A woman has called for changes to the UK’s divorce laws after she paid £50,000 to her ex-husband in a divorce settlement to avoid a lengthy court case, despite him having been arrested on suspicion of her rape.
The Daily Mail reported how the woman, who has not been named for legal reasons but is described as working in the media and being aged in her 40s, had more assets than her estranged husband but opted to negotiate a settlement rather than risk losing a lengthy and expensive court fight.
Her decision came after a family court judge stated what might be the likely amount her husband would walk away with if the case went through full court proceedings.
She commented: “The judge didn’t say my ex would be entitled to nothing, even if he is convicted of rape, the judge didn’t say decisions should wait until we know whether my ex will be charged.”
Those looking for divorce solicitors in Surrey are likely to find they can be invaluable in providing crucial advice in a situation where there may not just be a personal grievance but a potential criminal case against one party in a divorce case.
In this particular instance, the woman was understandably unhappy with the situation and called for change, commenting: “The law and the family court are outdated and do not support or protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse.”
While that case may be argued vehemently by advocates of change, as long as the law remains as it is it is important that anyone involved in a case gets good legal advice to get the best result they can within the constraints of the present system.
The overall number of divorces in the UK surged last year, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. These were up 9.6 percent on 2020, a change largely blamed on the pandemic.
However, while the isolation forced by lockdowns may have contributed to a worsening of some difficult and unhappy domestic situations, the ONS put the rise down to a backlog of cases caused by the disruption caused to the court system by COVID in 2020.
