Tuesday March 9, 2010 at 4:02pm
I’ve done my best to keep my own counsel about celebrity divorce recently. It has been a struggle. As regular readers of this blog will know, in the past, I have had a bit to say about the cult of celebrity, the column inches dedicated to it and the myths perpetuated in newspapers about so called “quickie” divorces which appear to be the preserve of celebrities and are, in actual fact, nonsense. As I said, I have done my best to turn over a new leaf and live and let live. ....
Monday March 1, 2010 at 3:13pm
Another week, another politician talking about marriage. This week it was David Cameron again, restating the Tory intention to give tax breaks for married couples. The idea has been met with enthusiasm by the Roman Catholic Church, apparently, which has suggested this is a big vote winner among congregations up and down the country. Whether those congregations now have significant numbers to affect the course of a general election or not remains to be seen. The Red side of the House has suggeste....
Tuesday February 23, 2010 at 3:14pm
The rate of divorce has gone down and is presently at its lowest for many years. That is well known and well publicised. But, we have been busier than ever and have recruited 5 specialist divocre lawyers in the last 10 months. How can this be?
Well, anecdotal evidence from an increasing number of our lawyers finds that Courts have suddenly started to reject divorce requests (under the procdure known as the "Special Procedure") when for many years they would have passed those same requ....
Monday February 22, 2010 at 5:47pm
Now I have never had any aspirations of being a star of the screen – small, large, silver, or otherwise. So when it was suggested that a nice, efficient and modern way (as befits a forward thinking firm) of communicating money-saving tips to clients and potential clients was via videos on our website, I was not too keen. However, I have come to realise that this is an effective way to get across a clear, concise message in today’s fast times. Have a look and let me know if you think ....
Monday February 22, 2010 at 9:38am
"In the west, adultery isn't punished by stoning. Instead, the press will kick you until you beg for forgiveness."
The Guardian report makes an interesting point, with the above headline.
Our media appears to be nothing short of delighted when a "celebrity" transgresses what the media decides is the law of morality that should apply. Take the examples of:
John Terry: it appears there was a clear apologyTiger Woods: a public (why public?) apologyVernon Kay (who is he, by th....
Wednesday February 17, 2010 at 1:30pm
We’ve already covered the falling divorce rates so I won’t plough over old ground completely but I was interested to read Resolution’s response to the news that marriage rates are at their lowest since records began in 1862. The provisional marriage rate for men in 2008 was 21.8 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried men aged 16 and over, compared with 22.4 in 2007 and 31.1 in 1998, according to the Office of National Statistics. The provisional marriage rate for women in 2008 ....
Monday February 15, 2010 at 1:50pm
A recent study has shown that, apparently, 41% of people would prefer to be without their spouse for a week than be without their internet connection for a week. Blimey!
1 in 5 said they'd be more upset if they lost their laptop than if they lost their partner! It seems that of the above 41%, 57% would find it very hard to be without Facebook and Twitter. (I declare an interest here as Woolley & Co have our own quite significant sections on Facebook and Twitter!)
Personally, I would think ....
Friday February 12, 2010 at 9:38am
In a previous Blog I have suggested that the government might just as well do away with marriage and have done with it! This was based on the gradual removal of the benefits of marriage as they used to be such as tax incentives and the indications that people living together would be given the same legal rights.
But maybe politicians won't have to do anything at all? It seems that we are just less and less likely to marry anyway. Indeed recent reports show that we are less likely now to marry t....
Thursday February 11, 2010 at 2:54pm
The Times reports that some very large law firms are considering introducing more flexible working. Blimey--progress!
All our (specialist
divorce lawyers) people have worked flexibly and at home since 1996 when this firm was started. It works. It has no connection with part time working, I assure you! Indeed it allows the 2+ hours often wasted on the commute to be useful--that may be usefully working or usefully resting or usefully in relationships. Good lawyers (good professionals) ....
Wednesday February 10, 2010 at 1:20pm
Sixty-three per cent of people are in favour of making video wills, according to research from a group of charities which wants to encourage more open discussion about what happens to a person’s assets after they have passed away. Wills are still a hush-hush subject. Many people still don’t put pen to paper and it causes endless problems, sometimes even causing family break-ups, so anything which can encourage people to sort out their legacy is something I would welcome. We encourage....
Monday February 8, 2010 at 11:25am
"You are a lawyer, a woman and have a family — and the big firms cannot tempt you with a partnership" says an influential article in The Times.
It is sad to see that we ("we" as in mainly male run law firms) have still failed to change our systems to allow 50% of lawyers to join us fully. I have to say, though, that at Woolley & Co we can hardly be accused of that; indeed the opposite is the case.
We don’t have partners as such but we do have: &h....
Friday February 5, 2010 at 5:17pm
“The difference between divorce and
legal separation is that a legal separation gives a husband time to hide his money.”
This is a quote from a celebrity. As my views on "celebrity divorces" are clear, I am not going to increase their "celebrity" by naming them! But they might have a point.
Legal separation is simple, you just separate. There is no illegal separation as such. But most people would sensibly have a separation agreement to set out who pays what and....
Friday February 5, 2010 at 9:42am
Over my 25 years plus dealing with divorce, there are many reasons I have heard to get a divorce but only once did I hear tax as one of them! But if you separated in this tax year and are going through a divorce do bear in mind the Capital Gains Tax situation. Of course, the 2009/2010 tax year runs until 5th April 2010, but watch out as any married couples special tax treatments end when the tax year they separated ends. So if you separated in, say, May 2009 you need to sort out your CGT situati....
Thursday February 4, 2010 at 4:45pm
The Law Gazette reports that children in divorce and family cases in Courts "do not trust newspapers". This was found after quite detailed research by the Children Commissioner for England. The presence of the Press might well cause children (and I dare say others) to restrict what they say in evidence.
Does anybody involved in Court proceedings trust the media? Should they? Should the media be allowed to be present at all in cases involving children especially given this finding?
Pe....
Thursday February 4, 2010 at 9:39am
"You should agree for a lower fee" is a completely understandable view we often hear from friends of our clients, normally. It is normally true. It is the actual Court hearings that normally cost the very large amounts of money and of course a Court hearing is a very good indicator of a complete failure to agree!
When shouldn't you agree?When you don't want to. Don't be bullied into agreeing because you "should".When fear of cost of divorce makes you. Ensure your divorc....
Wednesday February 3, 2010 at 7:37pm
Reconciliation is always on the mind of
divorce solicitors. If our client is the person starting off the divorce it won't surprise you to learn that they tend to be disinterested! But we will discuss it.
Of course the person starting has often had weeks, months and maybe years to come to the decision. The other spouse has often had a few days! It does surprise me how often people try to pressure that spouse into making decisions whilst still in shock. Dangerous stuff in my view--for them, their....
Tuesday February 2, 2010 at 9:16am
Grandparents rights is a hot topic right now. But normally in relation to grandparents rights to have contact (often called "access") to their grandchildren in the event of a divorce of their parents.
But Baroness Deech has strongly suggested that grandparents maybe should have a right to be financially supported by their children in return for the free childcare they will have given over the years. I do begin to wonder if the Baroness just looks for subjects she can get publicity fro....
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....
Thursday December 31, 2009 at 5:25pm
How to divorce is one thing and we cover that elsewhere. But how to divorce and keep the children happy is much harder.
Of course, there is a lot of emotion around. I stress that when I use the word "happy" it is meant to mean "relatively happy" as normally they won't be. But sometimes they can be relieved to be away from a daily angry atmosphere, waiting for the rows to start.
My top tips are these:
do tell the children what is happening
try not to blame the other....
Monday December 21, 2009 at 3:27pm
Divorce lawyers in the UK are well used to being asked how to get a divorce without losing everything. There are two main aspects to this; how to save legal fees and also the best way to divorce. How to save on legal costs and lawyers fees • Try hard to agree what you can yourselves (but make sure you understand your rights first) • Get emotional support from friends or better still a counsellor but not your
divorce solicitor • Remember your aim; hopefully it is not to “get&....
Friday December 18, 2009 at 7:58am
As UK divorce lawyers we see all ends of the spectrum when it comes to how couples divorce –whether they go through the process easily and in agreement; whether they experience emotional pain and distress or whether they put the gloves on with a determination to battle and fight every step of the way. From our years of experience of handling divorce cases it seems the couples who manage to stay friends after divorce are those who: • Don’t argue over the little things – the....
Wednesday December 16, 2009 at 10:18am
I was heartened this week to see a leading law figure call for the judiciary to speak out when they see something wrong with the legal system. Lord Justice Wall suggested “the time has come” to end the reluctance to speak out, but instead to do so “loud and clear”. He did though fire a warning about straying too far into politics. I fail to see what is wrongly political about senior specialists in law giving the benefit of their knowledge on how things are working –....
Tuesday December 15, 2009 at 2:36am
David Cameron has long made it clear that the party's policies should support marriage by tax advantages; perhaps like those that existed for many years?
I understand that this is backed by surveys suggesting children do better when raised within a marriage and a Conservative belief in the institution. I tend to agree that marriage should be supported in many ways, certainly in trying to avoid divorce.
Could the money be better used in providing counselling to couples in trouble? I think so.
....
Monday November 30, 2009 at 5:09pm
We are advising increasing numbers of Muslim people about talaqs and
getting a divorce in England. It is quite a complicated area as the UK law, bascially, does not recognise a talaq pronounced in the UK but will if it is dealt with in e.g. Pakistan. Bizarre. (A "talaq", by the way, is effectively an Islamic divorce) There seems to be something of a backlash against it here, I wonder if that is because it can only be pronounced by men? Should we really be telling people how to live and....
Thursday November 26, 2009 at 7:50pm
This week saw the domestic violence charity Refuge launch the “Four Ways to Speak Out Campaign” to encourage sufferers of domestic violence to speak out and escape the domestic violence situation they find themselves in. Anyone can support the campaign in association with Avon cosmetics by doing one of the following:- 1) Sign a petition requesting the Government end the postcode lottery as 1 in 3 local authorities do not provide any domestic violence services 2) Buy an Avon empowerme....
Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 9:50pm
We are often asked about expat or international divorce and the issue of womens'
divorce rights in places such as Dubai often come up, normally with wild assumptions being made.
In fact Dubai, the UAE, are very far sighted when it comes to divorce rights. Of course UAE law is applied to Muslims. Non Muslims are dealt with by the use of the laws of their home country. So, an ethnic English person would reasonably expect to obtain the same settlement as they would in England.
This can come as a ....
Monday November 23, 2009 at 7:37pm
Maybe the Law Commission should just abolish all rights obtained during a marriage and have done with it? Why stop there? Let's just abolish marriage.
My reaction is to the gradual but increasing reduction of the difference between rights due to marriage and rights due to living together. The inexorable move is towards there being no difference at all. It started with the removal of tax relief, I think.
If it is shown that those ruling society don't respect the institution of marria....
Monday November 23, 2009 at 7:10pm
Divorce and counselling is a subject best left to the experts.
But, is nothing sacred? The field of divorce has increasingly been used by all political parties to attempt to show how "family friendly" or "child friendly" or even "marriage friendly" they are. Now it seems the government is suggesting that it can better arrange counselling for couples in crisis than Relate who have been doing it for years!
The Times reports that the government will soon advise GPs t....
Monday November 16, 2009 at 10:13am
Us
family lawyers are being asked more and more to advice on fertility law, surrogacy or donor conception arrangements.
Of course this area of law doesn't end there and there can be complex situations where, for example, a single woman and her best friend, male or female, want to co-parent. It is a legally dangerous area of law for those involved and can often have legal implications which greatly surprise people as one Andy Bathie will tell you. He donated sperm to a lesbi....
Thursday November 12, 2009 at 10:03am
I read in one of our more popular newspapers last week of the British couple who divorced at the age of 98. They are apparently the world’s oldest recorded couple to divorce. For most this would be shocking news. Why divorce at such a late stage in life; what would be the point in putting yourself through the stress and upheaval at their age? However, for me whose grandparents separated in their 70’s after 50 years plus of marriage this is not so unheard of. The couple in question Mr....
Wednesday November 11, 2009 at 10:09am
I am sure that the parents of Baby RB, the child with the serious medical condition in the news at the moment, always felt they knew what was in Baby RB’s best interests. Baby RB’s parents have been in the heartbreaking situation where their child is in hospital with a life threatening condition. The hospital referred the issue to the High Court arguing that RB’s life should be ended with his ventilator being switched off. The Mother of the child was in support of this believin....
Thursday October 29, 2009 at 9:41pm
I spent a day at a training session for all of our divorce lawyers this week, designed by experts in their fields, to help us all better understand and support our clients. This was especially connected with the emotional issues of divorce and relationship breakdown.
Actually, quite a few of our specialist divorce lawyers have suffered a divorce themselves. We are not immune, you know!
The course led me to wonder if divorce law firms should employ counsellors to offer the more comple....
Friday October 23, 2009 at 10:29am
Myth: If my partner behaves badly or “messes around”, this will affect the outcome of our divorce.
Reality: Let's get the wording safely understood, first! A "divorce", in law, means just the ending of the marriage legally and does not include any issues of money, house, or
financial settlement. The bad behaviour might be part of the
grounds for divorce mentioned, by way of "unreasonable behaviour". But in terms of the finances, it is very unlikely that the beha....
Thursday October 15, 2009 at 2:34pm
I read a serious discussion article today in The Times that says men are 7 times more likely than women to leave their spouse when that spouse becomes seriously ill.
I am shocked. Of course, it's always easy to say "I wouldn't" before experiencing the horrors of that sort of situation but I think men should remember the phrase "for better for poorer, in sickness and in health".
But what is the divorce law view of that? Could he divorce her?
Grounds for divorce include unre....
Wednesday October 14, 2009 at 2:54pm
Continuing our efforts to dispell common myths and misunderstandings about divorce and family law here's one that's relevant to all business owners and their spouses.
MYTH: If we divorce I won't be entilted to anything from my partner's business. REALITY: You quite probably are entitled to something. It may be to a share of the income it produces, but much depends upon the nature of the business. You may have helped him to set up.
You may have made a significant contribution to its success. T....
Friday October 9, 2009 at 9:04am
Family law has suddenly, it seems, attracted the attention of all the political parties!
I will not bore you with their proposals for change (frankly, they don't add up to much except a lot of words) but these are some of mine:
require couples to have a course of information and counselling before marriage (e.g. "how to argue"!)
make prenuptial agreements clearly enforceable
make the automatic rule on divorce to be 50/50 unless there is a prenuptial saying otherwise
no f....
Thursday September 24, 2009 at 1:11pm
Grandparents rights is still an issue which is causing huge upset and it is so unecessary.
The Times reported a truly sorrowful tale of a grandfather (a retired Judge as it happens) effectively being stopped from seeing his grandchildren after his son had died and also tells his opinion of what he clearly sees to be the suffering caused by the Court system. It also makes it very clear that he thinks the Children Act requirement that grandparents should have to ask for permission to apply for co....
Thursday September 17, 2009 at 12:42pm
The Government is considering forcing divorcing couples to go to mediation before being able to start divorce proceedings. Looking at that quickly, you'd think that was a very sensible suggestion. All of us would think a mediated settlement was better than one obtained from a Court. (By "better" I do not mean a higher figure but one less destructive to relationships and often much cheaper) The Times reprots that Baroness Deech, is opposed." You can't mediate with a person or coupl....
Wednesday September 16, 2009 at 10:03am
Massive divorce
financial settlements are humiliating to women, according to Baroness Deech reported in The Times! Well, are they really? If so I know a lot of women who have got over the humiliation very well. I am sure it is not the financial settlement that is humiliating, if anything it is the social engineering that even these days leaves the average woman much less better off than the average man. I am with her when she asks for the financial settlement upon divorce laws to be changed and ....
Friday September 11, 2009 at 5:23pm
There are so very many myths surrounding divorce, separation and also living together. You know the sort of thing:
"I'm not entitled to anything from his business" (true or false--click the link to find out!)
"I don't need to get married as I have the same rights as a common law wife"
"I can divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences"
There can be some humour here in some beliefs but actually these myths can cause people a lot of unneces....
Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 2:28pm
Stop sleeping together seems to be the advice from Dr Stanley who set up one of the first sleep study laboratories and is based at the University of Surrey!
He told the British Science Festival that sleeping together seemd to worsen a night of sleep and that if one partner awakes there is a 50% chance the other will, too. Sleep, he says, is a crucial part of staying healthy and often ignored.
Well, he knows about this much better than I do! But we do often have clients seeking a divorce on the....
Saturday September 5, 2009 at 7:27am
A new study just out shows that women are about 3 times more likely than men to be arrested for domestic violence. See this in the context that men are much more likely to be physically abusive, although women are more likely to use a weapon.
Perhaps of more concern is that children were present in 55% of cases involving some form of violence or similar abuse. The effect upon them probably cannot be measured and issues of child contact and residence loom large.
Our divorce lawyers are of....
Friday September 4, 2009 at 1:11pm
The Times was not alone in suggesting that divorce Courts in the south of England seem to favour wives more than Courts in the north of the country.
By "favour" I think they mean give bigger awards when dealing with a financial settlement after a divorce, which is often referred to as a divorce settlement.
Do they favour wives in the south? Let's have a look at the views.
Many men would say that divorce Courts favour wives in every part of the country! But I do not think they do. ....
Monday August 24, 2009 at 8:58am
It is a long held view, certainly by men in general I think, that women are not as good as men at business and therefore at law.
Why? I have no idea. Maybe obviously I wouldn't know as most of our lawyers are women. This is a list of our divorce lawyers at present and you will see what I mean. (I have to say that one more male divorce lawyer is joining us very soon, but then so is one more female divorce lawyer!)
Many firms of solicitors employ a lot of female divorce solicitors but very....
Thursday August 20, 2009 at 6:37am
Michael Winner, a friend of John Cleese, is reported to have said that if anybody marries Cleese's recent ex-wife they had "better have a prenuptial agreement".
(Actually, with her divorce settlement it is she who needs a really good prenuptial agreement!)
I expect this is based on the reports that she has obtained a massive financial settlement from him which obliges him to pay millions up front to her plus keep working sufficiently to pay her £600,000 per year until he is 72.....
Wednesday August 19, 2009 at 9:03am
Many of our clients, who come to us to get a divorce, often question what the attraction was for them towards their spouse in the first place.
But I read (in the Telegraph no less!) that Amy Wolfe of Pennsylvania intends to marry a fairground ride manufactured by the Weber company. She will change her name to Weber after the ceremony. Apparently she was "instantly attracted to him sexually and mentally". She sleeps with "his" spare nuts and bolts to help her feel closer.
I ....
Saturday August 8, 2009 at 5:09pm
Wrong. To get a legal Islamic divorce if you are in the UK you need to go through a UK Court divorce. If not, you will be regarded in the UK as still married and thus committing an offence by remarrying.
Of course, you will also need to have the divorce granted by the Islamic religion to be able to have a Muslim marriage again.
Andrew Woolley and Shahzea TahirDivorce Solicitors....
Monday August 3, 2009 at 10:50pm
I am re-reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It has a lot of sense in it but one thing I'd missed before caught my eye. He says that he views "love" as a verb. Do it, just do it. Then the feeling will follow. He thinks this is especially useful in a relationship where one party says "I have just fallen out of love".
Do feelings follow the actions?
Andrew WoolleyDivorce Solicitor
....
Friday July 31, 2009 at 2:42pm
Divorce settlements (known as “ancillary relief”) are complicated in themselves but the area of pensions and divorce even more so. This will normally need careful advice from an IFA pensions expert working closely with a divorce solicitor. But, put simply, apart from ignoring the issue there are 3 alternatives available to the divorce Court. The first is known as ‘off-setting’. This means that the court looks at the transfer value of the pensions and decides that the pers....
Friday July 31, 2009 at 6:54am
You are in the middle of a difficult financial divorce settlement. Your spouse is being either very slow or very unreasonable and it seems that he/she may well be hiding some financial info. When in the former home you do one of these things: ...have "just a quick look" at their emails on their PC ...grab a letter from their lawyers addressed to them Or maybe you just receive a bank or accountant letter at your address meant for them. It sheds light on the situation. It is hard to fail....
Thursday July 30, 2009 at 6:43am
During a divorce case, there will normally be at least a discussion about the financial divorce settlement figures. (The system calls this "ancillary relief"). Within this a Form E is completed and one issue within it is to complete a list of what needs to be spent on a monthly basis or what a person actually needs and would like to pay out if they could get the maintenance from the other to do so.
As in all areas of divorce law, it is important to be realistic. Claiming maintenance f....
Tuesday July 28, 2009 at 4:53pm
A study by Chicago University finds that “divorced or widowed people have 20 per cent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer than married people, and also suffer more mobility problems such as having trouble climbing stairs and walking”. Apparently it is much worse if the person does not remarry. It seems that we start off with an allowance of health and can lose chunks of it due to certain events, divorce being a particularly impactful one. This sh....
Friday July 24, 2009 at 2:22pm
This week’s government-commissioned report suggesting the privileged background of most lawyers got me thinking about our own lawyer selection policy. I think it’s fair to say I myself didn’t come from a privileged background – I certainly had a loving and supportive family but my father was a machinist in a car factory.When I look at the team of family lawyers we have I can’t really see any of those who would consider they were born with a silver spoon in their mou....
Friday July 24, 2009 at 7:33am
We reported in our Newsletter for Professionals that a study by Grant Thonton suggests that money worries in the recession will help cut the divorce rate.Really?I don't think so. It will stop some people from starting a divorce just at the moment if they, as some do believe me, carefully calculate the best moment to pursue a financial and divorce settlement from their spouse. That is not normally when the economy is poor, their pension is down and the value of their assets reduced. But money wor....
Thursday July 23, 2009 at 7:10am
Politicians, some lawyers and many other people (not normally those who have recently divorced) bemoan that getting a divorce has been made too easy. Incidentally, that seems to ignore the appalling emotional and practical difficulties; I am sure nobody divorces for fun. But is can be easy, even for experienced divorce solicitors, to forget that people of some religious faiths have complicated issues to consider quite apart from the ending of the civil contract. I can certainly recall when someo....
Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 10:01am
Impotence is apparently grounds for divorce in 23 US States. But presumably not in the others---ladies be careful which US State you marry and live in!
But, of course, it is a very serious and upsetting affliction. What is the position in the UK?There is no ground for divorce specified as impotence. Some women believe that impotence is unreasonable behaviour. I can see what they mean but of course it isn't. An existing problem concealed before marriage would be, as it is the concealing that is ....
Wednesday July 22, 2009 at 7:27am
The Conservatives think-tank has suggested various things, that they believe may halt the decline in marriage and slow the divorce rate. Some of them are very sensible such as pre-marriage counselling. But they have also suggested tax relief for marrying. Imagine: “Darling will you marry me?” “Oh, I’m not sure” “Go on. I’ll get tax relief” Oh, please! Will tax relief really cause more people to marry, who wouldn’t otherwise?
Surely the mone....
Tuesday July 21, 2009 at 12:47pm
As discussed in The Economist, until the economy became the big subject we heard a lot from politicians about “Broken Britain”, the reduction in marriage and the increase in divorce. Indeed recently, a Conservative think-tank has been suggesting counselling pre-marriage, a 3 month “cooling off” period before a divorce can be started and tax assistance if you get married (some of us are old enough to recall when this was normal!) So, what are the facts? Marriage is certain....
Saturday July 18, 2009 at 7:42am
OK, I don't expect you to agree. Nor do I, actually. But the Justice Committee of the House of Commons report was looking at the rates paid to lawyers who handle publicly funded (used to be called "legal aid") family law work where the fees are way too low to, in general, attract the specialist divorce solicitors. I suppose this is the legal version of the loss of NHS dentists.
Now, we don't deal with legal aid cases and never have, mainly because our expertise is in answering q....
Friday July 17, 2009 at 2:43pm
Anybody going through a divorce surely wants it to be as "good" as possible? Obviously we tend to hear about "bad" divorces but that suggests there must be "good" ones! I suspect a "good" divorce must refer more to feelings than financial settlements, divorce costs, who got what and so on. But maybe where someone gets what they want as a divorce settlement, they'd tend to describe that as a "good" divorce? I am sure there is more to it than that.....
Friday July 17, 2009 at 7:38am
I read on a Web Forum that "Divorce lawyers in England feed on a diet of champagne and lobsters and can even afford mistresses". Admittedly, it was the Sun Online forum!I feel I need to rapidly confirm that I do not "enjoy" any of those things!
But I think I get the point. How can we keep the divorce costs as low as sensibly possible? These are some top tips:
Cost of divorce
Understanding the cost of divorce
Tips for controlling the costs of your divorce
It pay....
Thursday July 16, 2009 at 7:57am
"I'm an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get divorced, I keep the house".
I should stress that this is a quote from Zsa Zsa Gabor! But, who does normally keep the house?
Sorry, but I'm going to have to say that it depends. It depends upon all the facts, history of the financial side of the marriage, children and needs as does all aspects of a divorce settlement. But if you have main care of the children, a career path clearly affected by that, you've been married some years and yo....
Wednesday July 15, 2009 at 8:42am
Divorce solicitors are often asked "does it matter if she divorces me or I divorce her?" or "I need to rush to get my divorce petition in first".It doesn't matter, not legally anyway except in extreme circumstances. But that doesn't mean of course that it does not matter. If it matters to you, a lot, that you divorce your spouse then it is an important issue for you and to do so may help your healing process. But let's be clear. These days the Courts are not really interested....
Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 8:14am
No. You have to be married for at least 1 year until you can start divorce proceedings. There is no way around it.
As soon as you have been married for 1 year, then you can start divorce proceedings and issue a divorce petition. These are the reasons for divorce that you can choose from (known as the divorce grounds).
But if you have been married less than 1 year and want to take action, what can you do then? These are 2 of the possible alternatives:
Nullity. This is not commonly available bu....
Monday July 13, 2009 at 4:33pm
The BBC web news site shows that the Tories seem to be trying to (well, if they get elected that is!) do something at last about the rate of divorce in the UK. It reports that they will require couples to have a 3 month "cooling off period" before they get a divorce, so that they can reflect and also consider reconciliation. They will also, apparently, "strongly encourage" couples to attend a marriage class before marrying.
Do I, as a divorce solicitor,....
Monday July 13, 2009 at 8:37am
Nikkah is a Muslim marriage and talaq is a Muslim or Islamic divorce. Why are they relevant to UK based divorce lawyers?Divorce Solicitors in England, especially those like us who deal with a lot of expat and international divorce, are increasingly asked if a divorce abroad or indeed a marriage abroad are "legal" in the UK.The relevance of a marriage abroad being legal here is, perhaps obviously, a very important issue if one of the people involved wants to remarry here.....
Sunday July 12, 2009 at 8:54am
Due perhaps to the recession and downturn in the housing and jobs markets, many couples who split up now have to continue living "together", that is apart but in the same house. It doesn't take a divorce lawyer to explain how difficult that can be.
Many of our lawyers are members of Resolution, a grouping of lawyers which promotes minimising conflict in family disputes and encouraging solutions that meet the needs of the whole family. This is a link to their Factsheet on avoiding....
Saturday July 11, 2009 at 8:39am
Divorce causes many unpleasant effects, to say the least. Ask anybody how easy it is to adjust emotionally after a divorce and financially after a divorce settlement.But a study reported in the British Medical Journal suggests that divorce (and still being alone some years later in later life) can increase the risk of Alzheimers quite significantly. So, watch out as you get older!
Now, I am sure there was something else I was going to say........
But another study strongly suggests that ....
Friday July 10, 2009 at 1:11pm
There were 32,900 petitions filed for divorce in the first quarter of 2009, a similar number to that in the first quarter of 2008. The number of decrees absolute granted fell to 28,800 in the first quarter of 2009 from the 32,200 in the first quarter of 2008.
Why is that?It sounds odd, doesn't it for there to be less absolutes than petitions for divorce (requests for a divorce)? But it is due to the delay between the request and the absolute. More here. This means that the decree absolute numbe....
Friday July 10, 2009 at 8:26am
There is no such thing as no fault divorce in this country. To get a divorce you have to set out at least 1 of 5 grounds of divorce and then in some of them go into a little detail about, for example, the behaviour of the other person.But, is there no fault divorce by the backdoor? By the way I don't think anybody really thinks there isn't any "fault" when there is a divorce just that the phrase suggests there should be no need to rake it all up.
Time for the system to be honest. I th....
Thursday July 9, 2009 at 8:08am
Divorce is tough enough without unnecessary delay. I think the failure or refusal of many lawyers and many Courts to use email causes huge amounts of that delay.Just think; a letter takes what......3 days if you're lucky to get from the mouth of the creator of it to the recipient. (Dictation, waiting for typist, waiting for signature, ooops just missed the post, delivered 1 or 2 days later). An email takes seconds.
I pause just to make it clear that any divorce will take weeks due to....
Wednesday July 8, 2009 at 7:07am
When you attend a wedding, can you help yourself from wondering if this couple will make it? Maybe it is my sad legacy from being a divorce solicitor for over 25 years! But do you, too, smile when all the time you are thinking "No chance with her / him". Well I will try to redress the balance with what follows. There are, Time Magazine reports, various things that can improve your chances. A snapshot: Age No real surprise but over 25 is best. Note no difference really betwee....
Tuesday July 7, 2009 at 8:14am
Conveyancers, many of them solicitors, are just not doing their jobs well enough it seems to me. I have lost count of the amount of times clients tell me that when they bought their house there was no discussion at all about how to own it and in what shares.If married, it dosn't matter much normally because the Courts usually ignore whose name the house is in especially after a few years marriage, when sorting out a divorce settlement.
But for unmarried couples it can be very serious indeed. Ta....
Monday July 6, 2009 at 7:54am
Personally, I'd only want to predict if I would divorce, if the answer were to be "no"! But from my 25 years as a divorce lawyer I do know that many people would indeed like to predict this, especially those going into a second or third (or more) marriage.
Well, there is a high rate of divorce anyway. There is argument about how to calculate it but let's say it is about 40%. Not a good start! Experts then say these are some of the major risk factors:
Neuroticism (Kelly & Conley, ....
Friday July 3, 2009 at 3:29pm
What has a prenuptial agreement got to do with Paul McCartney?
Well, I bet he wished he had one when he got into his major divorce settlement case with Heather Mills. She didn't end up doing all that well but he had a very unpleasant time of things. In the last few days a case, discussed here says we are at the point when the Courts will always follow a prenup unless there is a good reason not to do so.
The Press has been looking at this in different ways.
....
Wednesday July 1, 2009 at 8:55am
The Telegraph reports on a study in Australia which shows:
The research has found that men are less likely to divorce their partner if they work for between 40 to 50 hours a week. About one in five Australian workers report logging 50 hours or more a week.
I wonder if this is because one of the main underlying grounds for divorce is financial difficulty?
A divorced woman I know tells me that maybe working 50 hours + per week makes him too tired for an affair?!
Thoughts please.....what d....
Tuesday June 30, 2009 at 8:10am
There is pressure from the EU for all member states to have the same divorce laws. There is already a lot of difficulty working out which country can deal with the case which is important here as many people understandably prefer to get a UK divorce. Sensible on the face of it, given the number of marriages between people from 2 different states. But which laws? For example: Sweden: maintenance unusual Germany: capital acquired during marriage is 50/50 (Watch out successful business people or fo....
Monday June 29, 2009 at 8:13am
Divorce costs and legal fees are, understandably, a source of concern to many.Traditionally, divorce lawyers have always charged by the hour or by some other measurement of time. Should they?I think not. What has time got to do with it? Surely, the measure of how much to charge for something should be the value of that thing to the buyer. If the provider of the thing doers not like what the price would be, they don't have to provide the service, do they?
Now to reality! Clients needing a ....
Sunday June 28, 2009 at 8:42am
Soon just about anybody will be able to offer legal services and most people refer to this as Tesco Law as the supermarket is said to be likely to offer law. And why shouldn't you be able to get your divorce along with your tins of baked beans?
Many lawyers are muttering on about getting advice on LLPs, "we can compete with Tescos what do they know about law?", we will get a new website, "we're getting a marketing chap in" and other such meanderings.
Rubbish.Most law ....
Saturday June 27, 2009 at 8:28am
I’ve been in trouble in Court for having a tie of a colour the Judge did not approve. I’ve also been in trouble for telling Judges they are wrong and for refusing to stop arguing my client’s case. I’ve expected to be in very big trouble for telling a Judge he’d learn from living in the real world but he ended up being impressed and referred to me as “brave man”! I read in The Times that a judge in a criminal trial in London, during defence counsel’....
Friday June 26, 2009 at 4:03pm
I read that the FSA have decided to soon stop any financial adviser being paid by way of commission from insurance companies. Personally, I've always thought commission was fine as long as the client knew how much it was and was properly advised. Perhaps I should say that personally I have a Chartered Financial Planner who charges fees only. Fine by me. But I actually chose him as I rated him and trusted his company, Informed Choice.
Lawyers in general seem to think it is impossible to move awa....
Thursday June 25, 2009 at 3:09pm
The media can now attend and report on divorces and on divorce settlement Court cases. I have blogged before about my worries over that. I may have missed an important side effect. It seems that more and more people are so worried about Press disclosure of their personal life and financial details that they are allowing their lawyers to negotiate settlements outside Court and which are then, normally, secret. Earl Spencer seems to be the latest, as reported in The Times. That has to be good, doe....
Thursday June 18, 2009 at 7:52am
Any solicitor is allowed to advise on and deal with a divorce! It does not matter that they may never have done so before and have no good knowledge of the subject, except passing the relevant paper when they were at College of Law!
It is time to ban solicitors, indeed all lawyers and that includes Judges, from dealing with divorce unless they have special training.I think the needs are:
specialist work in the field of family law
special training in mediation
training in cli....
Monday June 8, 2009 at 9:09am
Divorce advice has many traps for the unwary.A national newspaper last week highlighted the advantages of site WikiDivorce in assuring those with questions about the legal separation process have a forum in which to ask questions. (With This Website I three divorce - The Times, June 4 ) While I do agree that sites like these and the many others can be useful as a starting point for investigations into the process, it is dangerous to suggest that they are a reliable source of information to be ac....
Friday May 22, 2009 at 8:16am
When I trained in law and qualified in the early 1980s, I was determined to help people, especially those who--to my mind--needed the most help often those with the least funds to be able to afford that help. Legal aid (i.e. government help) stepped in. It was of special use, I always felt, when say a woman had never worked after marriage and had married a business man who had done well. He ran the finances about which she knew nothing. She relied upon him and they both expected "his" ....
Wednesday May 20, 2009 at 1:20pm
Making front page news since an announcement that they are separating are Katie Price and Peter Andre. Having lived their relationship in the public eye will they now go through divorce in public too? The newspapers have already highlighted the complicated legal issues which will have to be considered as a consequence of the split. Decisions will have to be made concerning a financial settlement, with newspapers estimating their joint fortune to be in the region of £50million. It is report....
Friday May 15, 2009 at 8:33am
I read that a large group of solicitors were outside the High Court in London on Tuesday handing out tins of baked beans from supermarket trolleys! It seems it was a protest against what has become known as Tesco Law. I am aware that most of my profession is very worried by Tescos being able to offer legal services soon, along with the AA, Co-Op and others. Cynics might say they are worried about their jobs and their incomes but the campaigners say they fear the standards of legal advice will dr....
Thursday May 14, 2009 at 6:25am
Getting divorced is very, very difficult. Getting married is very, very easy. Is this the right way around? We have pressed in the past for no fault divorce but I'd like to look at the other side of the equation. Maybe now is the time to require all couples wanting to marry, to go through a course equipping them for that marriage? In my view, that course should include counselling on issues such as: • what they each expect • children? • who gives up work when there are children? &....
Tuesday May 12, 2009 at 4:01pm
A German couple has just been refused permission by the Courts to have a long hyphenated surname. So what? Well, ask the footballer Shaun Wright Phillips for example. He added the name of the ex footballer (Ian) Wright to his surname when he became his stepfather which seems perfectly reasonable to me. The rights of step parents are still developing and are surely well behind the society we all live in. And many women these days do not wish to give up their name especially if they have created s....
Friday May 8, 2009 at 2:24pm
What's being billed as the country's largest event of it's kind The Divorce Show will take place at the NEC in September. The organisers say that with 140,000 divorces each year and the whole process of divorce and relationship brekdown often taking five years there is a massive demand for information and advice from divorcing couples.As specialist family lawyers we are exploring opportunities to be involved with the Show as we see it as a great opportunity to reach a national audience wit....
Thursday May 7, 2009 at 2:15pm
It never ceases to amaze me how interesting the media find divorce and family law issues.Just last week tabloids and broadsheets alike were awash with stories that the wife of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is filing for divorce.When was the last time Italian politics made the papers? Apparantly it's more important for us to know about the private lives of public figures than it is to know about their policies. I don't think so.Divorce and relationship breakdown is a privat....
Wednesday May 6, 2009 at 2:08pm
Unlike many other law firms our team continues to grow. Just last month we were joined by three new family solicitors - Petra Salt, Kelly Glenn and Judith Buckland. All bring with them years of experience handling divorce and family law.
And we are still recruiting - all over England for divorce and family solicitors. So if you are reading this blog and know a great
family lawyer get them to contact us.
Andrew WoolleyWoolley & CoFamily law specialists....
Friday March 27, 2009 at 11:31am
In the hope of reducing the fees we pay to recruiters I’m taking the direct approach in this blog. We are looking for a divorce solicitor or legal executive to join our dedicated family law firm. The candidates must have been qualified as a lawyer for at least 5 years, be experienced in all aspects of divorce and family law and have excellent client service skills. We offer lots of opportunity to take on interesting cases and a flexible approach to working to those who have experience of d....
Tuesday March 24, 2009 at 1:00pm
I’ve produced a Blog or two before about the effect of the recession on
divorce settlements - Money worries increase the divorce rate and Credit crunch causing divorce problems.In them I concentrated on either the divorce itself or the financial settlement which normally is a reference to the distribution of the investments, housing values and pensions of the couple. But of course there is also maintenance. In some cases that can be a huge monthly sum and in the case of John Cleese, i....
Wednesday March 18, 2009 at 8:47am
I was moving house. I had booked a large lorry with an electric lift at the back. I went to collect it on the day of the move and the hire people asked to see my licence. I had packed it! “You do have a licence, don’t you?” he said. “Yes, of course I do”, said I indignantly.I was asked to produce it when I brought the lorry back. Meanwhile, the boss put his own name and licence on the forms saying that he trusted me and hoped I was honest. When I went back I p....
Sunday March 15, 2009 at 7:21am
“I can’t hear you. Mr Woolley”...... ...the famously aggressive Judge shouted at the newly qualified solicitor (me back in 1981)! So, I spoke up. I should add my voice is not very quiet anyway. It seemed he was hard of hearing. He repeated himself. I shouted. He leaned forward to his Clerk and said “Tell the fool”. The Clerk explained that my tie was too colourful and the Judge was not prepared to allow lawyers to speak to him whilst wearing such ties. I borrowed a ....
Thursday March 12, 2009 at 12:04pm
The Law Society is hosting an emergency summit on 26 March 2009 to debate the proposal by justice secretary Jack Straw to open family law Courts to the general public and the media.The concern is the potential impact on children’s rights in opening up the courts to the public and the fact that press scrutiny will be applied to the most vulnerable of people in very difficult situations.Although the intention is that more openness will bring about an improvement in legal standards, there&rsq....
Saturday March 7, 2009 at 9:33am
Susan Finnamore got divorced and then wrote a book about it. Has she got a point in the title? When someone asks “How do I get a divorce?” they may well agree with her, certainly at that point. They worry about cost of divorce, their divorce rights and grounds for divorce and those are just the legal aspects of their concerns. The legal implications of marriage are often forgotten about in the romantic rush of engagement and wedding planning—and so is a prenuptial agreement.Man....
Thursday March 5, 2009 at 5:59pm
Family law jobs It shows that we are in a major recession when even the top law firms are letting hundreds of people, including lawyers, go. I read in The Times of these examples, all unthinkable about 18 months ago: • Allen & Overy removing 450 people including 47 partners and about 200 lawyers plus support staff. • City law firms offering graduates about to join them for a training contact up to £10,000 to defer their start for a year • Linklaters (second largest law f....
Tuesday March 3, 2009 at 9:40am
....says a letter to The Times today.Admittedly, the letter refers to a "child" in their late 20s but there can often be issues with step-children after a divorce.It often brings into focus step parents rights and actually what are the rights and responsibilities of step-parents?Issues of
parental responsibility are often complex and of course the law on the issue is one thing, the reality of human interaction another.And just imagine the extra complications of grandparents rights....
Thursday February 26, 2009 at 9:47am
A report due out today from Resolution (a group of family lawyers committed to promote the settling of issues in a non-confrontational and amicable manner) says that poorer couples are being denied the opportunity to choose the collaborative law process because of the lack of legal aid. Collaborative family law helps couples resolve disputes over divorce or separation through face-to-face negotiations between the parties and their lawyers. It was introduced from the US in 2003, and more than 1,2....
Saturday February 21, 2009 at 9:05am
Prenuptial agreements have always been something many later divorcing people wished they’d had—ask Paul McCartney for example. Divorce solicitors have often suggested their use.
And there was a case recently McLeod v McLeod in which the Courts had an opportunity to say they were legally binding—which had always been their “Achilles’ heel”. But the Court referred the issue back to parliament and I hope they make law in this respect.
However the Court did sa....
Friday February 13, 2009 at 5:27pm
I read in the Times that the marriage rate is at an all time low. Apparently, only one in 50 single women now marries each year, and only one in 43 single men. It seems that probably only 48% of people over 16 are married. This is no doubt a reflection of the amount of people who say I want a divorce. But also on the amount of people choosing living together, common law marriage as it is (legally incorrectly) known. I have called before for help for couples in understanding the emotional and&nbs....
Thursday February 5, 2009 at 6:14pm
I know that many people believe that speaking to or taking advice from a divorce solicitor means some form of commitment to going to Court. But it does not.
By far the majority of our clients keep well away from Court. A good specialist lawyer will be well used to negotiating and mediating a settlement. Often it can pay to choose a firm which is a member of Resolution and or who can deal with collaborative law.
The right approach can often keep people out of Court. But of course you can ....
Tuesday January 6, 2009 at 9:28am
Family law experts from Woolley & Co were in demand during December and early January in the wake of our story about staying calm over Christmas. Radio stations including BBC Wiltshire, BBC Northamptonshire, Touch FM, BBC Derby, Rugby FM, Mercia FM and Two Counties Radio called on our family lawyers to give expert opinion on how to beat festive flashpoints and discuss the surge in divorce enquiries in January. Several newspapers also covered the story. If you heard one of the progr....