Family Law London Blog

A recent poll of divorce lawyers in America has revealed a growth in the number of women paying alimony and child support over the past three years.

The survey, by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), found that 56% of respondents reported seeing an increase in the number of mothers paying child support, while 47% also note a rise in women being responsible for alimony following divorce.

Ken Altshuler, president of the AAML, commented:

"The court system always ends up reflecting changes in our society and this is certainly the case with issues regarding who pays child support and alimony. As more women achieve success on their career paths, they are also finding themselves increasingly responsible for financial obligations during and after the divorce process."

Website, Netmums, has recently carried out a survey of its members to find out more about the current state of relationships in the UK and what factors can place relationships in jeopardy.

The survey found that around 50% of respondents reported their relationship to be “good” or “strong”, but 14% said their relationship was currently “rocky”. A further 25% of respondents were not sure whether they would still be with their current partner in ten years time.

Around two thirds of members polled felt that it was much harder now to maintain a relationship than it was a generation ago. Just under 40% blamed this on the fact that more mums are now going out to work.

Having children was found to put additional strain on a relationship, with around four fifths of respondents saying the resulting exhaustion had a negative effect on their relationship. Money worries and lack of time alone as a couple were also reported as pressure points.

Peers in the House of Lords have voted through an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which will help ensure that victims of domestic violence continue to receive legal aid on issues around divorce or separation, by extending the evidential criteria required to demonstrate that domestic violence has taken place.

The amendment was proposed by Baroness Scotland and supported by Baroness Butler-Sloss, the former President of the Family Division, among others. In one of three votes against the government on the first day of Report stage of the Bill, this amendment was carried by 238 votes to 201.

Speaking in response to the amendment, Resolution’s Chair, David Allison, said:

“We are pleased that Peers voted through an amendment which seeks to ensure victims of domestic violence continue to receive legal aid to assist in resolving issues arising on divorce or separation. The Government and MPs now need to take notice of this sensible move and uphold this important amendment when the Bill returns to the Commons.

“In addition, we were pleased to hear the Government will accept undertakings as evidence of domestic violence for the purposes of providing legal aid, regardless of what changes are made to the Bill. Many women who have been abused seek undertakings from their alleged abuser, with the oversight of the family court, as a way to protect themselves and their children, without needing to go through a traumatic trial.”

New research from dating site, ThePicnicProject.com, has found a growing number of women would rather date a mature divorced man than someone younger than themselves.

According to the survey:

• 12% of single women would rather date a divorcee than someone younger, which amounts to an estimated 655,000 single women.
• An estimated 48,000 single women in the UK admit they are actively looking for a divorced man to date.
• Around 2% of respondents (892,000) said they have recently broken up with their partner, or are in the process of breaking up with their partner.

Women cite better relationship experience as the main attraction to divorced men (12%), along with an increased likelihood that they'll be sensitive to their partner's needs (8%) and the fact they've demonstrated serious commitment in the past (7%).

A quarter of women also admit they would not be deterred by children from another relationship.

A woman from Long Island appears to have made legal history by being the first person in the state to be granted a contested no-fault divorce, reports the New York Post.

Previously, in a contested divorce, the partner seeking the divorce had to claim that the breakdown of the marriage was the fault of the other partner e.g. on the grounds of adultery. A legal amendment introduced just over a year ago added a no-fault provision in an attempt to make the divorce process less acrimonious. Under this change, only one partner needed to claim that the marriage had been irretrievably broken for at least six months.

Until now, the provision had only been used in non-contested divorces, however in the case in question, a 79-year-old woman wanted to end her marriage, but her husband didn't. Based on the evidence presented, the judge agreed with the woman that the marriage was irretrievably over, and granted her the divorce despite the objections of her husband.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has urged separating couples to consider mediation when they separate or divorce, instead of turning to the courts.

Mediation can be a quicker, cheaper and more amicable alternative to court, where couples work through their issues in the presence of a qualified mediator to make arrangements both sides can agree with, rather than putting lawyers and a judge in charge of deciding a couple's future arrangements.

Rules introduced last year mean that separating couples now must complete a mandatory assessment to determine if mediation is a better option for them. The Government has already increased spending on mediation by two thirds, or £10 million, to £25 million each year, to allow separating couples to mediate.

Encouraging separating couples to consider mediation is one of a package of reforms introduced by the Government to encourage people and businesses to take responsibility for their own disputes, rather than turning to the courts. This includes:

• A first major overhaul of the civil justice system in 15 years, which will tackle fears that a damaging compensation culture and an unwieldy justice system is costing businesses millions of pounds and deterring deserving individuals from using the justice system. Under the proposals more people will be encouraged to use mediation instead of going to a court hearing.
• Government leading by example by signing a new Dispute Resolution Commitment which means all departments and agencies must consider using alternatives like mediation, arbitration and conciliation first before taking disputes to court. This will build on savings of more than £360m made in the last decade.
• Reforming the legal aid system, which is one of the most expensive in the world, so that courts are seen as a place of last resort, not a first choice, and more cases are resolved earlier with different approaches aimed at simpler dispute resolution.

The relationship support charity, Relate, has seen a 116% increase since December in the number of people calling its helpline for relationship support.

Analysis of the calls received has shown that the biggest issues causing relationship breakdown were:

• Arguments  36%
• Affairs  20%
• Sex    9%
• Stress   9%
• Money   7%

The charity has also seen a 60% increase in visitors to their website.

Relate conducted a survey before Christmas and found the most common causes of fireworks over the Christmas period were identified as personality clashes (14%) and not agreeing on what to do over the break (10%). The survey also revealed that people are most likely to argue with their partner (29%) or their children (13%).

A recent bulletin from the Office for National Statistics presents annual statistics on divorces that took place in 2010 following court orders, in England and Wales. The figures show that there were 119,589 divorces in England and Wales in 2010, an increase of 4.9%.

The charity Families Need Fathers, which provides support on shared parenting issues arising from family breakdown, has claimed that the Family Justice Review report fails to provide for children maintaining meaningful relationships with both parents and their wider family following family breakdown.

Authorities in China have introduced an unusual measure to help married couples survive the “seven year itch,” reports the Telegraph.

Grant Thornton's eighth annual matrimonial survey of family lawyers has sought views on the impact of the requirement for separating couples to attend compulsory mediation.

The latest annual matrimonial survey carried out by financial and business advisors Grant Thornton has found that, for the first time in the survey's eight year history, extra-marital affairs are no longer the most common reason for divorce.

Going through a divorce can be a stressful situation at any time, but the recession has made the situation even more difficult for middle income couples, reports the Independent.