The Re-Marriage Trap and Some Other Considerations Relating to Divorce

Following the introduction of “no-fault” divorce in England and Wales on 6 April 2022, spouses who are separating may be tempted not to use solicitors and start a divorce application themselves, or take the view that involving solicitors will not be necessary.

Whilst there is no rule of law which requires lawyers to act for you in respect of a divorce, we would always encourage a spouse who is contemplating divorce to take legal advice from the outset. Even though the divorce process has been simplified, there are still important considerations which should be taken into account before any divorce application is started. These include issues over which country would be the most appropriate to deal with any divorce proceedings, where one of the parties has a connection to a different jurisdiction, or where one party may have a limited life expectancy such that alternatives to divorce may be more appropriate.

Furthermore, many people are not aware of the fact that, if you do not apply for a financial order within the divorce application, or do not start a formal application for a financial order on Form A before they re-marry, then they will be caught in what is known as “the re-marriage trap”. The effect of the same is that they will lose the right to apply for certain financial orders against their former spouse as part of any financial settlement on divorce.

For more information, please contact us.