Today is Divorce Day, the first Monday back at work after the Christmas period, when many look into the legal separation process. Family lawyers and support organisations receive more inquiries in the New Year than at any other time.
Many attribute the stress and financial burden of trying to create the perfect Christmas as the reason why many married couples head for divorce in January.
There were 90,871 divorces in England and Wales in 2018, a decrease of 10.6% compared with 2017 and the lowest number since 1971.
READ MORE: {}
Couples are also staying married for longer before they divorce – 12.4 years for those divorcing in 2018, up from 9.6 years in 1996. But analysts suggest that these figures are due in the main to marriages taking place later in life and often following a longer period of living together.
The decrease in divorce rates also reflects that there are far fewer marriages taking place overall, at nearly half the number of 1974.
What is a civil partnership?
A civil partnership is a legally binding relationship between two people. Couples in civil partnerships and marriages both have the same rights on subjects such as tax, property, pensions, next-of-kin rights in hospital and insurance.
Some differences include parental rights and grounds for dissolution of a civil partnership, for example adultery is grounds for divorce but not grounds for ending a civil partnership.
Since 2004, same sex couples have been allowed to enter into civil partnerships but earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that mixed sex couples would also be allowed to chose between marriage and civil partnerships after couple Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan spearheaded the campaign.
There is no requirement for a ceremony to take place or to exchange vows, unlike for marriage, but many couples chose to do so.
Under current legislation, there is one ground for divorce in England and Wales – that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. In order to proceed with a divorce, this needs to be based on one of the following – adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two-year separation, five-year seperation.
Many family law professionals agree that, under the current legislation, acrimony between couples can be increased due to the fact that blame needs to be assigned to one of the parties, unless the couple are going through a two- or five-year separation. Although divorce rates have fallen to their lowest level since the 1970s, separation continues to spike after the festive season.
Most Read
Resolution (a group of more than 6,000 family lawyers and professionals) has made strides into making no-fault divorce a reality. Thea Hughes, director of Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice, who is a member of Resolution and a trustee of Family Mediation Cymru, said: “Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice supports Resolution and follows their code of practice. We believe the option of no-fault divorce would provide a number of benefits, especially for separating couples with children involved.
“Removing the strain of apportioning blame will allow for better communication between parties.”
Lux Family Law, the Cardiff-based boutique law firm, was launched on “Divorce Day” in January 2018.
It was founded by Charlotte Leyshon, who was previously the head of the family department at Hugh James. She also practised family law in London, acting for high-profile media figures, celebrities, sports persons or their spouses.
She said: “Sadly, Christmas is often a time where there is huge pressure on families to have the perfect ‘chocolate box’ period, particularly when there are children concerned. It is often unrealistic and the reality is very different. In relationships that are already under strain, the extra financial pressure in the lead-up to Christmas, along with spending an extended period of time together, can often be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in an increasing number of relationships.
“This year we have seen more new inquiries in early December than we have ever seen before and those inquiries continued right up to the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The period between Christmas and New Year was so busy we had to ensure the office was open and we do expect to see a surge of further new inquiries today, with some already having come in on New Year’s Day.”
Since the firm was launched, Ms Leyshon has taken over new premises in the suburb of Pontcanna in Cardiff.
Don’t miss
Building on its success during the past two years, Lux is continuing with its plans for further growth and was recently joined by Lucy Williams as senior associate, having trained and qualified as a solicitor at Hugh James.
Ms Williams said: “I am thrilled to be joining Lux and am very excited about this new challenge and opportunity. Having previously worked with Charlotte at Hugh James, I am delighted to now be able to play a part in Lux’s further success and expansion."
Sign up to the BusinessLive Wales newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
As well as an in-depth early morning newsletter, we will be sending out regular breaking news email alerts. To sign up to this service
And, follow us on to catch the latest stories and to network with the Welsh business community.