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What are the new changes for Divorce Law coming into force in 2022?

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The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which passed into law on 25 June 2020, brings “no fault” divorce to England and Wales for the first time.  We now know that it will come into force on 6 April 2022, so what does it mean if you are contemplating divorce now?

Current divorce law – in force until 5 April 2022

Under the current law, unless you are prepared to wait for at least two years (if both parties consent to the divorce) or five years (if one party does not consent to the divorce) there is no way for couples to start the divorce proceedings without one of them blaming the other.  To obtain what the tabloids like to refer to as a “quickie divorce”, any one seeking a divorce has to blame the other to prove that their marriage has irretrievably broken down. The available facts are:-

  • One spouse has committed adultery and the other finds it intolerable to live with them; or
  • One spouse has behaved in such a way that the other cannot reasonably be expected to continue to live with them.

The other blame-based fact is that one spouse has deserted the other for a period of at least two years. However, that is almost unheard of and anyway, it still involves a 2 year wait.

The current system also allows spouses to defend the divorce or cross-petition. Although this is very rare, it leads to court hearings, significant delays and significant costs.

Even though the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage are only of interest to the parties and make no difference to financial outcomes or anything which we lawyers view as relevant, this element of painting one of the spouses as responsible for the breakdown can become a major point of conflict for the couple, and often leads to friction when they try to sort out the other more important issues which arise when a marriage fails, such as the arrangements for their children or how they divide their assets. This often leads to widening of existing divisions and can be an obstacle to having a good relationship after divorce, which is particularly important where a couple have children and need to continue their parenting obligations long after they part.

The new divorce law

From next April, spouses will be able to apply for a “Divorce Order”. This will dissolve the marriage on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Importantly, neither spouse will have to demonstrate the irretrievable breakdown by relying on one of the old blame-based facts. Under the new system, the parties need only send a statement to the court which will be treated as conclusive evidence of the irretrievable breakdown. It will still be possible for just one of the spouses to apply for a divorce, however, the new legislation will permit couples to jointly apply to the court for a divorce and separate as amicably as possible, and without apportioning blame.

The new divorce procedure

The new divorce procedure has been simplified and the previous old fashioned legal language has been modernised, making it easier to understand the process from the outset. The process will still involve the two stages of Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute. However “Decree Nisi” will become a “Conditional Order” of divorce and “Decree Absolute” will become a “Final Order” of divorce.

Further, the new legislation also removes the ability for one spouse to contest the divorce.

These changes should reduce the conflict and stress which the breakdown can cause, and will hopefully make the process simpler.

New timescales for the divorce procedure

A new minimum time period of 20 weeks will be introduced. This means that 20 weeks must elapse from when the divorce application is filed with the court, before parties can apply for a Conditional Order. The purpose of this window is to allow spouses a period of “meaningful reflection”. If, after the spouses have reflected, they still wish to progress the divorce, they must confirm this to the Court when they apply for a Conditional Order. The Conditional Order will not be made final until at least six weeks have passed. Therefore, in theory, the whole process could take 26 weeks. This is unlike the current process where there is no minimum period, but realistically the volumes of cases that the Court processes mean a substantial wait for even the most straightforward divorce to go through. Unless the Court systems are efficient and staffing levels improve, even the new simplified process may well take longer than the 26 week minimum.

It is possible to apply to shorten the timescales in exceptional circumstances. By the same token, the spouses may also delay an application to make the Conditional Order into a Final Order, if the spouses are still resolving the financial aspects of the divorce.

What next?

Although the new law has been passed and we know when it will come into force, the nuts and bolts of the new system have still to be worked out. Forms, procedures, and court IT systems still need to be created to enable the changes to start working. It will be a learning curve for everyone working in divorce!

Our prediction is that anyone who wants to get on with their divorce now will probably proceed under the current fault-based system, but anyone who is recently separated and had planned to wait for the 2 years of separation to pass will now be able to start their divorce next April, possibly much sooner than they had originally thought.

Remember however, that getting divorced is just the tip of the iceberg; your status will change so that you are no longer married, but in itself it will do nothing to sort out the much more significant things which arise when a marriage fails – such as working out the arrangements for any children and deciding how the assets of the marriage should be shared. Those issues will require just as much careful consideration as they do now.

For further information contact us on 0330 400 4040 or visit our website: www.haroldstock.com

What is chancel repair liability and could it affect the property you’re thinking of buying?

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Have you ever heard of the legal term chancel repair liability? The chances are the answer is probably not. Not too many people have, and even fewer actually understand what it actually is. Yet, if you’re thinking of buying a property, it’s a search issue, just like the other more-common local, environmental, drainage and mining searches, that your solicitor may need to look in to during the course of a domestic conveyance. So what is chancel repair liability?

[Read more…] about What is chancel repair liability and could it affect the property you’re thinking of buying?

Why disclosing your assets before the divorce is the wise approach

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Don’t go “Russian” to hide your assets

You may have seen recent headlines about the world’s largest divorce case taking place in London, where the son of a Russian Billionaire oligarch found himself on the wrong end of a Judge’s order requiring him to pay a huge sum of money to his mother because he had helped his father hide monies in an attempt to avoid having to share his wealth with her.  For once, this was a case which was not just of interest to family lawyers.

Any lawyer dealing with the family finances on a divorce will say that before starting to decide how the assets are shared, everyone involved needs to know exactly what there is.  We family lawyers refer to “disclosure” as the essential starting point is for each party to make full and frank disclosure of every aspect of his or her finances – and that is not just stating the numbers, but also providing documents to prove what each asset or resource is worth.

Avoid the temptation to hide assets

However, there are often cases where one person claims to be responsible for creating the family’s wealth and does not want to share all that wealth with his or her spouse on divorce, so starts trying to move or hide assets.  The Law has been aware of this for decades and has a variety of tools to employ to tackle the problem.

If you are getting divorced and you think your spouse is hiding assets, the Court can order him or her to answer very probing questions and produce audit trails to help you follow the money.

If you think your spouse is going to try and hide assets to put them out of your reach, the Court can make ‘Freezing orders’ so that the monies do not disappear.

If you think your spouse has already tried to hide assets by passing them on to someone else, (as was the case with this oligarch), the Court can effectively cancel the transaction after the event and order the monies to be refunded.

It takes patience and hard work – and as the Akhmedov case demonstrated, it can be expensive – but if it is proved that someone has not been open with his or her disclosure or has hidden assets or tried to put them out of the reach of the Court, the legal costs incurred in finding the assets will almost inevitably all fall upon the person at fault.

We will be using this case to strengthen the advice that we already give to our clients that it is foolish to try and be clever by hiding assets or trying to put them out of reach of an estranged spouse and also, to reassure those of our clients who feel that their spouse may be about to do something underhand, that the Law can come to their aid to ensure a fair settlement, based on a full appreciation of all the assets and resources that the couple have accumulated during their marriage.

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Chris Bowen is our Family Law Solicitor. Find out more about Chris and get in touch here.

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How do I protect my home in my Will? What can I do about care home fees?

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There are various ways in which you can own your home. These are:

  1. Solely
  2. Jointly – as joint tenants
  3. Jointly – as tenants in common

If you own your property as joint tenants, this means that upon your death, your share in the property will automatically pass to the surviving joint owner.  The property is owned as a whole, by the joint owners and this happens regardless of the contents of your Will, if you have one. This is also known as “survivorship”.

If you own your property as tenants in common, rather than owning it as a whole, you each own a share (this may be an equal or unequal share) in the property.  Whatever your share in the property, at the date of your death, you should pass that share via your Will to someone other than the person you own the property with.  This is a very popular way to deal with your property in your Will, should you have a blended family i.e. children from previous relationships. 

Another reason why owning your property as tenants in common is useful, is if you are looking to protect your share in your home in the event that the survivor of you needs to go into care.  Once the first person passes away, their share can be held in trust for their child(ren)/other beneficiaries, meaning that the share is completely protected by the trust.  Only the share of the surviving owner, who is then in care, can be used towards payment of that care.  If you own the property jointly as joint tenants and as the survivor you go into care, there is a strong possibility that the full value of the property will be used towards your care fees, meaning that your chosen beneficiaries may not receive anything, upon your death.

Our team come across a lot of couples who are unhappy at the thought of working all of their lives, for their property then to be eaten up by care home fees, when they would rather it be passed down to their children/beneficiaries. Therefore, if they are joint tenancy property owners and want to separate their property into shares, we can advise on this and arrange for this to happen for our clients when drafting their Wills.

When leaving your share in your home to someone other than the joint owner, we also include a clause called a ‘Life Interest Trust’ in your Will.  This enables the surviving joint owner to remain in the property for the rest of their days, completely secure.  Again, this is popular with families with stepchildren, who maybe do not get along with their step parent and this enables the step parent to remain in the property without the worry that the property could be sold from under them.

If you are concerned about the above or require help making or amending your current Will, please contact our specialised team, Kelly or Kirsty on 0330 400 4040 or on info@haroldstock.com and they will be more than happy to explain how this may benefit you and your loved ones.

Hooray Hooray, it’s a happy holiday!

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As expected, the chancellor announced in yesterday’s budget that the Stamp Duty holiday in England will be extended from 31st March 2021 to 30th June 2021. This will bring a great deal of relief to many buyers in England in these testing times.

So what does this mean for you?

Up to and including 30th June 2021 – Stamp Duty Land Tax will not be payable on purchases up to £500,000 on the basis that they legally complete on or before 30th June 2021.

Up to and including 30th June 2021 – Stamp duty land tax will not be payable on all purchases up to £500,000 on the basis that they legally complete on or before  30th June 2021.

From 1st July 2021 up to and including 30th September 2021 – Stamp duty land tax will not be payable on all purchases up to £250,000 after which tax is payable at the standard rate.

From 1st October 2021 onwards, the threshold will return to £125,000 and tax will be payable on all properties valued over that.

For any purchases that attract the additional property charge, the 3% will still be payable

To guide you through the conveyancing process our experienced team are here to help call on 01457 835597.

5 Surprising facts about pain

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1. Redheads are more sensitive to pain  

A 2009  American dental study found that people with red hair, (and pale skin), were more likely to be afraid of going to the dentist.

An explanation for this lies in a genetic variant that they have at chromosome 16, which makes them more resistant to certain anaesthetics. Dentists should consider giving more anaesthetic to redheads to prevent a painful experience putting the patient off from going to get dental treatment.

2. Swearing is a painkiller

Swearing, which is a common response to injury, appears to increase the ability to tolerate pain.

A Keele University study found that students could keep their hand in a bucket of icy water longer when they swore. The theory is that, as swearing is an aggressive act, it activates the fight-or-flight response, allowing greater pain resistance

3. Financial stress causes pain

After researchers noticed that in times of economic insecurity complaints of pain increased, multiple studies showed that stress kicked in when people feared an insecure future. As anxiety produces similar messages within the body to those that result in pain, financial stress can lead to more pain.

4. Men have a higher pain threshold than women

Whilst surprising, the theory is that as women have more pain receptors in their skin that increase their exposure to pain, they need more painkillers to cope with a particular type of pain than men do.

5. Brain freeze is real

The medical term for brain freeze is “sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia”!

The pain receptors in the mouth signal to the brain but as the same nerves are also in the forehead the brain mixes up the location of the pain and so you get a headache, or brain freeze.

Understanding pain is still something that is being worked on by scientists, but there are real breakthroughs, (that illustrate that pain has emotional as well as physical elements), can help all of us, be that with daily aches and pains, or with the pain that results from a serious accident that can be life-changing.