Divorce in the UK

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

Divorce is not a modern concept. The ancient Greeks allowed divorce, with a magistrate deciding whether the reasons given for wanting the divorce were sufficient. The Romans also allowed divorce. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was regulated more by ecclesiastical authority than civil authority. By the 10th century the frequency of divorce had been greatly curtailed by the influence of the Christian church, which considered marriage a sacrament instituted by God. In England, although divorce, as known today, was generally prohibited after the 10th century, actions allowing the separation of husband and wife and annulment of the marriage were well-known. What we would call a legal separation was termed “divorce a mensa et thoro” (divorce from bed-and-board). The husband and wife physically separated and were forbidden to live or cohabit together; but because the marriage did not end, the husband had a continuing duty to support his wife alimony. In 1533 the refusal of the Pope to grant a Papal Dispensation allowing Henry VIII to divorce Catherine of Aragon effectively led to England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. Prior to this because the church regarded marriage as a sacrament it was impossible to get a divorce without permission from the Pope, who rarely granted a divorce decree. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries there was great uncertainty surrounding divorce and separation, for example the pre contract ground of nullity (annulment) was abolished in 1540 but revived in 1548. In 1602 Archbishop Bancroft stated that the ecclesiastical courts could not grant a divorce, i.e. dissolve a marriage absolutely. From that time on, until 1858, those who wanted a divorce had to petition parliament by a private bill, which was extremely expensive. Ecclesiastical courts could grant legal separations, but these did not permit either partner to remarry. From 1858 a new court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes was established, which became part of the High Court in 1875 in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.Our modern law of divorce was enacted in 1969 (The Divorce Reform Act). From this time the sole ground of divorce was irretrievable breakdown of marriage, which must be proved by one of the following facts, adultery, unreasonable behaviour, living apart for two years (where both partners consent) and living apart for five years. For more detailed advice about current divorce laws contact Divorce Aid (http://www.divorceaid.co.uk/legal/process.htm)Divorce StatisticsDivorce records began in 1858, when 24 divorces were recorded. The number of divorces gradually increased until 2005, when the divorce rate began to drop.It has been speculated that the reason for the drop in the divorce rate is that the number of marriages has also dropped. 2005 saw the lowest number of marriages taking place since records began. We can only speculate on why the divorce rate has risen so much but the increase would appear to be on a par with the increase in women’s independence. Women no longer ‘need’ a man to support them and are less likely to tolerate unreasonable behaviour. In addition there is no stigma attached to being a divorcee these days. Is this a good thing or does it make us less committed to marriage?One thing the statistics don’t show is how many couples that live together split up. It has been said that couples that live together are more likely to break up than married couples but there are no statistics to prove this. What can we do to reduce the divorce statistics further? I’m sure no one enters into marriage thinking that it won’t last but when things start to go wrong how much effort do couples put into working things out? You loved each other when you got married so it must be worth trying to save the marriage. The first step is to seek help from an organisation such as Relate http://www.relate.org.uk/ Before people get married they should be sure that they are doing the right thing. It is amazing how many couples do not discuss basic things such as whether they want children, their ambitions and their attitude to money. Some things cannot be resolved, if one person wants children and the other doesn’t it is almost inevitable they will split up. If one person is a risk taker and the other isn’t then disagreements could arise. Communication is the key throughout a relationship. Make sure that you know each other well before making a commitment and that you either agree or have worked out how you will settle your differences. Don’t just concentrate on the present; think about how life changes (such as having children, promotions at work, redundancy, illness, committing to a mortgage together) will affect you. Imagine being with your partner in five, ten, twenty, fifty years from now. If you cannot work out your differences then do reflect on where the relationship went wrong. Statistics show that more second marriages are ending in divorce (1 in 5 in 2006). It doesn’t matter who has initiated the break up of a marriage, both parties should reflect on what went wrong in the marriage so that they don’t make the same mistakes if they marry again. Do you have any bad habits? Do you go for the wrong ‘type’? Do you even know what qualities you are really looking for in a partner? Most importantly • • ” do you love yourself?Visit my website • • ” http://www.newhorizons-divorcecoaching.co.uk to sign up for the New Horizons Divorce Coaching monthly newsletter. If you found this article helpful you might like to visit my blog – http://lifeafterdivorce.wordpress.com/ where you will find more free articles to help you start transforming your life today.

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Divorce hits the baby boomers

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

As the foot soldiers of the post-1975 divorce boom enter retirement, a landmark study shows many still suffer the financial effects of marriage breakdown. People aged 55 to 74 who have been divorced are on average worse off than their married peers who stayed together. The research, by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, shows remarriage can significantly improve finances of the once-divorced. But their home ownership rates in later life remain substantially lower than for couples who never divorced, and they are much more likely to be paying rent. The study, based on a sample of 2236 people aged 55 to 74, is the first to cast light on the financial legacy of having been divorced. David de Vaus, professor of sociology at La Trobe University and the lead author, said the dramatic increase in once-divorced baby boomers reaching retirement would have major implications for the nation’s retirement income system. They were the first generation to live through the era of high divorce rates ushered in with the Family Law Act 1975. “More and more people will carry into their later life the financial effects of divorce in terms of home ownership, assets and income,” Professor de Vaus said. The study reveals home ownership is the biggest financial advantage enjoyed by never-divorced couples, with rates of about 74 per cent for men and women. Even when the divorced remarry, only 57.8 per cent of the men and 61.8 per cent of the women later owned their home. On other measures, however, divorced men who remarry, on average, catch up to or even overtake their never-divorced male peers, possibly because “they were financially so far behind they are flat out trying to make it up, or because it is the wealthier divorced men who can remarry,” the professor said. They have similar assets, and somewhat higher incomes and superannuation than the never-divorced men. Divorced men and women who remain single into later life suffer the biggest disadvantages. One-third of the divorced, single women said they had experienced financial hardship in the previous year, compared with only 8.4 per cent of never-divorced women; one-quarter of single divorced men compared with 10 per cent of never-divorced men had experienced hardship. “If you divorce and stay single you don’t recover financially,” Professor de Vaus said. Previous research has shown women are the biggest financial losers from divorce. But while this is true in the short term, he said, the new study, The consequences of divorce for financial living standards in later life, shows by later life the gender difference among single divorcees disappeared. Older single divorced men are worse off by some measures, it shows, probably explained by their low education levels: only 4 per cent had a degree compared with 26 per cent of the single divorced women. Only 40.9 per cent of single divorced men aged 55 to 74 owned their house outright, compared with 49.4 per cent of single divorced women and about 74 per cent of never-divorced men and women. Single divorced men had the lowest income ($15,500 compared with $22,000 for the single women), and received the highest level of government benefits. However, they had more superannuation than the women ($44,600 compared to $35,700).

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Divorce Cyber Style

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

Divorce Cyber Styleby Connie H. DeutschDivorce has always been such an ugly thing. No one, even those who desire an amicable dissolution of marriage, emerges from a divorce unscathed. In one respect or another, after it’s over, almost everyone feels like a victim because divorce makes a person feel like a failure. Even though a marriage takes two people to make a go of it, it still feels like a personal failure when it doesn’t succeed.By the time a couple decides to go their separate ways, there is so much anger, hurt, and bitterness, that they are beyond the point where they can be reasonable about the division of assets. They don’t even care that most of their settlement will go toward attorneys’ fees; they just want their day in court. Hence, the high-priced divorce attorneys of yesteryear.Divorce has always been a lucrative field for attorneys. There are no state or federal laws governing the fee structure an attorney can charge to handle a divorce. There is nothing to stop him or her from asking an exorbitant retainer fee before taking the case.In the past, it wasn’t unusual for a spouse to want to take the other one to the cleaners. That’s how divorce attorneys made their money. They were often accused, and many rightly so, of egging their clients on to sue for more money, ask for more things, just so they could run up more billable hours.But those days have come and gone. At least for now.Today, many of those high-priced attorneys are scraping for a living because of the failing economy and the easy access that people have for handling their own divorces.With unemployment at an all-time high, and the economy at an all- time low, people who are in unhappy marriages have found a way to extricate themselves from their misery with do-it-yourself divorce kits. Some of these kits are free of charge. Others cost anywhere from $95.00 to a few hundred dollars and come with a set of instructions for how to file for divorce in the state where you and your spouse are living. And now there are cyber-divorce kits that are being called point- and-click splits because you can get the divorce forms online and fill them out in twenty minutes to a few hours. Since this is an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse can sit in front of a computer and just point and click your answers to the questions that are asked.There are different kinds of services. With some of them, there is a legal team that goes over the answers to your questionnaire and they fill out the papers and mail them to you. Other services use a software program that uses your answers to fill out the documents, and then the program lets you and your spouse download these divorce papers, sign them, and submit them to a court. Depending on the state laws where you and your spouse reside, you can fax or mail these divorce papers to the courthouse. However, some states require you to be there in person in case counseling is recommended. But all divorces: do-yourself-divorce kits or cyber-divorce over the internet, fax the papers or mail them, or go in person to file them at the courthouse, all require a judge’s signature on the divorce decree. Although a cyber-divorce is legal, many judges disapprove of them because they feel that the dissolution of a marriage is a serious matter and people won’t give it the gravity it deserves if all they have to do is sit at a computer and click on some answers. In spite of that, many couples feel that since they have been unhappy enough to consider a divorce, it is better to get it over with quickly while they are still capable of being civil to each other. Then, too, there are a couple of important benefits to consider in getting a cyber-divorce: they are more affordable than going to an attorney and they can be done without ever leaving the comfort of your home.The important thing in getting a cyber-divorce is that you have to agree on all the issues. There will be queries on that questionnaire pertaining to child support, alimony, custody of minors, visitation, alternating vacations, education, medical and dental expenses, health insurance, and division of property and all your other assets, including who gets the family dog and visitation rights.If you do decide to go this route, it will probably be the one time in your entire marriage that you will agree on everything. In fact, you have to agree on all the answers so that it can be an uncontested cyber-divorce.Marriage and divorce are serious matters but Erin Monaghan injected a bit of graveyard humor into it when she wrote in her article, Online Divorce – Is It Legal?, “Marriage is a sacred union between two people who can get married at a drive thru in Las Vegas and divorced over the internet.”

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Divorce Attorneys Birmingham Alabama – Divorce Attorneys Are Advisable To

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

Divorce Attorneys Birmingham Alabama – Divorce Attorneys Are Advisable To Conclude A Marriage

There are a lot of good reasons as to why you would have to have a divorce attorney. Sorry to say, not all connection is meant to last. When two persons do come to a decision to get a divorce, their emotions are jogging great. Everybody expects a connection to very last, but unforeseen events do come about. As a few does enter into a divorce, there is a will need to retain a divorce legal professional. With both spouses providing a ton of work into a marriage, divorce can be a exceptionally challenging difficulty to digest.Divorces do occur sometimes and are evolving into significantly more typical than actually just before. Because of to this, there are lawyers who specialize in divorce, kid support, youngster visitation rights, alimony and other linked cases. These lawyers are known as family members regulation attorneys. Everybody searching for a divorce, really should communicate with one of these attorneys initially. They have practical experience in the legal area of divorce and can guide you alongside the progression. The divorce attorneys important intent is to is his advise and support their buyers. They also make specific that they are not taken edge of. By not experiencing expert legal representation, some divorce buyers will probably be supplying up specific rights and a number of entitlements. By employing a knowledgeable divorce attorney, the customer can rest assured that they will not be deceived or betrayed in any way.Advantages of Selecting a Divorce AttorneyHiring a clearly highly regarded, native, professional, trustworthy lawyer for a divorce will have a number of benefits. When you retain the services of a divorce lawyer, you will attain an advocate and ally during the whole process of divorce. A divorce legal professional will also grasp the legalities and alternatives you might have have all through the divorce. An attorney can advise and signify the consumer that they have legal rights to.Through a divorce, there will be tense moments concerning spouses. A lawyer will be able to sit down with the other aspect and mediate. Mediation will lower down on court and legal costs that are associated with divorce. If equally spouses sat down devoid of a divorce attorney, there would never ever be any agreements and fees for litigation soar because of the roof.A area legal professional will also be in a position to guidebook your case via the neighborhood laws. Selecting a local attorney will also give you an advantage, as a result of they will know or be familiar the nearby clerks, judges and opposition attorneys. This can be wonderful in understanding and predicting results of your divorce case.Situations When A Divorce Lawyer Is NecessaryWhen a couple decides that their marriage is unhealthy and want out of the partnership, the following step is to file a divorce. When each and every get together decides this, every partner should find legal representation by means of a divorce legal professional. At this position, if 1 social gathering is represented and the other isn’t, the problem could be taken advantage of by the get together represented. In uncommon occurrences, spouses who have worked out each and every solitary situation somewhere between them and do not have any discrepancies, then a divorce attorney is not wanted. These conditions are exceptionally rare, as arguments become escalated and multiply major up to divorce. In any other circumstance, a divorce legal professional would be highly advised during any divorce proceedings.What Divorce Attorneys Cost For Their Expert servicesFor the vast majority of divorce attorneys, they provide you with their services dependent on an hourly fee and demand a retainer price. A Retainer price is an up entrance price tag for the consumer to acquire the services of the divorce legal professional. Other fees might somewhat vary from in court and out of court charges. Charging a flat payment for a customer in no way works, as it is very nearly difficult to ascertain how extensive the divorce course of action will final.Uncovering a efficient and trustworthy divorce attorney is vital for a divorce. If you determine not to retain the services of an attorney, be sure that you know the legal procedures thoroughly. It is never ever suggested to stand for oneself with no legal practical experience. A divorce lawyer who is native, trusting and professional is a excellent decision for clients likely thru a divorce.

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Divorce Attorneys An Essential Part of Divorce Proceedings

Posted on May 13, 2012 by admin

Lawyers that specifically specialize in family law and divorce are called divorce attorneys. Unfortunately, with divorces being such a common occurrence these days, they are increasingly in demand. In fact, it is worth noting that at least 50% of all marriages end in divorce – a sad, but true, statistic.
So, under what circumstances are divorce attorneys needed? The only time you will need a divorce attorney is when you are getting a divorce. You and your partner (ex-partner) will need to find your own separate lawyers, as sharing one is not an option due to there being a clear conflict of interest. They will work with you to help you get the best possible result based on your circumstances and will act as a go-between, meaning that direct communication between you and your ex will be at a minimum.
You might think that you can save yourself some money by not using a divorce lawyer by simply coming to an amicable agreement with your ex. However, this is not recommended because divorce proceeding are complex and, even if things start off on a friendly basis, good will can quickly be worn down.
It is important that all terms of the agreement are both valid and legally binding and only a lawyer can ensure that this is the case. As well as making sure that your ex sticks to what they have agreed to do, you will also want to make sure that you fully understand the terms of the agreement that you have assented to, because once you sign it you will be bound by it. Simply saying at a later date that you misunderstood a term, or was mislead on it, is not a valid defense for not adhering to it.
Another important reason for enlisting the help of a divorce attorney is that divorce laws vary from state to state. Just because you saw something on TV, or read somewhere, something that you think will be beneficial to you in the proceedings, it does not necessarily mean that it is enforceable in your particular state. Some states require a formal separation for a certain length of time prior to granting a divorce, while others require an informal separation before granting divorce. There are also residency requirements to consider as well. Divorce lawyers will be fully aware of these varying rules and regulations and will be able to advise you accordingly.
How can you find divorce attorneys? Finding divorce attorneys is probably easier than finding other kinds of attorneys for the simple fact that they are so commonly needed. Someone you know has probably been through a divorce themselves and will as such be able to give you some recommendations or referrals. If they were not completely satisfied with their experience, or if you do not think you should use that lawyer, consider using online directories or your local telephone directory to help find a divorce attorney that can help you.

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