what’s on: business & legal
ask the legal expert:
divorce - the facts
and the fiction
With an estimated two in five marriages ending in divorce we speak to
Nicola Kerr, Senior Solicitor of the Family Law Team at Simpson & Marwick,
and ask her to dispel any confusion surrounding this topic.
Divorce is undoubtedly more
common than it was fifty
years ago. The perception of
the general public is that the
involvement of solicitors will
make things more difficult and
acrimonious, thereby leading
to a courtroom battle.
With the media frequently
reporting
on
celebrity
divorces
and
courtroom
dramas in soap operas and
television programmes, it
is understandable why the
public perception is what
it is. However, the reality in
Scotland is very different.
Clients are always hugely
relieved when we inform
them that the majority of our
divorce cases are settled by
negotiation without the need
to ever go anywhere near a
courtroom. For us, litigation is
very much a last resort.
There are various methods of
alternative dispute resolution
now available to separating
couples, including collaboration,
mediation and arbitration.
Firstly, collaboration is an
innovative form of dispute
resolutio