Varying maintenance payments following change of circumstances after divorce or separation.
The Times newspaper has reported that COVID-19 has “split divorce specialists.”
In an article published on 06/08/2020 it is reported on a “flood” of applications from clients who are previously divorced or separated and now seeking to vary the term of child or spousal maintenance.
The Law states that there may be variation of a maintenance order under Section 31 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The overriding consideration when undertaking adjustments will be to ensure that the needs of both spouses and any children are met.
Decisions on maintenance, child arrangements, pensions and splitting assets need not necessarily be made in a family law court. Indeed, it is wise to consider the costs of going to court, which can quickly snowball to astronomical costs, outweighing any financial benefit to either client.
Many Family lawyers offer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a means to solve these issues. This can include process such as mediation, arbitration, Private FDRs (Financial Dispute Resolution), shuttle mediation or collaborative law as alternatives to traditional court proceedings. This can be in to resolve financial disputes, child arrangements, pension remedies and disputes and division of assets following divorce and separation.
We wait to see whether the changes following COVID-19 will hasten the move towards alternative forms of dispute resolution in the future.
You can read the article in The Time newspaper here. Note access is subscription only.