Couples putting splits on hold until referendum fallout is clear
The Brexit vote will cause separating couples to delay their divorce, according to a major survey of family lawyers.
One quarter of 76 leading family lawyers believe couples will put their divorces on ice until there is more certainty about the fallout of the vote, according to an annual survey of family lawyers by Grant Thornton UK.
The research also revealed that litigants in person (LiPs) and court closures are the two biggest concerns for family lawyers, followed by the lack of legal aid for most family law cases. The increase in number of LiPs as a result of lack of public funding tops the list for the fifth year running.
Respondents were questioned on the three key areas in which they would like to see a change in legislation. In line with previous years, the top answer was the introduction of no fault divorces, on which family lawyers recently lobbied Parliament.
The survey revealed that pension legislation reform in April 2015, which introduced more flexibility on annuities, has had some interesting consequences. Nearly half (49%) of the lawyers said pensions have increased in importance for separating couples when reaching financial settlement. Nearly three-quarters (72%) have come across cases involving parties older than 55 years where pensions are treated as liquid assets. Pensions are also being treated as deferred income regardless of age, according to the responses of 15% of the lawyers.
Nick Andrews, head of disputes at Grant Thornton UK, said: “It is evident from our survey that the expectations following the reform to pensions legislation have not been entirely borne out by the experience of family law professionals this year.
“Given the complexity of pensions and the frequency of changes, it is important that couples continue to seek specialist advice as soon as possible.”
