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THE FIRST WORKING DAY OF THE NEW YEAR - KNOWN IN LEGAL CIRCLES AS DIVORCE DAY
by Chris Sweetman and Peter Marples of Fair Result , a team of specialist divorce lawyers offering a new approach to achieve a fairer result for clients .
As lawyers all over the country prepare for the influx of calls on the first day back in the office , here at Fair Result we look at the reasons why so many people call the divorce lawyer at the start of the New Year .
Well in the first instance in the lead up to Christmas most couples try for three reasons to stick together .
The first is often for the sake of the children at this special time of year . Secondly in an attempt to give the relationship one last and final chance and thirdly to avoid that awkward conversation which at a special time of year is all about family and togetherness .
However , living in stress with these 3 reasons floating about and the hyped-up euphoria of the Christmas and New year period , real cracks in the relationship begin to surface and the big holes in the relationship often come to a head .
There are several myths around divorce – couples must be married for at least a year before they can file for divorce – annulment where the marriage has not been consummated is different but assuming you have been married for over a year you need to establish your marriage has irretrievably broken down and you can no longer be expected to live with your spouse .
There are 5 grounds used to establish this :
• Unreasonable Behaviour
• Adultery
• Two years separation by consent
• Five years separation and / or :
• Two years desertion .
We advise everyone , if possible , to try to use a ground to show your marriage has irretrievably broken down which will cause the least animosity at an already emotionally charged time – so if you are using unreasonable behaviour keep it as confrontationally free as you can . You will have enough to deal with at this time without arguing over how bad one or other party has been . The divorce court is not going to examine in detail the reasons the parties are using and the
person being divorced can say they don ’ t agree with the reasons but are still happy for the divorce to proceed and this will be enough for the court . Courts don ’ t look in divorce to penalise either party for bad behaviour except in very rare or specific instances . This means the injured party in divorce , the spouse who was cheated on , won ' t necessarily get a more favourable settlement just because they are seen as the victim .
Fair Results advice is that people seeking a divorce need to be realistic and sensible . After many years of marriage often where children are involved , divorce is a very difficult and emotional decision . If your relationship has broken down and you really do want a divorce , do get some proper legal advice very early on . Fair Result can support you every step of the way and we will be on your side arguing strongly your best possible position with your ex-partner . But we always advise every client to be realistic and understand the starting point for every divorce will be a clean break with a 50 / 50 split of all the marital assets . We might be able to argue some assets are not included in the marital pot for division because the asset like an inherited business is classified in whole or in part as pre-marital – or after acquired inheritance might not all be included . Each case turns on its own facts and the arguments can be very subjective . Also , a fair split of the assets considering income and expenditure needs especially where children are involved is not always an equal split . Trying to be too precise can often be counterproductive and cause unnecessary delay in the whole process .
If your marriage has hit the rocks finally over Christmas , give us a call and we will give you realistic advice from the outset so you can understand what the best outcome looks like .
On another note though Christmas and the New Year is often a time for great planning and hopes for new ideas and experiences to come , so from all of us at Fair Result we wish you well and hope all your dreams come true in 2022 and you are not one of the people phoning us on Divorce day .
To contact Fair Result , call Chris on 07500 933 818 or Peter on 07979 857438 .
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