Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2015 | Page 111
ISLAND LIFE MAGAZINE
Roach Pittis advice
By Janet Bell
Roach Pittis Solicitors,
60 - 66 Lugley Street, Newport, PO30 5EU
01983 524431
[email protected]
The need for clarity
How divorce affects your finances
D
ivorce law relating to finances
is both complex and difficult
to understand. Outcomes
can be hard to predict, even for legal
professionals. Section 25 of the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, which
determines how money is divided
up on divorce, has fundamentally
remained unchanged for the last 40
years. Unfortunately people separate
with little or no understanding of the
financial consequences of their break up,
making it more difficult for them to reach
agreement and placing a greater burden
on the court system.
Most people do not have huge
resources to divide on separation. The
complexity of current law affects ordinary
people, living in ordinary circumstances.
Reform is needed to make sure they are
fairly provided for after they separate.
The Family Lawyers Association,
Resolution, launched a Manifesto for
Family Law in February 2015 calling
for clear guidance for people entering
the court system, so that they are more
aware of the potential outcomes and
consequences, and for a wide-ranging
reform of the financial provision system
to achieve more clarity.
The reforms to Section 25 of the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 that
Resolution wants to see, emphasise
independence and greater certainty on
the level and timescale for payment of
maintenance, with children’s interests at
their heart.
They also want enforceable
agreements (commonly known as ‘prenups’) to be permitted with suitable
safeguards. This would provide certainty
to people entering the courts that
a previously-made agreement will
generally be binding, unless it does not
satisfy clearly identified criteria. The
independent Law Commission has also
called for change in this area.
Clear guidelines are needed on
the division of capital resources
and pensions. Resolution proposes
a distinction between matrimonial
property and non-matrimonial property
in cases where resources exceed the
needs of the separating couple.
Unfortunately the removal of legal
aid has led to a rise in unrepresented
litigants, with over 50,000 people
representing themselves in family
disputes in 2013.
It is in your interest to have legal advice
about this difficult and stressful area of
law, even if it is just a one-off fixed fee
session of advice.
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