There’s a quicker and easier way to divorce…

Thursday 26 November 2015

Lawyers are promoting dispute resolution as a quicker and easier way for couples to split up without going through a court process costing an average of around £13,000.

Advocate Rose Colley, a leading family lawyer with Viberts, says that although divorce is a booming industry, more people should be aware of dispute resolution as a way of getting through the process.

And she says that it can cost just a fraction of the estimated typical cost of a court-led divorce process, where legal fees average around £13,000 in the UK, and are thought to be similar here.

Around 250 couples are thought to start divorce proceedings every year in Jersey.

Although reform of the marriage laws has been proposed, including fast-track and ‘no fault’ divorces, the changes may still be years away.

Advocate Colley – speaking at the start of national Dispute Resolution Week - said that anyone considering divorce should consult a specialist family lawyer who is qualified to deal with collaborative law and mediation.

She said: “Make sure that right from your first appointment with your lawyer the term ‘alternative dispute resolution’ is explained to you.

“This will give you the necessary information to enable you to make decisions about whether your case is suitable for collaborative law or mediation as opposed to Court proceedings.

“Mediation will not be the solution in all cases but it is certainly something that should be considered in the majority of cases.

“Mediation is encouraged more and more by the family court here as, in the majority of cases in my experience, agreement will be reached at the mediation and therefore lengthy and incredibly expensive final hearings before the court will be avoided.

“Not enough people realise that divorce doesn’t automatically mean costly court battles. Collaborative law and mediation are effective alternatives that Dispute Resolution Week will be raising awareness of.”