“Don’t Find Fault, Find A Remedy.” [Henry Ford]

This Guardian article highlights once again what family lawyers will almost universally agree needs a change in the current law. Fault-based divorce or in other words, the need to apportion blame to one or other of the couple, no mater how amicable the split. After practising divorce law for over 25 years now, its clear to me that all that forcing people down the route of having to put down in writing the failings of faults of the other simply increases the cost and acrimony. It can even create hostility where there none existed before. 

According to this piece, some 40% of people no longer use lawyers for their divorce. I fully endorse this trend and often advise clients that they can save cost significantly by doing their paperwork online. For a straightforward divorce, using the government online forms can be a no-brainer. When it comes to sorting out the finances, however, representing yourself is a far less straightforward and much riskier route. Its essential in anything other than the most simple of financial splits to take really good advice as early on as possible. Keeping things amicable on the divorce itself, may certainly help when it comes to the financial negotiations.

The end of the summer holidays is a peak period for breakups. But now couples are looking for fast and amicable ways to avoid being mired in the blame game, will the law finally catch up?

Sometimes two weeks away with someone can really clarify why you might not want to spend another day with them. A new study suggests that the number of people filing for divorce spikes after the summer holidays. Two sociologists at the University of Washington analysed 15 years of divorce filings and found that the period just after winter, and again after the summer holidays, were peak times for deciding on divorce.

And if nobody has really been to blame for the end of the marriage, what happens next often comes as a nasty surprise to couples.