Divorce goes virtual, but more complex cases may still keep their day in court.

A new online service should cut the stress of applying for a divorce according to the Ministry of Justice, but family law professionals warn it’s likely to benefit only those with simple finances who are pursuing the DIY route.

The Ministry of Justice announcement of the nationwide scheme for online divorce applications follows a successful pilot earlier this year.  While rejections average around 40% for paper applications, because forms have not been completed correctly or documents are missing, only 0.6% were rejected in the online submission pilot.

The move is one of the latest initiatives in a £1bn modernisation programme for the department, which will also see a reduction in the numbers employed in the courts. While professionals have welcomed any simplification to the process, they stress the importance of always remembering to put in place a financial clean break alongside the divorce.

As Rob Parker, specialist Family Law Solicitor at Lamb Brooks explains, ‘whilst the divorce achieves legal separation, it is the clean break order which actually severs any financial ties, enabling the parties to the marriage to have complete financial independence from one another. Given recent legal authorities which have demonstrated that financial claims can still be pursued many years after the final decree of divorce has been pronounced, it is more important than ever to seek specialist legal advice about putting in place a clean break order to make sure that neither party is left vulnerable to a financial claim in the future.’

For further advice or for a fixed fee appointment with a Family Solicitor please contact Julia McGuigan on 01256 305596 or email enquiries@lambbrooks.com

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.