I have never been a believer in ‘D Day’ – a media invention, in my view – and what adds to the confusion this year is that no one seems to agree on the date. The Daily Mail says it’s today – ‘Divorce Friday’ – the first day legal firms are open after the seasonal break (actually, some of us have been working before today!). Parenting website Netmums , who has just launched a report on the true impact of divorce on children, says that it is Monday, January 6 – the day when schools reopen.  Others claim it was yesterday, January 2 – the first working day of 2014.

In my personal experience as a family lawyer in Yorkshire for the last 25 years, couples do not hang on until after Christmas to then flee the nest as the last strains of Auld Lang Syne are ringing in their ears.  To suggest there is a queue of clients on the telephone or standing outside lawyers’ offices is, I think, a complete nonsense.

Yes, the festive season can put extra strains on already fragile relationships; however most couples who reach the decision to separate do not take it lightly and may have been contemplating it for some time.  If children are involved, many parents will want to orchestrate the final separation in January when the security and routine of school returns. Couples without children will often separate before Christmas.

The decision to divorce is too personal, significant and a defining moment in most peoples’ lives to simply be a ‘calendar’ event.

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Traditionally lawyers see an increase in couples starting divorce proceedings on D-day – usually the first day back at school, which this year falls on 7 January.

In past years, separating couples may have had access to free or affordable family law advice and representation through the Legal Aid system.  However, from 1 April 2013 people will no longer receive Legal Aid for divorce, finance or children issues.

Financial matters and issues relating to children, such as residency or contact, usually require a skilled family lawyer.  Cutting off Legal Aid means that the most vulnerable and least wealthy members of our society will not have access to the kind of expert advice that can resolve such cases in the quickest way possible and with the least damage to families.

The Government seems to think that divorce is easy – a tick box exercise with a Decree Absolute at the end.  They champion mediation– all well and good if both parties are willing and committed to that process.

But what if mediation fails and the couple turns to litigation?  The danger is that divorcing couples will try to ‘self-help’ and represent themselves in family courts where they don’t know the protocols.  I can see this putting an enormous strain on the courts with proceedings dragged out, judges having to dig deeper into financial matters and everyone becoming increasingly frustrated and intolerant.

In my view the changes to Legal Aid are false economy.  Rather than saving the Government money and speeding up the divorce process, the demise of Legal Aid for family matters will cost more in the long run.  I predict that family courts will be under enormous strain as divorcing couples try to represent themselves.  There will be a knock on effect on other public sector services and budgets.  For example, people too depressed to work and seeking help from their GPs; unhappy children playing truant from school and even increases in crime if the problems faced by troubled children are left unresolved.

Hundreds of thousands of families will be left in a legal wilderness after 1 April – has the Government counted the real financial, emotional and social cost of their legislation?

Will you be affected by the changes in Legal Aid? What are you views? – Let us know with a comment below, e-mail us, or send us a tweet @HelpWithDivorce.

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