Family Law News

Reports emerged last week of a glitch with an online government divorce settlement form that may have affected as many as 20,000 people.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have announced their divorce in a joint statement the day after their tenth wedding anniversary.

The Hollywood A-listers who married in 2005 have three children and according to many media outlets are worth over $150 million. However, according to numerous sources, although Affleck will live on the same property as his former wife to take care of the children, the couple have no prenuptial agreement in place.

Reports indicate that the couple will liaise with business managers and use a mediator when negotiating the terms of their divorce. The negotiation could be drawn out due to the high number of properties owned by the couple, the success of both individuals and other factors such as syndication income. Despite the potential negotiation, the couple will share custody of their children.

According to The Times, divorce centres will open in England and Wales that will aim to make getting a divorce as easy as obtaining a TV licence.

The move will effectively allow couples to get an “over the counter” divorce with the 120,000 seen in the UK being taken out of the UK court system and away from the public eye. The centres will aim to conclude a divorce in 48 hours and handle the vast majority of UK cases with the vast amount of paperwork being dealt with by administrators rather than judges.

Under the current divorce system in England and Wales, uncontested divorces cost around £400 and last on average 33 weeks.

An appeal has been launched by two women who stated that they were tricked into accepting sub-par divorce settlements due to their former husbands lying about their wealth.

Varsha Gohil and Alison Sharland are both seeking to reopen their case as they felt that they were duped into taking a settlement offer after their former husbands misled them and the court. This week the cases have been reexamined by the Supreme Court with a judgement expected in the next year.

The law should be changed to allow blame-free divorces in England according to leading charity group Resolution.

Wife granted permission to appeal divorce agreement to Supreme Court

Recent figures released in America have given an insight into the profile of fathers in America.

National charity Family Lives is bracing itself for an increase in calls to its helpline, Parentline, over the festive period from families in crisis.

Research in America has found that couples that fight or argue a lot at the start of their relationship are likely to continue having high levels of conflict throughout their marriage. 

A woman has lost her bid in the High Court to have her divorce settlement from her ex-banker substantially increased.

Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics reveal that in 2009 the divorce rate in England and Wales decreased by 6.3% to 10.5 divorcing people per thousand married population, compared with 11.2 in 2008. The 2009 divorce rate is the lowest since 1977, when there were 10.3 divorcing people per thousand married people.