GOOD DIVORCE WEEK - COURT BACKLOGS RUINING LIVES

• Government must support better advice for separating families
• One in five solicitors report clients relying on state benefits due to court delays
• A third of Resolution members have referred clients to a counsellor or therapist due to impact of court delays
• Rise in the time it takes to get a divorce far outstrips increase in number of divorces
• One man waited so long for his divorce he had to cancel his wedding

Good Divorce Week begins on Monday November 28. The annual awareness campaign is run by Resolution, an organisation that represents over 6500 family lawyers and other professionals, and is aimed at helping people find a better way to divorce.

An exclusive survey of Resolution members looked at the impact of court backlogs.

Divorces are on the increase again with most recent stats showing 113,000 divorces - up nearly 10% on the previous year. Yet wait times have increased much further. The average wait time for a decree nisi, the first stage of finalising a divorce, is now 36 weeks, an increase of 12 weeks on the previous year. A decree absolute that concludes divorce proceedings now takes 52 weeks on average.

That leaves many families in limbo for over a year. That has a knock on effect on children’s schooling and family finances.

Resolution surveyed its members on the current court backlogs and found

• 20% said court delays caused clients to rely on benefits
• 34% said they’d referred a client to a counsellor or therapist to help them cope with the stress of ongoing court delays
• 90% said court backlogs were causing additional and unnecessary stress and pressure for clients

Resolution can provide case studies and spokespeople including ‘Mr Divorce Coach’ Tom Nash and Resolution chair Juliet Harvey to illustrate and provide further commentary on these issues including the impact of backlogs and advice on how to resolve disputes amicably away from the court and have a good divorce.

Juliet Harvey, chair of Resolution said, “Under resourcing the family courts system is a false economy inflicting unnecessary pressure on the public purse and unconscionable stress on families at an already stressful time in their lives. A study of the impact of funding legal advice in Scotland found that, every £1 spent by government on legal aid in family cases saw a return of around £5 elsewhere.

“If the government were to focus more on encouraging early advice for separating couples and including information about all out of court options it could ease the pressure on family courts. Resolution members are doing their best to help people avoid going to court because all the evidence shows that pursuing an alternative to court, such as lawyer led negotiation, mediation or arbitration leads to less expense, less stress and a longer lasting and more robust settlement for all involved.

“When you want a divorce going to a lawyer does not have to mean a court battle. In fact, Resolution members work to keep your case out of court and instead to achieve a better process and outcome for your family.”

Tom Nash, Mr Divorce Coach, said, “Backlogs are wreaking havoc on families. Even couples who want to separate amicably are having their patience and their continued relationship tested to breaking point by long delays.

“The financial impact of waiting as long as a year for things to be settled is completely unsustainable in the face of the cost of living crisis. And there’s a broader and longer lasting impact on the mental health of families including teens and children. As well as the human cost that creates new and avoidable expense for the state.

“As a divorce coach and Resolution member I want to help people navigate divorce in a way that is straightforward and sustainable for all parties. That means getting involved as soon as possible but government must support that.

“The current backlogs ensure that too many people endure an unpleasant experience of divorce and the work of people like me is undermined.”

Available case studies include a London mum who talks about the impact of backlogs on her and her families’ mental health and a Poole man who needed a divorce in order to remarry due to a cancer diagnosis but the paperwork did not come through in time for his planned wedding date.

To speak to any of the above or for more information please email [email protected] or call James Millar on 07719875884 or Will Murphy on 07877315054