Our Mark Perrett answers the question of ‘How is Coronavirus affecting Family Law’?

Coronavirus is affecting us all to some degree and its impact may be far reaching even as we move out of lockdown.

There are four Divorce Centres currently processing divorce cases in England and Wales. This is inevitably going to cause delays in getting petitions issued and then progressing them to their conclusion. It is sometimes the case that people just want to bring their marriages to an end and there are no other issues to resolve however it will probably take between 6 – 12 months in the current climate to do this.

If you have not made a will you should consider doing so to enable you to make provision for any assets that you do have (even if you do not consider them to be substantial) to ensure that your estate is dealt with as you wish

“Following my divorce, I needed to update my will. As I had received excellent advice & assistance from Kelly Bruton (a family law solicitor) through-out my divorce proceedings, I asked if she could recommend somebody to help me complete a new Will. She recommended ‘Amye Aris’, also of New Leaf Solicitors.

         Amye was most helpful, efficient & approachable throughout my will-writing process. Due to her assistance, I found the entire process much less daunting & more straight-forward than I had feared beforehand. I would highly recommend these fine, helpful & professional ladies, should you need legal advice & support in either (or in deed both) of these matters.”

 Best regards & thanks again for your fine & good-humoured help. C

Our Mark Perrett answers the question many clients ask when they need some legal advice “Who should I approach?”

When you get to the stage where you feel you need guidance or advice regarding divorce, separation, children or finances who should you turn to?

Choosing a Solicitor is not dissimilar to employing a builder or any other expert. The advice and service you receive will help you to make decisions that will affect your life, your partner’s life and your children’s lives.

Look at websites and individual solicitor profiles to look at what they do and how that my differ from firm to firm. Is the website easy to use and navigate? Is it of interest and relevance to you and what you want to get advice about? Is it up to date?

Look at the Law Society website and search for Solicitors firms and then look at the experience levels of the solicitor

Getting Ahead of the Divorce Curve

Everyone seems to be talking about a ‘curve’ during the Coronavirus pandemic but today was the first time I had heard a new client saying he wanted to get ahead of the divorce curve.

It is a sad prediction that after a period of self isolation this will put a strain on some couples marriages and the divorce rate is predicted to increase.    So rather than waiting until after the lockdown comes to an end and THEN instructing a divorce solicitor this particular client wanted to get ahead and get the ball rolling now.

You may ask if you can begin divorce proceedings now during this lockdown.  Yes you can, the paperwork can still be prepared and emailed to you and your spouse and the Court is still open, however there will be a delay in the usual processing time as the court office is not staffed

These are unprecedented times!  This phrase is used a lot but it certainly applies when it comes to contact arrangements. This pandemic would never have been in the minds of parents when reaching an agreement on contact with the children, nor would it have covered what would happen in the event of a pandemic. However, this is where we are and so it’s a learning curve for all of us.

If you have an amicable relationship with your co-parent then hopefully you can discuss and agree the new arrangements for your children if the usual arrangement isn’t working, particularly now that the children are now off school and one parent may be a key worker and working longer hours or one may be self isolating.

During this lockdown try to utilise the technology that is available, Zoom or Skype or video chats on social media to speak to the other parent and

Tips on how to co parent during the Coronavirus outbreak.

During such a stressful and unsettling time it is important that your children know there is some stability in their home life.  Their world has turned upside down if they are off school and they will need some structure at home and also reassurance that everything will be ok.

Be as present as possible when you are with your children, whether you are working through their school work or during play.  They may be feeling unsettled with their routine being disrupted so give them lots of reassurance and love and praise for help around the house or in their school work.

If your children are off school then use the time at home to get to know what is going on in their lives by talking to them more. If they are doing their school work, see how they approach their work and

What is the Current Divorce Law?

Some might say this has been a long time overdue but a change is now on the horizon. The Government has submitted a proposed change to existing divorce law for Parliament to debate which if agreed will amend the current procedure for divorce across England and Wales. This will allow separating couples to divorce more quickly and without blame.

Existing Law

At present to divorce the parties need to have been married for 1 year and the petitioner has to show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably by stating one of five facts:

Adultery
Unreasonable behaviour
Desertion for at least two years
Living apart for at least two years with consent from your spouse to divorce
Living apart for at least five years

This means that if you wish to divorce prior to being separated for 2 years you must show some blame/fault on the part of your spouse either by way

Another happy client of Kelly’s

“Kelly seems to have a very calming nature so even at very stressful points of the divorce process she made it very easy and understandable.  I can’t compare prices as I didn’t get quotes from others but it seemed very reasonable especially when it also came to the clean break element.  Thank you Kelly for all your help”.

Mrs P