According to data from the Ministry of Justice, divorce cases have reached an all-time high since the divorce laws were overhauled in April of this year.
Under the new law, separating couples no longer have to blame each other for the end of their marriage. Instead, a couple can solely or jointly give as a reason for the divorce that the marriage has irretrievable broken down.
33,566 divorce applications were reported between April and June of this year, a 22% increase from the same period last year.
So, what’s fuelling the increase in applications? By simplifying the divorce process and streamlining the process with the use of an online divorce portal, has the government made it too easy to end a marriage with the click of a button? However, couples still have to a wait a minimum of 26 weeks from the start of an application before they can apply to dissolve the marriage and couples can use the time to reflect on whether they really want to end their marriage.
At Townsend Family Law, couple counselling is always encouraged before advising a client to go down the divorce route provided counselling is safe.
The simplification of the divorce process has enabled us to drop our charges for a straightforward divorce which now costs £350 plus vat. It’s even less the court fee of £593 to issue the divorce application.
If you are considering separating, we offer a one hour discounted first meeting to take you through the divorce process and what to expect in terms and we can also offer some initial advice on arrangements for your children and how to settle your financial affairs.
