Category: Separation and Divorce News

by Nadine de Souza

The government has announced that it wants to introduce a new crime of domestic abuse. It wants to strengthen the law by explicitly stating that domestic abuse covers coercive and controlling behaviour as well as physical harm. There are lots of laws that cover violence, stalking and harassment but none refer to personal relationships, which is why this change would be a significant difference. It’s thought that if this becomes law, it will encourage more victims to come forward and report the crimes.

What the new offence will cover

The hope is that by introducing this new law and making domestic abuse a specific crime the police will be clearer about when to intervene. The offence would cover violence, emotional harm, incidents of psychological control which cut the victim off from friends and family, or prevent them from having access to money. The government wants to make it clear that domestic abuse is not just physical.

How ‘controlling behaviour’ will be defined

Controlling behaviour is defined as ‘a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour’.

Some examples of controlling or coercive behaviour are: your partner preventing you seeing friends of family, constantly checking up on you or following you, uploading tracking software on your phone, accusing you unjustly of having affairs, humiliating or belittling or threatening you. If you feel frightened, change your behaviour because of your partner or feel like you can’t do anything right for your partner or are fearful of your partner’s reaction, then these are also signs of domestic abuse.

Thousands of victims are at risk

A report by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary showed that there are thousands of victims of domestic abuse at risk of serious harm because the police are failing to deal with offenders. It was found that the police were not taking domestic abuse, especially in its non-violent form, seriously enough. A Crime Survey for England and Wales suggests that 30 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men will experience domestic abuse during their lifetime.

Any new law would apply to offences committed by men or women and could result in a prison sentence.

Help from Lawpack

Unfortunately, violence and harassment is common in a divorce. If you’re experiencing this and want more in-depth information from a divorce lawyer about how to protect yourself as well as all other aspects of divorce law, then read our guide How to Get a Divorce by Punam Denley. Packed with tips and expert advice to ensure that you get through the divorce process smoothly.

All the divorce forms you need – and expert guidance on how to use them – can be found in Lawpack’s Separation & DIY Divorce Kit.

If you need assistance in completing the forms, then you can use our DIY Divorce Service who will complete them for you. With our Managed Divorce Service they will complete them and also file them at court for you.

Published on: August 26, 2014

The average cost of divorce for couples in the UK has now reached £44,000, according to new research by life insurer Aviva.

Divorce now costs £21,979 per person, a 57 per cent increase since 2006 when the same survey found the cost to be around £14,000 each.

Even though the legal costs of divorce have dropped from £1,818 to £1,280 due to online divorce services, the cost of divorce has still soared due to child maintenance payments and the cost of moving house.

40 per cent of those surveyed said that they were worse off since their separation and 53 per cent of couples took longer than six months to settle their financial matters, with it taking on average 11.5 months.

29 per cent of couples tried to reach an amicable settlement so they could save on legal fees, but 10 per cent continued to live together – even though they  had effectively separated – because they couldn’t afford to move out.

Six per cent had put off divorce altogether because the costs were too great.

How Lawpack can help

Lawpack has teamed up with Divorce Online to offer a range of fixed-price online divorce services, so if you’re facing divorce, you can keep your costs at a set price. We have three types of service:

• DIY Divorce packages: Qualified divorce experts will complete the divorce forms for you
• Managed Divorce packages: All divorce forms will be completed and filed at court for you
• Solicitor Managed Divorce package: Qualified solicitors will complete and file the divorce forms for you, plus all telephone calls and letters are included in the fixed price of £399.

Published on: August 24, 2014

by Nadine de Souza

The government has announced that children from the age of 10 who are involved in family law cases will be given a greater say in what happens to them. These children will have greater access to judges to make their feelings known.

This means that children will be seen and heard in the family courts and it means that they will be at the heart of any family law case.

The Family Justice Young People’s Board says that for too long children have been ‘pushed and pulled’ through the family justice system with little or no say in what happens to them.

The government has said they will also work with family mediators so that children have appropriate access to mediators in cases that affect them.

The age of 10 has been chosen so that it’s consistent with existing policy and practice in England and Wales. It is the age of criminal responsibility.

The Ministry of Justice will be working with the Family Court judges, with the Children and Family Courts Advisory Support Service and with children to implement this change.

Some family lawyers are concerned that these changes could give the child too much power. A child could be at risk of being coached by one parent or bribed by one parent into putting in a good word with the judge. This is a very difficult position to put a child in.

Other concerns that have been raised are that judges are not as well trained as CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service) officers – who are already responsible for listening to children’s views in family cases – in talking to children and these meetings will take up a lot of judicial time in an already overstretched area of the court system.

The government has said that the changes that effect public and private law cases will be implemented as soon as is possible.

Help from Lawpack

If you need help with your divorce, Lawpack has a range of products designed to help you, from DIY Divorce Kits written by experienced solicitors through to Managed Divorce with solicitor-drafted court forms. Whatever your stage of the divorce process you are at Lawpack has a product to suit you.

Other information

• Law change proposes equal split of assets and maintenance payments limited to 3 years
• Government proposes use of online financial calculator to help settle financial disputes

 

External information

• Gov.uk: Family Justice Board

 

Published on: August 7, 2014

A revolution is coming in the world of divorce and DIY divorce could become the norm. The government commissioned a report into family law and one of the proposals was that an online financial calculator could be used to help couples settle their financial disputes in the future.

Under new proposals, this government-approved formula would cut out the need for lawyers and therefore save clients money. Lawyers and judges are currently considering how this new system could work.

Draft your own financial agreements 

The idea is that couples without any legal training could draft their own financial agreements by using a set formula, according to their personal circumstances. These agreements would be legally binding.

With legal aid being removed from this area of law many more people are finding that they have to represent themselves in divorce proceedings so changes like the ones proposed would be very helpful and cost effective.

Financial certainty

It’s likely that in the near future prenuptial agreements will become binding in this country and combined with the other changes proposed it puts the control firmly into the hands of the divorcing couple and finally gives them real power to run the financial aspects of their divorce.

With more certainty about what financial settlements should be, rather than being left to the whim of a judge, couples can feel happy that they have reached an agreement that is right and fair.

What the financial formula will take into account

If a set financial formula is implemented, as it is in Canada, then it would have to take into account the age of the parties, the length of the relationship, the children’s ages and how long the joint family responsibilities need to last.

The government has to make decisions about these proposals shortly before the general election, so next year could see some huge advances in family law and the power of DIY divorce.

Help from Lawpack

If you need help with your divorce, Lawpack has a range of products designed to help you, from DIY Divorce Kits written by experienced solicitors through to Managed Divorce with solicitor-drafted court forms. Whatever your stage of the divorce process you are at Lawpack has a product to suit you.

Other information

• Law change proposes equal split of assets and maintenance payments limited to 3 years

 

External information

• Gov.uk: Money and property when a relationship ends

 

Published on: July 30, 2014