Five Facts You Really Should Know About Divorce
Wolverine star Hugh Jackman and wife Deborah Lee-Jackman
“You never really know a man until you have divorced him.”
Zsa Zsa Gabor
2023 has been the year of the celebrity divorce. From Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas announcing their divorce after four years together, to Wolverine star Hugh Jackman and wife Deborah Lee-Jackman calling it a day after 27 years of marriage, to Meryl Street and Don Gummer, married for more than 40 years then revealing last month they had secretly separated six years ago – long or short, marriages end.
Many people are totally convinced they know all about the legalities surrounding divorce, such as what will happen to the couple’s assets, and indeed children. There are numerous myths associated with divorce, almost all of them wrong.
JMW Solicitors’ Head of Family Law, Elspeth Kinder, spoke with Trailblazer and separates the facts from the fictions.
Elspeth Kinder
Head of Family Law
1 Common Law Marriage
There’s no such thing. It is a widely held misconception that people in a romantic relationship living together for more than a particular period of time – some think six months, some a year – are “common law spouses.” But this self-awarded status is just that, and it does not give the same rights as a legally married couple.
Couples who have been together for decades are often shocked to discover upon separating that their relationship does not have any legal recognition, leaving them with no ability to ask the Court for a financial award against their former partner.
Couples who live together can protect their interests with a Cohabitation Agreement, and it is wise to make sure you draw one up as early on as possible, as this legal agreement will help couples deal with potential issues in the event that their relationship breaks down.
2 Committing adultery means you get less money on divorce
Categorically untrue. One of the most common assumptions around divorce is that if one half of the couple has had an affair and left the marriage as a result, there will be a financial impact. In practice, this behaviour does not make any difference to the overall division of assets, because when it comes to money, the court is not interested in why the marriage is ending, but rather what resources each party has available, and how they are to be divided fairly.
Since the introduction of no-fault divorce, couples are no longer able to give any reasons for the divorce and hence adultery has no legal significance, though often it has huge emotional implications for the couple.
3 Divorce always means an expensive battle in court
No, it doesn’t. Very many cases settle without any need for the courts to become involved, other than to approve the deal. Going to court is, on the whole, because the separating couple is unable to settle their dispute over their financial claims. Of course, your divorce solicitor may well recommend that you progress straight to contested proceedings but if that is the case, there will be a very specific reason for doing so.
4 You can hide your assets
People do try but it is very unwise. Full disclosure regarding the couple’s assets is mandated and it means just that. The court will take a very dim view of anyone who tries to hide their financial assets and should there be any evidence uncovered which suggests one party has deliberately withheld information, at the very least the court may draw adverse inferences against them. In the most extreme cases, that party could find themselves facing criminal proceedings, although this is rare. It’s usually pretty obvious to a competent divorce solicitor when a person is trying to hide assets as things just don’t stack up.
5 Anybody can get a “quickie divorce”
Again, there’s no such thing. This is a media-created myth and probably refers to the length of time it takes a judge to pronounce the Decree Absolute (now known as the Final Order).
The length of time it takes to divorce depends very much on the couple themselves and the complexities of their financial situation. Some divorces can take only around six months, but such cases tend to be those where both parties are agreed on all key issues, and there are no court delays. On average it’s more likely to be between six and 18 months.