the birth certificate or through agreement or court order. Others, like grandparents, need a court order to gain rights.
"I don't need to get married, I'm in a common law marriage"
It is becoming more common for couples to live together without marrying. People often refer to themselves as being in a "common law marriage" when they are in a committed relationship with a partner and live together. However, "common law marriage" is not a concept recognised under Scots law. Simply referring to your partner as your spouse will not make you married in the eyes of the law.