More divorces filed online than on paper for first time, Ministry of Justice reveals
More divorces are being filed online than on paper for the first time, official figures show, as couples by-pass lawyers to speed up the process.
More than 12,520 petitions were made during three months April to June this year, which was 54 per cent of the total and up from 28 per cent in the same period in 2019.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures also showed that divorces were being processed quicker as they went online with the average time from petition to decree absolute down from 58 weeks last year to 47 weeks in the most recent quarter.
The surge in online divorces comes ahead of the introduction of no-fault divorces from autumn 2021, which has led to concerns among some traditionalists that the institution of marriage is being eroded.
James Carroll, a partner in family law at Russell Cooke practice in London, said there were dangers to the ease of access to divorce when a rowing couple could “sit in the corner of a lounge and tap away at speed rather than having to go to talk to the lawyer.”
But he said it should not be for the Government to make exiting a marriage a hurdle. “You don’t encourage happy marriages by making divorces difficult,” he said.
“I would rather have a system that is understandable, non-judgmental and doesn’t create costs when costs are not needed.”
Mr Carroll charges £750 fixed fee plus VAT for a prospective divorcee but said the reality was that most of that would be about filling in standard forms when the online alternative was more straightforward.
Lawyers, he said, should bring value for those who wanted support and guidance while for others such legal help would be financially out of reach.
An MoJ spokesman said delays in divorce proceedings had fallen as applications went digital, adding: “Our reforms are removing the needless ‘blame game’ that can harm children while ensuring couples have the time to reflect, plan for the future, or if necessary to turn back.”
Under no-fault divorce, couples no longer have to prove reasons for the breakdown in their marriage to justify the divorce. Instead, one or both can provide a legal statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. This statement counts as conclusive evidence and cannot be contested.
