Friday January 29, 2010 at 2:59pm
The Independent has published some stats which cover the period of the recession. They include a continued reduction in the rate of divorces. That is not our experience here, but I do feel more and more general law firms are realising they should not be dealing with at least some of the more complex aspects of divorce.
Certainly we are experiencing very high enquiries about how to divorce, are in the process of taking on 2 more
divorce lawyers and still have legal jobs available!
But, the sta....
Friday January 29, 2010 at 9:48am
Having been a
divorce lawyer for well over 20 years, I have heard of some very short marriages. For example, not lasting out the honeymoon. But I read of a marriage in France (and I stress a completely genuine marriage) which lasted up to the 10 minute mark! There is, I suppose, an amusing aspect to this but isn't it a depressing comment on the way society behaves?
The Mail reported that the "happy" couple argued on the steps of the Town Hall and that was that. Apparently th....
Thursday January 28, 2010 at 10:28am
The Forced Marriage Act was passed by this government. Did they mean it or not? The principal aim of the Act is to prevent forced marriages from taking place and stop attempts to force a party into marriage. If the marriage has already taken place there are additional powers to protect the victim and enable the party to move away from the relationship. There seems little point in making a law on the one hand and on the other taking away much of the main parts of support to those who might wish t....
Wednesday January 27, 2010 at 7:52pm
"Ditch the bitch" and "All men are bastards" were apparently divorce poster campaigns on behalf of a London
family law firm. They were placed, sensibly you might think, in female and male toilets respectively.
I don't know how well they worked, but they certainly got the firm involved a lot of publicity including in the national newspapers. Personally, I am wholly against that sort of approach. Not that of seeking PR through use of innovative and maybe risky adverts but the ....
Wednesday January 27, 2010 at 12:07pm
I think it is a national disgrace that grandparents are often the unchampioned losers when their children divorce. Woolley & Co are contacted regularly by members of the older generations distraught that the close relationship they shared with their grandchildren has been shattered by divorce and family break-up. We even advise readers of Grandparents Times on the issue when they ask what their rights are regarding seeing their offspring’s children. And the answer is always the same &n....
Tuesday January 26, 2010 at 2:13pm
The website www.maritalaffair.co.uk is the subject of a campaign by church organisations and indeed by a growing Facebook group who are seeking to shut it down or stop it advertising, at least on billboards.
Regular readers of this Blog will know that I am a strong supporter of the insitution of marriage, although I do accept that relationships sometimes end. So, what do I make of this?
First, let's remember that an affair is a nice, maybe exciting, word for "sexual interc....
Tuesday January 26, 2010 at 10:13am
Emotionally, is it worse to divorce in other words split up after a marriage or split up after "just" living together? Brangelina (should this be "Brand Gelina"?) have 6 kids (3 adopted) between them and just cohabited, but will they be less affected simply because they were not married, I wonder. I notice a tendency for me and I think many other people to assume many celebrities will be OK just because they have the odd £100 million in the bank? Is that fair?
Andrew ....
Monday January 25, 2010 at 4:47pm
Readers of this Blog know my irreverent attitude to celebrity divorce! But I had to comment on the reports (said to be false by the way) that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were splitting up. My comment is really on two things; the references to a prenuptial agreement being drawn up for the split and also the complexities of sorting out their finances if they are splitting. A prenuptial agreement is used before a marriage. I stress "before" and "marriage"! They are not married.....
Friday January 22, 2010 at 9:50am
The Telegraph reports that there may well soon be a £100million
divorce settlement. I don't know if the wife involved is sad or relieved about the actual breakup but, ignoring emotions for a moment, many ordinary people might think "not bad for 6 years of marriage".
There are, though, some interesting issues in the case. They signed a prenuptial agreement before marriage which would have restricted the settlement. She does not propose to keep to it. It will be interesting to see....
Thursday January 21, 2010 at 8:21pm
I read in The Times that politicians propose to require all divorcing couples to go to mediation. Madness.
The fashionable view amongst politicians (think back to all previous policies like this--are they not later proved to be totally wrong?) is that mediation is good and any other way of resolving disputes upon divorce is bad. They think there are too many Court cases.
I believe they have got it badly wrong for these reasons:
forcing people to mediate is not a good start to mediation!
....
Wednesday January 20, 2010 at 6:17pm
Divorce is --for sure--not funny whatsoever if it is yours. But like all aspects of life, there can be some amusing aspects and events. (Common use of words like a "quickie" in connection with "divorce" is surely asking for at least a snigger?)But are we playing with fire, as genuinely caring and wanting to be seen as caring divorce lawyers, to contribute to a section on the Divorce Myths website called "the lighter side of divorce"? I'd value your co....
Wednesday January 20, 2010 at 3:09am
How to divorce quickly, is often a concern for many of our clients. The so called "quickie divorce" often mentioned in newspaper reports about how celebrities get a divorce, is really just a urban myth. You don't get a divorce more quickly just by paying more or being well known! (Although I do hear that some really cheap divorce providers can sometimes cause a "slowy divorce").
But there are things that will mean that your divorce can go through more quickly. These are....
Tuesday January 19, 2010 at 3:02pm
“I never signed any divorce papers!” was the cry of Archie Mitchell’s first wife, back in the Queen Vic, hoping to inherit all his money as a result. But her plan was foiled, as she was informed that her signature wasn’t required – she had been divorced on the grounds of desertion. Two years’ desertion is one of the five reasons for which a divorce may be brought under English law. However, a straw poll of the 17
family solicitors at Woolley & Co shows tha....
Monday January 18, 2010 at 6:09pm
Families are becoming a hot political topic, not before time, but I still find it difficult to raise too much enthusiasm. Like so many times, the most recent rhetoric from both the Tories and Labour paints great big banner headlines but reveals little of the detail. According to reports, Labour will this week pledge support for families and parents going through separation and relationship breakdown. Very noble, but what will they actually do and how will this help? David Cameron, for his part, ....
Wednesday January 13, 2010 at 7:48am
New research has shown that more than two-thirds of consumers don’t know what solicitors do. The YouGov survey also showed only 13% of respondents would buy legal services from a supermarket but, encouragingly for us, more than three-quarters of those who have used a solicitor were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received. The same research though showed less than half said they would be fairly confident of judging the quality of help they received. Intriguing find....
Thursday January 7, 2010 at 4:00pm
A report from the Office for National Statistics shows that only 1 in 5 children live in married couple households.
Who cares?
Well, I do. That may sound odd coming from a divorce lawyer, someone who helps married couples with how to divorce! But whilst I certainly think irretrievably unhappy couples should get a divorce, I have long argued for more funding from the government for support during marriage to keep it strong.
My comment about who cares is also directed at the government. It does....
Tuesday January 5, 2010 at 8:54am
D Day has come to mean something different from the traditional understanding. Instead of the anniversary of a war-winning invasion in June each year, the first working day of January when we draw a line under the holiday celebrations is now “officially” known as D Day – or divorce day. More people begin divorce proceedings on this day than any other. Research has shown this to be the case, and it is a sad fact. At Woolley & Co, we had around 50 per cent more enquiries by m....