April 2022 saw the most significant change in the divorce laws of England and Wales for a generation. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act aimed at reducing conflict within divorce proceedings by removing the need for blame to be placed on one of the parties.
As we approach the 6 month anniversary of the introduction of 'No-Fault Divorce' HMCTS has issued an update on current divorce case numbers, including the uptake of the newly introduced joint divorce applications.
In the period April to July (4 months) there were a total of 49,344 divorce applications made under the new divorce laws. Of these applications only 10,290 were made as joint applications which the new regulations allowed. The remaining 39,054 were made by sole applicants.
We at My Online Divorce have sought to highlight the benefit of amicable divorce for a number of years; avoiding conflict helps divorces progress with more ease whilst also saving parties significant sums of money. Since the introduction of the new regulations in April we have seen a noticeable increase in divorce cases in general with a slight increase in the number of joint cases we are accepting on a month by month basis.
Divorce is an incredibly delicate matter and the emotions involved can often naturally lead to conflict. It may also be suggested that in the society of England and Wales divorcing amicably and approaching it as a joint entity with the person you are separating from is not yet a recognised and widely recognised concept.
The Couples Divorce Services offered by My Online Divorce are fully comprehensive and the whole process is managed for both parties by your own personal Divorce Consultant. Your Divorce Consultant is effectively a middle intermediary between you both and will liaise with both of you, complete all required court documentation for both of you and draft any required Financial Orders for you both. The close management of your amicable divorce will mean that your Final Order is granted at the earliest possible opportunity without delay whilst the lack of any third party representative means that the potential for any delay is removed.
The Divorce Services for Couples offered by My Online Divorce are only for those where matters remain amicable, but if you are decided upon divorce and remain on good terms with your partner then our Couples Divorce Services will save you a significant amount of money. If using a local divorce solicitor a straight forward divorce with no financial issues to resolve would cost in the region of £1,000 each plus the court fee of £593 - a total cost of around £2,593 or £1,296.50 for each party. The same straightforward divorce using the My Online Divorce Couples Divorce Services would cost only £379 plus the court fee of £593- a total cost of £972 or £486 for each party. If there are marital assets such as a home or bank accounts to be dealt with then a local divorce solicitor would charge in the region of £2,000 to £4,000 each plus court fees of £593 for the Divorce Application and £53 for the Consent Order Application - a total MINIMUM cost of £4,646 or £2,323 each. The Couples Fully Managed Divorce and Financial Consent Order offered by My Online Divorce costs just £879 plus the Divorce Court Fee of £593 and the Consent Order Application Court fee of £53 - a total cost of £1,525 or £762.50 each.
In the above cases you can see that using My Online Divorce Couples Divorce Services would save a divorcing couple £1,621 on a straightforward divorce (including court fees which are payable directly to HMCTS) and £3,121 on a divorce where assets need to be separated (including court fees which are payable directly to HMCTS).
It may still be too early to tell if the introduction of joint divorce applications in to law by the government will see any significant social shift to 'divorcing together'. What is clear, at this stage, is that where the circumstances of the divorcing couple are such that the requirements for an amicable joint application are met, then the divorcing couple can make significant savings on the cost of getting divorced and matters can generally be resolved with much greater ease.
If you are faced with divorce and want to benefit from guidance and support from an expert who truly cares about your story then contact us today to book your free consultation. Book your Free Consultation here.