Member Article

Pitfalls of the DIY divorce

BRITS SHOULD END AFFAIR WITH THE DIY DIVORCE advises family lawyer

Only a few days ago the legal trade magazine, The Law Gazette published an article highlighting that one in four divorce petitions are flawed and have to be returned to them for correction owing to errors in procedure, lack of information or in some cases, failure to enclose issue fees

To many this statistic may seem alarming; however I am not surprised by the figure and believe it is further testament to the increasing and in my opinion high risk emerging trend of The DIY Divorce.

Evidence suggests that thousands of Brits have been persuaded to opt for a ‘quickie’ do it yourself online divorce over the last 24 months. Promoted as costing as little as £99 I can understand why to many a ‘savvy’ individual, keen to save money this might seem like a appealing route, surely it can’t be that difficult to manage yourself?

For some cases, a DIY approach can work and I am not ruling it out in all cases. It has the potential to work for a small majority of people, where there are no children involved, no financial assets to split, and if a couple are separating amicably, then I can understand it being a viable consideration. However for the majority of couples separating it is not that straight forward and the benefits of instructing a reputable family solicitor far outweigh the potential cost savings of trying to handle it yourself.

Managing divorce proceedings yourself can be a highly emotional, risky, stressful process littered with pitfalls that may not be apparent at the outset. Couples embarking on the process can come up against challenges and decisions they had never even thought about and require help, guidance and support to reach the right decision and achieve the right outcome. In these situations, without the right support the process simply falls apart and fails to progress. I have pulled together the top 10 reasons as to why we believe it is imperative couples should instruct a solicitor to handle their family matters.

1. If you agree to an informal separation agreement you need a solicitor to check over the details including the financial consent form to make sure you are protected in the future and that the agreement is legally sound.

2. Often divorces are not straightforward. Solicitors have the impartial specialist knowledge to overcome any problems that you may incur if you decide to go ahead with a DIY divorce.

3. Family lawyers can offer Mediation or Collaborative Law approach that rules out Court involvement and litigation.

4. By instructing a legal expert you will receive face to face friendly advice. Your solicitor will become fully aware of your individual situation and will able to answer your questions about the whole process of ending a marriage.

5. Quite often clients who conduct their own divorce believe matters have concluded once the Decree Absolute has been pronounced – they are often unaware of the importance of obtaining a Financial Consent Order which will prevent any future financial claims being made.

6. As family practitioners we have specialist knowledge when dealing with the matrimonial finances, problems which could potentially arise, when a person deals with this themselves, could include forgetting assets like pensions or property when drawing up a settlement.

7. A family lawyer can explain the complex legal terminology used during the divorce process. Not realising the meaning / importance of certain elements of the process i.e. ‘prayer of divorce’ can have drawbacks and the phraseology can often be mind boggling to the untrained eye.

8. Solicitors are aware of certain relevant case law which applied in specific circumstances are advantageous for their client.

9. Finances – whether a proposal is in fact a reasonable one and in your best interests is best evaluated by a trained solicitor, a family lawyer will look after your own interests and is only interested in achieving a fair settlement.

10. Where parties have not received proper legal advice they could end up with a financial agreement that doesn’t address certain issues (i.e. pension, property, other finances etc) – this means that the parties could end up returning to Court in an attempt to vary the settlement at a later date, which would incur additional costs to rectify their earlier mistakes.

I think the above illustrates the volume of potential pitfalls and difficulties that may occur if you try and handle a divorce yourself. Most of these are of course not foreseen when you embark on the process of divorce. A good family lawyer will listen, explain, advise and ultimately act on your instruction and in your best interests.

Jennifer Carr

Family Solicitor

FDR Law

www.fdrlaw.co.uk

Jennifer.carr@fdrlaw.co.uk

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