The Coronavirus pandemic led to significant lifestyle changes for most people, forced to spend months at home, and many divorce mediators and family law solicitors are expecting a surge in divorces during the second half of 2021.
Already, a Freedom of Information request made by Canada Life to HM Courts and Tribunals Service has revealed an increase of over half (53%) in the number of online divorce applications submitted in 2020, compared with 2019.
Nearly 80,000 people applied for divorce online during 2020, including 111 on January 1st and 29 on Christmas Day – nearly double the previous year’s figure of 15 Christmas divorce petitions.
We at Marcia Mediation have worked hard to provide distance mediation during the past year and a half, allowing separating couples to attend remote mediation sessions from home during the lockdown.
But as we move beyond the pandemic, we will be here to help with any newly emerging problems as households’ circumstances change significantly once again.
Divorce mediators are used to helping clients to ‘open up’, but this year as lockdown restrictions continue to be lifted, that phrase has a more literal meaning.
In the coming months, many people will be settling into an altered routine. You might not return to a physical workplace if your job can be done remotely. You might have new priorities in terms of spending time with the kids – or time without them.
We are ready to help if you find the arrangements you negotiated during your divorce in lockdown no longer suit your situation, or if the pandemic changed your circumstances such that a previously negotiated divorce is no longer suitable.
Some examples of this include:
When you agree on a financial settlement during divorce, there can be long-term commitments involved such as maintenance payments. If your income changes significantly, for example, due to losing your job during the lockdown, it may be possible to vary these payments.
We will continue to offer remote mediation after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, and throughout the final phases of lockdown restrictions.
Marcia Mediation already offered this option before the pandemic began, as a convenient way to attend divorce mediation remotely, for clients with childcare commitments or demanding schedules.
If your previously agreed divorce settlement is no longer appropriate, mediation is a good way to reach a less formal arrangement with your former spouse.
Co-op Legal Services suggest attempting this before applying to the courts: “It’s best to try and reach an agreement with your ex before taking the matter to court.
“While it is possible for a Financial Order to be changed in court, once the Order has been sealed by the court it can be an extremely difficult and lengthy process to get it amended.”
If you are currently going through a divorce, we would suggest including a provision for a variation of your Financial Order in the future, for example, the ability to pause or reduce maintenance payments if you lose your job.
To find out more or to discuss a post-pandemic divorce problem with no obligation, contact Marcia Mediation today and a member of our team will be happy to listen.
If you have any questions, call us on 0161 425 3940 or fill out this form
