In May 2017, Sir James Munby, the most senior family Judge in England and Wales, and President of the Family Division called for the streamlining of new online divorce procedures, to stop family Courts from being clogged up by arguments about assets.
Un-linking divorce and financial proceedings – Proposal
The proposal is aimed at reducing administrative pressure within the family Courts by un-linking divorce work from the more complex legal battles in relation to matrimonial assets. Most of the Judges’ time is taken up with the subsidiary issues of what is known as ancillary relief rather than the divorce itself.
“Has the time not come to bring about a complete de-linking – separation – of divorce and ‘money’,” Munby asked, “so that they are started and pursued by completely separate processes, albeit, of course, that the timeline for ancillary relief is determined by the progress of the divorce? My view, which I have been propounding for some time, is an unequivocal and emphatic yes!”
The development of online divorce, whereby couples will be able to sort out the dissolution of their marriage or civil partnership remotely, “must be more than a simple electronic version of the existing processes”, Munby said.
What is required, he said, was a system under which there is “formally, legally and procedurally” a complete separation of divorce and money – with money claims dealt with “in accordance with a single set of rules providing, so far as possible, for a common form of application, a common set of forms, a common process and common procedure.”
The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation on the proposed amendments to Part 9 of the Family Procedure Rules (application for a financial remedy).
How Nelsons Can Help
If you require advice in relation to divorce and financial matters, please contact our specialist Family Law team on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.