Good Divorce Week 2020 is an initiative by Resolution, a community of more than 6,500 family justice professionals. Many solicitors in our Bindmans team are proud members of Resolution, and are committed to the Resolution Code of Practice to promote:

 ‘A constructive approach to family issues that consider the needs of the whole family, and keep the best interests of any children involved at the heart of proceedings.’

This Code of Practice is at the heart of the work we do at Bindmans LLP. We deal with all aspects of divorce and separation; we advise on the court process, but also on alternatives where they are appropriate, such as arbitration and mediation.

You can expect a member of Resolution to:

• Listen to you, be honest with you and treat you with respect.
• Explain all the options and give you confidence to make the right decisions.
• Help you focus on what’s important in the long-term.
• Help you balance financial and emotional costs with what you want to achieve.
• Work with others to find the right approach and the best solutions for you.
• Manage stress in what can be an already stressful situation.

We understand that dealing with a divorce and separation can be stressful and emotional for everyone involved.  Good Divorce Week hopes to raise awareness of how to reduce conflict in family separation, so that you can make the best decision for you, your family and your children.    We believe that the tension and anxiety that comes with making a decision to divorce or separate can be alleviated through getting good and thorough advice early in the process.

A recent article by the Times has commented that in the last five years, the number of people who represent themselves in their divorce proceedings has increased from 35% to 57%. This is likely an unfortunate consequence of the reduction of availability of Legal Aid, as in addition to being means and merits tested, Legal Aid is only available for divorce cases where there is evidence of domestic violence. This means that around 58,000 cases are commenced before the courts each year in which the parties have had little or no legal advice. This not only means that divorces take longer, as the parties are unfamiliar with the process, but it can also lead to increasingly acrimonious situations, and in the worst cases leave parties, and particularly women, vulnerable to harm.

Resolution Chairwoman, Juliet Harvey, has called for ‘funding for early advice,’ as this will ‘reduce pressure on taxpayers, on our overloaded family courts and more importantly, on separating families’. We wholeheartedly agree with this view, and feel that it will lead to all parties who separate obtaining the best possible outcomes from a financial perspective, in relation to their children, and in a way which reduces hostility and anger. 

From 30 November to 04 December, Bindmans LLP will be showing support for Resolution’s Good Divorce Week by offering complementary 30 minute consultations to enquirers seeking guidance on divorce and separation.  We hope that you will leave the consultation feeling more confident and informed about the options available to you. Please contact the Family Team to arrange your appointment.

This article was written by Safina Mitha.