Having some more clarity on how divorcing will work during lockdown may be exactly what you need. The lockdown has made many people overthink about their divorce so let’s unpick those thoughts and get some simplicity in place.
Below are the different approaches of reaching a divorce and financial settlement, alongside each is how you can use quarantine to get the best out of each.
Divorce
There are two elements to divorce; the divorce itself to make you and your wife/husband legally unmarried and the financial element of your separation.
Did you know that you can apply for divorce online? If you think it may get a little complicated, of course you can contact us and we can do this for you.
Although the online use of filing for divorce was an option before lockdown, it is obviously a much more usable tool now that we are restricted to our laptops and PC’s (also for solicitors who are working remotely).
Finances
(a) Mediation
Firstly, and what I recommend would be agreeing to attend mediation to help guide a financial settlement with your wife/husband. Please bear in mind, mediation with a family mediator is very different to a friend/neighbour acting as a third party to discuss matters.
The mediator will be there as a completely neutral and fair third party. This may be a surprisingly successful attempt at reaching an agreement with your wife/husband. As we are quarantined now is a great time to exhaust every possible method of amicably discussing any issues/concerns through a mediator. You may ask how this can happen as we have to social distance, but you can in fact use online mediation. If you would like more details on this, please contact me.
(b) Negotiating
Another option is to negotiate between yourselves amicably which is of course very cost effective. Alternatively, you may instruct us/solicitors to negotiate with your partner or their solicitor. This option is quite advantageous as it avoids costly court proceedings as well as avoiding negotiations with your partner directly, especially if your relationship is not amicable. This may also be a good option during lockdown as both you and your partner will have plenty of time to really consider how you would like to negotiate and what your true financial position is.
If you do come up with an agreement, it will be good to then contact us, and we can explain the process of getting this lodged with the court. Or, if you would like our help to guide you on negotiations, feel free to drop me a line for an initial consultation.
(c) Court proceedings
The above are the only options you have in terms of avoiding court. Court proceedings can be rather costly and timely, especially when you have representation. This would ideally be the last resort, but if you are left with no choice, of course the courts are still open during lockdown but working remotely. This may mean that your first hearing is paper-only, which does not require any attendance. How the court’s are dealing with matters during lockdown, seem to surprisingly be a much more effective way than if we weren’t. If you would like more information on this, please let me know.