Woolley & Co is currently talking to professionals across the board to see if collectively we can change the way couples’ divorce. Add your views to our blog or contact us directly on 0800 321 3832. 

John Fotheringham has been a family and child lawyer in Scotland for 35 years. He holds the double accreditation in Child and Family Law from the Law Society of Scotland. He is also general editor of the Butterworth Scottish Family Law Service.

Here, John outlines three of the main difference between family law in England and Scotland.

1. Rights of non married couples: The Scottish statutory cohabitation scheme has been running for more than four years. It can allow a claim by a separated or bereaved cohabitant if either party was domiciled in Scotland, whether or not the cohabitation was in Scotland. There is no minimum period for which the parties have to cohabit but there are very strict time limits within which the claim has to begin. This has yet to happen in England and there are few automatic rights for cohabiting couples.
   
   
2. Grounds for divorce: The periods of non-cohabitation in a Scottish divorce or dissolution are one year with consent and two years without it. The periods are longer in England (five years without consent and papers still need to be dealt with). In Scotland you can divorce even if you’ve been married for less than a year, under English law you have to have been married at least 12 months before you can file for divorce.
   
   
3. Parents’ responsibilities: In Scotland, a person who treats another's child as his own - no formal step required, like seeking parental responsibility in England - accrues a liability for maintenance until the child reaches the age of 25 or leaves full-time education or training. There is no ranking amongst potential obligants, so each of a mother's former boyfriends may be in the frame.

John Fotheringham works for Fyfe Ireland in Edinburgh and can be reached at JFotheringham@fyfeireland.com or 0131 220 5100.

Divorce is contagious

If your best friend’s marriage is falling apart then yours is more likely to also hit the rocks, according to a new report.

Researchers are claiming that divorce is catching and spreads like a disease through families, work places and groups of friends.

The phenomenon means that if an immediate friend or colleague splits up, your own chance of divorce or separation increases by 75 per cent. Even the break-up of a friend-of-a-friend's marriage boosts your chances of divorce by a third, scientists say.

The findings come from a continuing study into the lives of more than 12,000 Americans living in the New England town of Framingham since 1948.

Research leader Dr Rose McDermott, of Brown University, Rhode Island, said: “A person's tendency to divorce depends not just on his friend's divorce status, but also extends to his friend's friend.

“The full network shows that participants are 75 per cent more likely to be divorced if a person - obviously other than their spouse - that they are directly connected to is divorced.” 

Marry me – within three years

A relationship expert has warned that if a woman doesn’t get her partner up the aisle within three years, any subsequent marriage is more likely to be doomed.

Dr Pam Spurr, a psychologist and relationship manager, believes there is a “golden window” of opportunity for a couple to get married between 18 months and three years after their first date.

Any delay after this could mean there is something fundamentally wrong with the relationship that a later wedding will not fix.

Conversely, marrying before that 18-month window opens could mean a couple are caught up in a whirlwind romance and ignoring potential pitfalls.

“Like most other things in life, courtships have a sell-by date,” said Dr Spurr.

“The truth is that if, after three years, you want a wedding and your partner doesn't (or vice-versa) then something's wrong. And you need to sit down and have an honest conversation about how you both see your future. It may be painful, which is why so many of us avoid the conversation in the first place. But if you shy away, the repercussions could be heartbreaking.”

Click here to read the full article. 

£3.8 billion divorce settlement set to be world’s biggest 

A Russian oligarch is facing the biggest divorce payment in history after his wife demanded a £3.8 billion settlement, the Telegraph reports.

Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, aged 43, is Russia’s 10th richest man having made his money in mining. He is said to be worth an estimated £5.6 billion – but his estranged wife Elena believes that is only the tip of the iceberg and he has much more wealth in offshore accounts that she is keen to uncover so she can get her fair share.

If her payout claim is successful, it would be the most expensive divorce in history, outstripping Rupert Murdoch’s £1.1 billion divorce from Anna, his wife of 32 years.

The Russian couple, who live in Switzerland, have been married for 23 years and Elena is the mother of their two daughters. She has accused Dmitry of serial infidelity. His assets (currently) include an art collection complete with paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Monet.

Andrew Woolley, managing partner with Woolley & Co, said: “What this case perhaps highlights, yet again, is the importance of pre-nuptial agreements. For high-net worth couples or individuals getting married, a pre-nup is a simple, cost-effective way of setting down guidelines on how assets will be split if the couple separate.

“It is a way of both parties protecting some of their assets while also giving a clear indication of intent on how the finances will be tackled on divorce.

“I’m not sure what the laws on pre-nups are in Russia (or Switzerland) but here in the UK the law commission seems set to make them legally binding and to be honest even before that happens the courts do take note of what’s agreed in a pre-nup, so they are well worth having.” 

Videos are a hit

Seven videos recorded by Woolley & Co’s experts and posted on the internet to talk people through specific aspects of divorce are proving a hit.

Since they were posted on the Woolley & Co website three months ago, nearly 6,000 people have viewed the short films covering topics like Children and Divorce, Divorce Myths and Ex-pat Divorce. Another 430 have viewed the segments on You Tube.

Most popular is proving to be How to Save Money on a Divorce with well over 1,000 plays on the Woolley & Co site.

Managing partner Andrew Woolley said: “We are delighted the videos are proving to be so popular and may well look at adding additional topics in the future.”