I remember preparing a Divorce Petition for a new client and starting to feel sad for the client. Not because their marriage has broken down. Not because they were faced with the prospect of trying to reach an agreement with their now ex-husband about arrangements for their children and long term Read more…
The court fee for obtaining a divorce or civil partnership dissolution is set to rise from £410 to £550 from April 2016.This is an increase of over 34%. In an initial consultation on court fees the Government wanted to raise the fee up to £750, a whopping 80% increase. This idea Read more…
The first working Monday of the New Year is commonly known among solicitors as Divorce Day – or D-Day for short. It is the day on which enquiries from people seeking advice about separation are at their peak, following the stresses and strains of the festive season. We want to Read more…
This week (23 to 27 November 2015) is ‘Dispute Resolution Week’ organised by our representative body Resolution, formerly the Solicitors’ Family Law Association. This is the fourth year of the campaign which is designed to publicise and promote ways of resolving family disputes without going to court. For many years Read more…
In April 2015 the deputy president of the Supreme Court, Baroness Hale, called for reform of the current divorce law. Unless the parties to a marriage have been separated for more than two years, the law requires that one party makes allegations that the other has either behaved unreasonably or Read more…
The news on 14 October 2015 that two ex-wives had secured victory in the Supreme Court over their ex-husbands’ non-disclosure of assets should send out a strong message to divorcing spouses – if you are not honest about your financial circumstances any settlement can be set aside. The cases of Read more…
This is the sign that greeted motorists driving into Sheffield city centre for three hours between 6-9am yesterday. The sign read: ‘To my cheating husband Paul. You deserve each other. When you get home I won’t be there. ‘Enjoy your drive to work! Lisa. I cannot begin to guess how many Read more…
The revelation that Canada based internet site Ashley Madison has been the victim of hackers has been the subject of widespread media attention. The site, whose strapline reads “Life is Short. Have an Affair”, is aimed at “attached” people wanting to have liaisons – the nature of which can be Read more…
It has been reported that the number of people returning to the courts to boost their divorce settlements doubled last year. Many couples fail to obtain a court order to formalise their financial agreement when they divorce. During hard times reduced incomes and depressed asset values leads divorcing couples to Read more…
The office for National statistics reports that 9% of people aged over 65 were divorced in 2011 which is double the number divorced in 2001. They warn that divorce in later years is especially damaging because “relationships are particularly important for older people as they are more likely to have Read more…