By Nicki Mitchell, Jones Myers Family Law Mediator and Child Inclusive Mediator – as featured in The Divorce Magazine

I welcome the news that The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to investigate claims of people being misled about the process and prices of divorces and wills. 

The enquiry into the growing number of online services – many of which are unregulated and include  those offering divorce – comes after a raft of complaints from consumers who were unclear about what help they would receive -and exactly what they were paying for.

Their grievances included ‘inadequate quality’ with incorrect forms being used and papers being sent to court late.

Delivering a quality service and being open about the costs and level of support involved is always vital, particularly in these sensitive and often stressful areas.    

When they see the word “divorce,” most couples understand that to mean not only the process of dissolving the marriage or civil partnership – but getting a financial settlement and resolving any issues around children too. 

My experience is that the fixed fee quoted online by some organisations just brings the relationship to a formal legal end – something which divorcing couples can do relatively easily themselves online. This process does not take much time and the only cost involved is the £593 court fee.

When working with established family lawyers like us, aside from the court fee, there is often a minimal or even no charge for dealing with the online divorce process when we are instructed to advise on the financial implications. 

Some firms also quote a fee for drafting an order to formalise an agreed financial settlement which can be helpful in some cases. However, most separating couples have no real idea what their financial options on divorce are. 

There is a common perception/misconception that everything is always split down the middle, but this is not necessarily the case. 

The law requires there to be a settlement which is “fair in all the circumstances,” with first consideration being given to the needs of any children. A 50:50 split is not always “fair.” 

The only way to understand what a court is likely to consider acceptable in your particular circumstances is to take advice from an experienced family lawyer. 

There is a cost but, in most cases, you get what you pay for – a quality service from qualified family lawyers whose firms are regulated and transparent. 

As part of the CMA investigation, consumers and others who would like to contact the CMA about their experiences with online services are asked to contact the watchdog by September 4 on this website.

If the watchdog’s investigation determines that organisations have violated consumer laws, those found wanting could be subject to a court order.

I sincerely hope the outcome will act as a deterrent to prevent more people falling prey at a time when they are at their lowest and most vulnerable.   

For progressing divorces online, the Government website is a helpful source of advice.

For queries on divorce or any aspect of family law, call 0113 246 0055 (Leeds), 01423 276104 (Harrogate) or 01904 202550 (York). Visit jm2023.jonesmyers.co.uk, email info@jonesmyers.co.uk or tweet us @helpwithdivorce

Jones Myers blog is ranked 10^th in the UK’s Best 25 family law blogs and websites to follow in 2023.

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By Liz Bell, solicitor

Following on from our earlier blog, which highlighted how a high percentage of cohabiting couples wrongly believe that they have legal protection when their relationship breaks down, we answer more of your most commonly asked questions.

My partner and I are splitting up and all our joint savings/investments are in their name. Can I access them?

No. Couples in England and Wales who live together, as opposed to marrying or being in a civil partnership, have no automatic access to, or control of, assets or property held in their other half’s name.

I’m unable to work. Can I secure maintenance if my relationship breaks down?

Not without a cohabitation agreement which includes provision for maintenance.

Is this all very unfair? 

Many people think so. While current legislation requires family courts to establish what is ‘fair’ for divorcing couples, when it comes to cohabitees, the courts must determine the couple’s shared intentions.

My partner has a large pension pot, but I don’t. What would happen if we split up before they retire?

An unmarried person cannot claim on their ex’s pension without written agreement.

What will happen regarding their pension if they die before me?

Most pension companies will not pay out to cohabiting partners upon death – particularly occupational schemes. However there are some limited circumstances where the pension arrangement, with the agreement of the partner, can make limited provision.

Furthermore, unlike married couples, cohabitees are not entitled to receive the state pension or bereavement allowance for dead partners. This makes it even more important to scrutinise carefully the terms of every private pension scheme partners contribute to – as well as agreeing the entitlement of each to a share of the other’s in writing.

What financial protection is there for our children?

This is one area where there is equal treatment under the law. The children of unmarried parents have the same rights to financial support as those of married ones. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is responsible for assessing and enforcing maintenance. However, where a parent’s income exceeds the CMS’s jurisdiction, the other can apply to the family court to increase payments.

Who gets to look after our children and decide their upbringing/education if we part?

Ideally, childcare can be agreed between former partners, but either party can apply to the family court to settle disputes. Decisions about where the children should reside and the contract rights of each parent are always based on the children’s best interests.

Alternatively, a couple can enter into non-confrontational collaborative law, mediation or arbitration. These are reduced conflict, cost-effective and less stressful routes to resolution that any responsible family lawyer should suggest.

Is statutory protection for cohabitees likely to be brought into line with married couples and common law partnerships?

There is increasing pressure on the government to improve rights for cohabiting couples and Jones Myers is very active in the campaign, however it is difficult to know if, and when, anything will change.

The shifting political landscape and uncertainty makes it particularly important to secure sound legal advice before, during and after the relationship

Our highly skilled family law specialists are adept at dealing with issues arising from cohabitation – whether advising you on your rights before you cohabit – or if your relationship has broken down.

For more information about any aspect of cohabitation or family law, call Jones Myers at our Leeds office on 0113 246 0055, our Harrogate office on 01423 276104, visit jm2023.jonesmyers.co.uk, email info@jonesmyers.co.uk or tweet us @helpwithdivorce

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The call by the UK’s top family law judge for new legislation to allow ‘no-fault’ divorces reinforces the pressing need for their introduction.

Sir James Munby, the president of the Family Division and Britain’s fourth most senior judge, has said that current divorce laws, which date from 1969, “are based on hypocrisy and lack of intellectual honesty”. He has called for a system where registrars are simply notified of divorces – like births, marriages and deaths – with the only legal involvement being to resolve disagreements over money.

As the law stands, unless couples have been living apart for two years, one of them must apportion some form of blame – adultery or unreasonable behaviour – which can create conflict and makes reaching a mutually acceptable agreement much more difficult.

The introduction of no-fault divorces – a legal separation granted by the courts without one person saying anything bad about the other – would make it easier for people to make their separation more harmonious and avoid court disputes.

Jones Myers founder, Peter Jones, has played a leading role in a campaign organised by Resolution – a national family law group that promotes non-confrontational family law solutions. A Lobby Day campaign in December, where he and fellow family law professionals urged MPs to introduce no-fault divorce, saw members acknowledge that changes are overdue.

Says Peter, a former chair of Resolution and one of the UK’s first qualified arbitrators: “We’re particularly concerned about the impact that conflict and confrontation between parents has on their children, whose interests should always be put first. The general view is that “if they both want it – why should a court stand in their way?”

“There surely has to be a better way via no-fault divorce which allows couples to work together to manage their separation without long, drawn out, stressful court disputes.”

For more information about any aspect of divorce or family law call our team of experts at Jones Myers on 0113 246 0055 or tweet us on @helpwithdivorce

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By Kate Banerjee, Head of the Children Department at  Jones Myers

The announcement that the Institute of Family Law  Arbitrators (IFLA) has launched a Family Law Arbitration  Children Scheme is another positive step forward in  settling family disputes out of court.

This form of arbitration will cover issues relating to where children should live, how much time they should spend with each parent – as well as resolving relocation issues in England and Wales. The arbitrator will be an experienced family lawyer who will remain in the case from start to finish – enabling them to get to know the parties and understand more about the children and the issues.

The Chair of IFLA, Rt Hon Lord Falconer of Thoroton, applauds the scheme as “..enabling couples to resolve disputes concerning parental responsibility of children more quickly, cheaply and in a more flexible, less formal setting than a court room.”

As a firm whose ethos is to always ensure the best outcomes for children, I welcome the fact that couples can now choose to settle their differences on parental responsibility confidentially and comfortably. Most importantly, it presents the opportunity to minimise conflict in an area that can be stressful, tense and highly-charged.

The latest development is an extension of the Family law arbitration scheme which was launched in 2012 to resolve differences on financial and property matters more speedily, privately and cost-effectively. Jones Myers founder, Peter Jones was among the first arbitrators in the country, when it was introduced to avoid the trauma of daunting, lengthy, expensive court battles, which can also be highly public.

With arbitration, the press is barred from hearings, which are arranged at clients’ convenience, at comfortable venues, where a family arbitrator rules on who should have what.

Just like a judge, the arbitrator bases their decision on relevant facts and evidence – taking into account the views of both parties. The award is final and binding on both parties. For more information on the arbitration process, visit our blog which provides answers to frequently asked questions on arbitration.

Jones Myers family lawyers are members of Resolution – professionals committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes. All follow a code of practice that promotes a non-confrontational approach to family issues.

If you have any comments, queries or concerns on divorce related issues, leave a comment below, call the team at Jones Myers on 0113 246 0055 or tweet us on @helpwithdivorce

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Kate Banerjee, head of our children’s department, answers key questions about this critical aspect of the new legislation which aims to ensure that both parents are involved in their child’s upbringing.

What’s prompted the new law? 

The Government is keen to encourage divorcing couples to be less confrontational and to avoid going to court.  The new legislation is more focussed on the child’s best interests and on empowering both parents. It is designed to promote joint responsibility about where their child will live, when the child will see the other parent – and how often.

How will the new legislation affect children of divorcing parents?

Child Arrangement Orders will be less prescriptive than the current system in which judges can issue residency and contact orders setting out which parent the child will live with and how much contact the other parent will have with the child. In theory this change should mean that both parents are involved in the upbringing of their offspring, making joint decisions on the time that the child will spend with each parent.

How will these Child Arrangements Orders ensure that both parents are involved in their child’s upbringing?

As a family lawyer dedicated to children’s matters including contact and residence disputes, I am still working through the finer points of the new legislation. However, the idea is that parents will be more involved in the decision-making process.  They will be encouraged and supported to agree on what is best for their child, rather than a judge imposing an order for where a child should live, and with whom.

What process do parents need to follow under the new development?

Child Arrangement Orders are one element of the new Children and Families Bill.  As my colleague David McHardy outlined in a previous blog, this includes the introduction of a single family court and a compulsory Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM).

This means that both parents will be required to undertake a MIAM. This is a meeting lasting about 45 minutes with a trained mediator to see whether mediation will be suitable for them before they can go to court to sort out matters relating to their children.  Experienced mediators, such as my colleague Fiona Kendall, will be in the new single family court, to support couples and provide a MIAM.

What if parents can’t agree on what’s best for their children?  

Following a MIAM some couples may find mediation useful to help them agree on where their child will live and how frequently and for what duration the other parent will see the child. In other cases, there will be parents who can’t agree – and this may be for a variety of reasons, including unreasonable behaviour, real antipathy towards each other or even abuse.

In my view even with these new laws in place, there will be occasions where a judge will still have to rule on where the child should live – but the process and final orders may not be as clearly defined as the current residency and contact orders.

What do you see as the benefits of this imminent milestone?

I welcome Child Arrangement Orders as a way of promoting greater collaboration between parents to help them to agree on the child’s best interests without undergoing a traumatic court process. It is understandably much better for a child if parents can set aside their own differences and not use a residency or contact order as a stick for one parent to punish the other.  Also, I have witnessed parents, often fathers, feeling deprived because they don’t spend enough time with their children and are prevented from being equally involved in the upbringing of their children post separation.

Conversely what challenges do you envisage it will bring?      

There is a possibility that court intervention will be the ‘elephant in the room’ because, in my experience, there are some parents who have no alternative but to go to court.  No one embarks on the court process lightly with regard to their children – they do so because they need to. People will continue to think and behave in the same way and new legislation won’t change that.

The importance of educating couples and parents is vital in helping them to understand what this new legal language means – and to know what to tell their children with regard to where they will live.  With a residency order it was made clear by a court where a child should live – from April 22 it will be vaguer.  With parents who are in conflict and can’t agree on arrangements, some children may feel in limbo and ask ‘where is my home?’, ‘where will I live?’.

In the countdown to the Children and Families Bill our family law experts will be examining the key issues and addressing some of the significant changes.  We will be updating you on developments via our blog.

If you have any questions about Child Arrangement Orders and the Children and Families Bill please call us on 0113 246 0055, leave us a comment below or drop us an e-mail.

You can follow us on Twitter @helpwithdivorce

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This week, Lord Neuberger, the UK’s most senior judge, warned that reforms introduced from April 1 – which will scrap legal aid for family matters including financial issues, residency and contact with children – could undermine the rule of law.

Lord Neuberger, the President of the Supreme Court, also forecast that this would lead to people taking the law into their own hands because they no longer have access to justice.

He told the BBC that the changes – designed to cut the legal aid bill by £350m a year by 2015 – could lead to higher court costs.

I agree wholeheartedly with Lord Neuberger’s concerns. The sad reality of these reforms is that hundreds of thousands of families will be left in a legal wilderness feeling stressed and traumatised because they won’t know which way to turn. – and who to turn to.

I fear that these cruel cuts which deprive the least wealthy and most vulnerable members of our society of free or subsidised advice or representation in key areas – will have disastrous consequences.

The repercussions include more children playing truant from school, a rise in instances of depression causing people to take time off work – and increasing the strain on the NHS budget. I also predict an increase in crime as children’s problems are left unresolved.

When I embarked upon my legal career, there was an ambition within government and the profession to enable everyone to have access to justice. The more vulnerable members of society were supported through legal aid; indeed it was a fundamental part of the legal structure.

Currently a substantial percentage of cases are resolved by the early and skilful intervention of legal expertise – usually a matrimonial lawyer – but cuts in legal aid will put this kind of expert advice out of the reach of many couples.

This change in legal aid provision is, in my view, false economy. I agree with Lord Neuberger that we will see a substantial and sustained increase in people representing themselves, putting a strain on the court system and the Judge’s time – both of which are under siege at the present.

Cases will be delayed as the layperson is likely to be poorly prepared as well as unused to the protocols of family courts.  Adjournments will cause frustration, which may well boil over and exacerbate an already tense and problematic family situation.

Badly prepared Petitions and individuals trying to ‘self help’ will painstakingly swing backwards and forwards to court with little progress being made. Judges will need to dig deeper into financial matters to avoid being unfair and cases will take longer where there are problems of disclosure. Both judges and the parties involved will become frustrated, increasingly intolerant and polarised in their views.

So why has the Government failed so abysmally to count the real financial, emotional and social cost of its legislation?

What are your views on the end of legal aid? Share them with us below, e-mail us here or send us a tweet @HelpWithDivorce.

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Fiona is a collaborative family lawyer, with extensive knowledge of EU law and cross border cases involving Scottish and English law.

When a relationship falters, going on holiday together might be seen as a last ditch attempt to heal the rift. That may go some way to explain a noticeable upsurge in divorce proceedings during September – but the reality often tells a different story. More usually the couple go ahead with a pre-booked holiday despite the cracks in their relationship and take the first steps towards divorce on their return.

While it may not have been so for previous generations, global travel has become the norm for many people – with an increasing number choosing to live, work and marry in another country with relative ease. However, for couples who have a home abroad, divorce may be an altogether more complicated matter. Here are some frequently asked questions about this issue.

How dramatically does divorce legislation vary from country to country?

There can be huge differences for legal, political and cultural reasons. In Ireland, for example a couple have to have been separated for at least four years before they can file for divorce. In Malta divorce is now recognised but this has only come about recently due to a change in the law. In Scandinavia a quick, ’no fault’ divorce process is the norm.

If one spouse is identified as having habitual residence in a specific country, then he or she may issue divorce proceedings there. More often than not, the law of that country will then apply.

What are some of the differences between English and Scottish divorce law?

Although both within the UK, Scotland and England and Wales are different legal jurisdictions and approach financial matters on divorce very differently. In Scotland, for example, no wealth acquired by either party as a result of inheritance is taken into consideration when assessing what is to be divided. Any assets acquired before the marriage or after the separation are similarly excluded. This is in stark contrast to the position in England and Wales where everything is in the ‘pot’ and each party negotiates for their share. There tends to be a greater emphasis on a ‘clean break’ in Scotland which contrasts with England’s generous maintenance regime. In Scotland maintenance payments are generally only payable for a maximum of three years.

How does divorce law differ across Europe?  

There can be stark differences in approach, which can lead to “forum shopping” by spouses looking for the jurisdiction which will offer them the most financially advantageous divorce settlement.  Sometimes competing proceedings are raised in more than one member state.  EU rules dictate that, in general, the proceedings raised first will prevail. The law of the jurisdiction within which the proceedings are raised will usually then apply.

The European Union has tried to harmonise some of the rules – what has been achieved – and are there any further developments in the pipeline?

Fourteen of the 27 member states have agreed that couples should be able to choose which law should apply to their divorce, wherever the proceedings are raised in Europe.  This might mean that a French couple living in Slovenia will opt to apply French law in their Slovenian divorce proceedings because that is the law with which they have the closest connection. At the moment only Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain are participating in this regime. The rest of Europe may be waiting to see how this plays out in practice before deciding whether to follow.  Whilst affording couples this kind of choice may be appealing, there are significant practical concerns. Can legal experts in one jurisdiction reasonably apply the law of another?  If foreign experts are to be flown in, what about the additional costs of translation and travel? All of this could create rather than reduce stress for the divorcing couple.

Does mediation and the collaborative family law process exist outside the UK?

Very much so, and is expanding as more and more countries are embracing the collaborative family law and mediation models, from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands. These forms of civilised dispute resolution avoid a lengthy, stressful and expensive court process. They may also afford couples much wider choice about how matters should be settled, notwithstanding that the UK has not bought in to the new EU regime.

For more information on cross border issues contact the team at Jones Myers on 0113 245 0055, comment below or drop us an e-mail.  You can also send us a tweet @helpwithdivorce.

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