Contrary to what the Government would have us believe regarding divorce rates, the numbers of people seeking to divorce at this time has increased dramatically in the last year. According to the office of National Statistics divorce rates have fallen but these statistics are based on figures for 2009 since which time the economic decline has had a major impact.
When the recession first struck two years ago, many couples with matrimonial difficulties chose to hold fire in the hope that their economic difficulties would disappear. Studies at the University of Virginia in America showed that as the recession first struck in America similarly, many families held back from divorcing because they were frightened of what was to come. However recently, the newspapers in Florida reported that divorce rates had soared beyond anything that they had ever experienced as reality became clear, that the recession was here to stay. In England, whilst we have been slightly behind the American recession, the pattern is clearly repeating here with couples bailing out at the rate of knots from their marriages and cohabitations.
Having examined the statistics of those who are divorcing, it is quite clear that many women who have been considering divorce proceedings for some time, are choosing to divorce now before there is a double dip recession and the assets that they will receive will be far less. Men also are starting proceedings now, choosing this moment as the ideal time to divorce while their assets and income are at an all time low.
What has skewered the statistics for some time has been the fact that many people are choosing not to marry and are cohabiting instead. However, those relationships are breaking down even more than marriages. Far from these cases being simple, they are quite complex as the law in relation to cohabitees is contained in a mixture of statute and case law, and unravelling the assets in these circumstances is not straight forward. Accordingly where years ago parties who lived together would simply split up and come to a sensible agreement, many are now litigating because so many of their assets have been sunk into the relationship. Divorce lawyers accordingly are finding that at least 30% of their work is taken up unravelling the complex finances of people who have chosen to live together and not marry.
There has also been a dramatic shift in the number of those instructing West End or City firms. Put simply, many of the firms appear to have now out priced themselves from the market and accordingly those based in London but on the fringes are benefiting dramatically from this shift. As one client put it marble costs and in the cost cutting era that is being faced by all, many are simply not prepared to pay the extortionate West End prices for their divorces.
After the 6th April the Government imposed mandatory mediation sessions for those going through divorce. The reality is that those undergoing mediation appear to have fallen rather than increased. Many couples who have been told that they have to mediate, are reacting angrily and as predicted by many practitioners the obligatory mediation session so early in the proceedings are having the opposite effect.
There is a further change with the recession, many are choosing to litigate in person trying to avoid instructing a lawyer altogether. As has been pointed out in the newspapers recently, this has led to the courts being completely clogged with those who are making unrealistic and on occasions nonsensical applications. As practitioners, we are finding that clients who have started the process themselves, are sinking under the weight litigation after a short time and after a period of a few months are then instructing solicitors to unravel the mess that they have unwittingly placed themselves into.
Whilst of course it is infinitely possible for litigants to deal with the divorce petition through to decree nisi themselves, the financial complexities of divorce or cohabitation breakdown has caused many a client to sink under the weight of all the technical detail. Again, this has now led to a huge raft of cases being undertaken by divorce lawyers to put parties into a sensible negotiating position when they have made statements or prepared documents carelessly or without full knowledge of what is expected of them.
Judges throughout the country are literary pulling their hair out with despair at the number of litigants who are seeking advice from the Judges on preliminary hearings as to how to fill out documentation and answer questionnaires. The system cannot bear the time that this is taking and given that the number of judges and courts available is shrinking all the time, the system simply cannot accommodate the time wasted by litigants in person.
It is therefore imperative at this time that divorce lawyers make cases as simple as possible for clients and in order to keep boundaries and limitations to fees, clients should be advised to do the following:-
(a) From the outset to prepare a detailed history both of the marriage and the finances and their contributions. So often time is wasted by piece meal information being given by clients that contradict later on.
(b) Clients must from the outset be advised of the kind of information that they will be asked to provide so that they can start collating the documents necessary from the earliest possible stage. A copy of the Form E document of disclosure should be given to a client at the first meeting so that they are aware of the exact information and the kind of outgoings that they would be expected to reveal to the other side.
(c) If a client has difficulty in putting together a schedule of their expenses, the lawyer should go through examples with the client in a simplistic fashion to make it easier for them to put together a realistic schedule of expenses and not one that has no bearing to the expenses of the family and which will impact against them if they are over exaggerated.
(d) Lawyers must ensure that they give realistic expectation to the clients from the outset so that the clients are not stuck in their positions and undergo unnecessary litigation.? If necessary, Counsel’s advice should be sought at an early stage so that the parameters of a settlement can be established.
(e) In appropriate cases clients can use the benefit of a private financial hearing with both sides sharing the cost of a Judge which has the effect of queue jumping but can only be used where both parties agree to make full financial disclosure immediately and co-operate in the proceedings.
(f) The recession has also led to a lot of stress, anger and disappointment on the part of couples and has led to the increase of divorce rates. It is therefore imperative that if the parties are clearly at a stage where negotiations are being made impossible by their current feelings, that lawyers must refer them to specialist therapists..
At Lloyd Platt & Co, we have adopted all of these approaches to help clients come to an early accommodation where possible. We work together with our clients to assess their situations carefully and sensibly to accommodate their reasonable expectations.
If you have any family law enquiries please contact us on 02083 432 998 or complete the enquiry form online.
