When a couple are going through a painful break-up, you might think that putting them in a room together to thrash out the details of a settlement should be a last resort. However, an increasing number of people are realising that a collaborative law approach to a divorce is the best way to avoid escalating confrontation and spiralling court costs.

Collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution for divorcing couples who need strong legal representation, but would like to avoid going to court. The two parties agree in advance not to take matters to court and they sign an agreement to that effect.

Each party appoints their own lawyer but instead of conducting negotiations by letter or phone, an individual meets their partner together with their lawyers to work things out face to face, known as ‘four-way meetings’.

“It is about getting away from the letter-writing culture and dealing with things in a sensible fashion,” said Sue Harwood, a collaborative lawyer working with Woolley & Co solicitors.

“The traditional exchange of letters is very time consuming and draws out what is obviously a painful process for all involved. That can also lead to misunderstandings which can mean a case is more likely to need sorting out in court – taking more time and leading to spiralling costs.

“Unlike a traditional divorce, collaborative law offers the clients the option of retaining a team of divorce professionals, eg your divorce lawyer, a financial advisor to help on the financial implications of any agreements, or a family consultant who can support you and your children through the emotional strain.

“The process is not driven by a timetable imposed by the court, so to a large extent it can be built around the client’s individual timetable and priorities.”

Collaborative divorce can be more successful in the long term than using the traditional court based approach as the parties are more likely to adhere to resolutions that they have reached themselves through negotiations rather than having ones imposed on them by the court.

Once agreement is reached, the lawyers draw up a document that can then be submitted to the court for approval. A couple going through a divorce will not need to attend court throughout this whole process.

Woolley & Co already has three lawyers trained in Collaborative Family Law – Sue Harwood, Kathryn McTaggart and Sharon Brassington. To learn more about collaborative law, contact Sue on 0845 680 1524 or visit www.family-lawfirm.co.uk  

Stay at home fathers up tenfold

Around 600,000 fathers in the UK are now stay-at-home dads according to a new survey – up tenfold in ten years.

The results of the survey of 1,000 parents suggest around 6% of fathers are now their child's primary carer. The majority who took part in the web survey for insurance firm Aviva said the reason for this was because the mother earned more money.

The figures also suggested 18% of couples shared childcare responsibilities equally.

Adrienne Burgess, research director at the Fatherhood Institute, said: “Men want to spend more time with their children, men [are] becoming aware that they haven't had it all.

"In their relationship with their children they've had less contact than the mother."

EU moves to clarify divorce laws

New draft European legislation is aiming to make is easier for spouses who come from different countries to divorce, reports the BBC.

The European Commission is proposing to let couples choose which country’s laws apply to their divorce, to prevent one spouse gaining an unfair advantage through divorce shopping – where one party starts proceedings in the country where they think they are likely to get the best deal.

Ten EU countries - excluding the UK - want the new rules. Euro MPs and EU governments still have to debate them.

The rules can become law under an EU mechanism called "enhanced co-operation". This allows nine or more countries to push ahead with a measure they deem important but that is blocked by a small minority of EU states.

The Commission says a common formula would establish which country's rules would apply to international couples seeking a divorce. It gives the example of a Swedish-Lithuanian couple living in Italy, who could ask an Italian court to apply Swedish or Lithuanian law.

Andrew Woolley, Managing Partner of Woolley & Co, said couples should not worry just yet but should ensure they consult a family law expert as soon as possible in proceedings.

“The law hasn’t been passed yet,” he said. “Whether it is or isn’t, most Brits will still want to be divorced in England or Wales. Believe it or not, it is often quicker and cheaper than many foreign court systems. And - maybe with our help - they can understand what is being said!”.

Barrister's ex-wife wins new divorce payout 25 years after divorce

The ex-wife of a leading barrister has been awarded almost quarter of a million pounds in maintenance – more than 25-years after their divorce, the Telegraph reports.

Philippa Vaughan, 66, won the lump sum after claiming she needed £48,000 a year to live on in order to avoid undue hardship. It came just months after David Vaughan QC, aged 71, had gone to court to get it to lower £27,000-a-year maintenance payments to his wife which had been awarded 25 years earlier. He claimed that upon retiring, she should not longer be his financial responsibility.

Mrs Vaughan lives in a £1 million listed property in Hammersmith, west London, and inherited £700,000 from her parents. She challenged the decision to stop the payments and applied for a one off payment of £560,000, later reducing her claim to £341,000.

At the Court of Appeal last month, Lord Justice Wilson awarded Mrs Vaughan a lump-sum payment of £215,000 explaining that it had been "plainly wrong" to conclude she could adjust to the ending of her maintenance without undue hardship.

The couple, who married in 1967 and divorced in 1985, are thought to have spent more than £200,000 in legal costs fighting the case.

“I’m surprised and saddened by this case,” commented Andrew Woolley. “It is sad that two intelligent people should spend a reported £200,000 in legal fees when that could have been put to much better use, although in fairness I imagine Mrs Vaughan does not agree with me!

“I am surprised that there wasn’t a better mechanism for a clean break settlement at the start of the case. Maintenance to an ex-wife normally ends (at the latest) when she remarries or lives with someone. Some men take a gamble that she will not live alone so agree to regular payments rather than an up-front capital sum. It is a dangerous gamble as has been seen here and needs careful advice.”

It takes 17 months and 26 days to get over divorce

Nearly a year and a half is the amount of time needed for a person to get over a divorce and start looking for love again, according to a survey.

That is the time it takes to resolve contentious issues such as child custody, property problems and money worries. Six in 10 said the hardest thing to come to terms with was the sense of failure.

In total, a fifth said they will never truly get over a divorce and 55 per cent said it was the worst thing they had ever gone through.
The survey of 4,000 divorcees was carried out by the dating website www.fifties.com, which is aimed at the over-50s.

A spokesman for the site said: “The research carried out says it takes over 17 months to get over divorce once it's finalised, but it's important to remember that people are often separated for a long time before this, so it could feasibly take years for the dust to settle after a split.”
While it might be an average of nearly 18 months before divorcees are totally content, they start feeling better about their life after 16 months and 11 days.

Kathryn moves Woolley & Co into Wales

Woolley & Co has welcomed a new experienced family lawyer to its ranks – and she will be the first to be based in Wales.

Kathryn McTaggart has a special interest in disputes surrounding children on divorce and separation, which includes a specialist knowledge of applications by a parent to move with a child to another country. She has achieved success in a number of High Court matters involving complex and cutting edge children issues.

Kathryn, a trained collaborative lawyer, said: “Taking the time to build relationships with clients ensures that I can give the best advice. I am not afraid to be firm when the situation calls for it but it is important to remember that, in many cases, relationships between clients and their former partners need to continue into the future.”

Working from a home office in south Wales, Kathryn deals with clients across the region as well as Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset. She can be reached on 0845 680 2507 or emailed at Kathryn.mctaggart@family-lawfirm.co.uk