.ltPlan for no fault divorce to cut costly court battles

The Times,
16 September 1993

A RADICAL shake-up of the divorce laws that will allow couples a "no-fault" divorce after a 12-months' wait is to be unveiled by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, the Lord Chancellor, this autumn.
  
An essential feature of the scheme is likely to be that couples will be required to seek advice on whether they can settle arrangements for children and property informally and out of court.
  
The plan for a national network of "first-stop" family advice centres will be part of a package of measures to make divorce laws far less adversarial.  Officials are preparing a green paper which is expected to scrap the "fault" basis of the divorce laws, as recommended by the Law Commission in its report on divorce reform in November 1990.
  
Instead of the present minimum two-year wait (unless adultery or unreasonable behaviour is alleged), couples would be able to obtain a divorce simply, without allegations, after one year.
  
Officials are looking at ways of creating a national network of family advice centres that would act both as information points and refer couples to mediators, counsellors or lawyers as appropriate.  The proposals aim to dispense with the idea that lawyers are the first port of call when a marriage breaks down.  Officials that believe this would reduce the number of disputes which end in court and, as a result, cut the legal aid bill.
  
Lord Mackay, who is consulting widely before drawing up the final options, is believed to have ruled out an earlier idea that all couples who intend to divorce should be forced to go through mediation or conciliation services.  Nor is he thought to favour insisting that couples go to mediation before they can qualify for legal aid.  If it is to win Treasury approval, however, any reform package must demonstrate that it will not increase costs and, if possible, cut them.
  
A compulsory diagnostic visit to a family centre is therefore being considered.  Officials are looking closely at a pioneering project in Cambridge; the Family and Divorce Centre, an independent charitable agency, offers a comprehensive mediation service and refers people on to other agencies.  If couples opt for mediation, trained mediators help them to reach agreement on matters such as property and maintenance.
  
The centre which was set up by solicitors and mediators, is funded by grants and donations.  Couples are charged for specific services according to financial circumstances.  They might be referred for counselling, to organisations such as Relate or private counsellors, or for child guidance or legal advice.
  
Unusually, the centre also provides joint appointments with solicitors so couples can see them together and, if they wish, couples can attend for information only.
  
The first-stop family centre could be grafted on to existing mediation services: there are about 60 local services funded by a mixture of public money, grants, and fees from clients under the auspices of the National Association of Family Mediation and Conciliation Services.  Last year, the association dealt with 16,000 people.
  
The Family Mediators' Association, which has about 300 members, also offers a service in which couples have sessions with a solicitor and mediator working together.
  
The Solicitors' Family Law Association endorses the use of mediation but it is concerned about advice being given by people who are not lawyers.  Nigel Shepherd, the vice-chairman, said: "We accept that much work needs to be done in educating lawyers about other options that are available.  And we are prepared to accept that there perhaps should be a change to the rules requiring lawyers to give such information to clients.  But other agencies should at the same time have to give information about us.  "Where legal advice was needed, he said, it should be given by trained people.  

.lcThe trend toward easier divorces, set in motion in 1857, has continued to this day.

.llThe Law: Legal status
The Law: Divorce
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.lsWR01:WR01_03S
WR01:WR01_02S
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