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09-01-2009, 05:47 PM
NEW Year has always been a busy time for divorce lawyers but some experts are expecting January 2009 to be a record month.
A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA), which found one-fifth of local authorities reporting increased demand for relationship counselling, has led to predictions of a "bumper" divorce season.
Some family law solicitors say the influx of calls just after the festive period can be three times the monthly average.
Relate revealed at the end of last year that the current economic climate has prompted an increase in the number of couples seeking relationship counselling.
But unhappy couples have to decide whether to initiate divorce proceedings. If running two homes would be too costly, they must continue to cohabit, however stressful that may be.
William Cowell, family law specialist at Impington-based solicitors Miller Sands, said a couple's income would have a big bearing on whether they initiated proceedings and this could lead to fewer middle-income families seeking a divorce.
He said: "It is a folk myth that there is a big spike in calls about divorce once the holidays are over but we do get a subtle rise. We are a firm that do not do legal aid work. We have people who have to pay their own legal bills and there are big differences depending on the income bracket.
"People will be counting the pennies more carefully this year and it is more difficult to get a mortgage. This will make it more difficult if divorce involves selling the matrimonial home."
He said this could persuade some couples to "grin and bear it". But some couples who grinned and bore it last year might now come out of the woodwork this year.
Elaine Taylor, relationship counsellor at Relate in Cambridge, said finances could govern a couple's choices.
She said: "We have noticed things have picked up after Christmas but that happens at this time of year. Couples have a dilemma as to whether they can run two houses or live under one roof, which is very stressful.
"The credit crunch is making some choices inaccessible and people are going to be put in a position where they have to come to an arrangement.
"If people have to live under one roof they need as much support as they can get to cope with the situation. People can be very stressed when a relationship is at the point of no return."
Some separating couples opt for mediation on issues such as finance and parenting time after divorce. Others seek out collaborative law, where parties and their lawyers hold meetings to find agreements that fit the whole family's interests and lead to realistic solutions.
The collaborative model, recently used by Madonna and Guy Ritchie, works without going to court and avoids a judge imposing decisions.
Elizabeth Hicks, head of family law at solicitors Irwin Mitchell's London office, said research showed that if children were involved, it was conflict during the proceedings, rather than the actual divorce, that did the damage.
"Whatever route you choose to resolve the issues, seek to work in partnership with your chosen solicitor and commit to an early resolution. This will avoid running up expensive legal bills, especially at a time when finances are already so tight."
Nick Redmayne, residential partner at Cambridge estate agent Redmayne Arnold & Harris, said he believed the big difference had come not from the cost of running two homes but the difficulty of selling a house in the first place.
He said: "What's been happening is that couples looking to live separately have not been able to sell their house, so they have been forced to keep cohabiting. We have had various clients over the last 12 or 18 months who would have liked to have been out of their houses a lot more quickly."
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_cambridge/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=379510
A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA), which found one-fifth of local authorities reporting increased demand for relationship counselling, has led to predictions of a "bumper" divorce season.
Some family law solicitors say the influx of calls just after the festive period can be three times the monthly average.
Relate revealed at the end of last year that the current economic climate has prompted an increase in the number of couples seeking relationship counselling.
But unhappy couples have to decide whether to initiate divorce proceedings. If running two homes would be too costly, they must continue to cohabit, however stressful that may be.
William Cowell, family law specialist at Impington-based solicitors Miller Sands, said a couple's income would have a big bearing on whether they initiated proceedings and this could lead to fewer middle-income families seeking a divorce.
He said: "It is a folk myth that there is a big spike in calls about divorce once the holidays are over but we do get a subtle rise. We are a firm that do not do legal aid work. We have people who have to pay their own legal bills and there are big differences depending on the income bracket.
"People will be counting the pennies more carefully this year and it is more difficult to get a mortgage. This will make it more difficult if divorce involves selling the matrimonial home."
He said this could persuade some couples to "grin and bear it". But some couples who grinned and bore it last year might now come out of the woodwork this year.
Elaine Taylor, relationship counsellor at Relate in Cambridge, said finances could govern a couple's choices.
She said: "We have noticed things have picked up after Christmas but that happens at this time of year. Couples have a dilemma as to whether they can run two houses or live under one roof, which is very stressful.
"The credit crunch is making some choices inaccessible and people are going to be put in a position where they have to come to an arrangement.
"If people have to live under one roof they need as much support as they can get to cope with the situation. People can be very stressed when a relationship is at the point of no return."
Some separating couples opt for mediation on issues such as finance and parenting time after divorce. Others seek out collaborative law, where parties and their lawyers hold meetings to find agreements that fit the whole family's interests and lead to realistic solutions.
The collaborative model, recently used by Madonna and Guy Ritchie, works without going to court and avoids a judge imposing decisions.
Elizabeth Hicks, head of family law at solicitors Irwin Mitchell's London office, said research showed that if children were involved, it was conflict during the proceedings, rather than the actual divorce, that did the damage.
"Whatever route you choose to resolve the issues, seek to work in partnership with your chosen solicitor and commit to an early resolution. This will avoid running up expensive legal bills, especially at a time when finances are already so tight."
Nick Redmayne, residential partner at Cambridge estate agent Redmayne Arnold & Harris, said he believed the big difference had come not from the cost of running two homes but the difficulty of selling a house in the first place.
He said: "What's been happening is that couples looking to live separately have not been able to sell their house, so they have been forced to keep cohabiting. We have had various clients over the last 12 or 18 months who would have liked to have been out of their houses a lot more quickly."
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_cambridge/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=379510