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When a Quickie Divorce Goes Wrong

A married couple separated several years ago. To save money, the husband thought it would be cheaper to arrange his divorce via an online ‘quickie divorce’ website, rather than seek advice from a Solicitor. The wife had met another man and wanted to pursue her new relationship.

The divorce process was completed online and Decree Absolute was granted. The (now) ex-wife went away with her new partner, and the ex-husband thought everything had been dealt with.

A few years later, the ex-wife separated from her new partner. She was still able to take her ex-husband to court for a financial settlement, because the end of the marriage and the grant of Decree Absolute did not safeguard the ex-husband from his ex-wife being entitled to bring a financial claim against him.

The lesson to be learnt is to resolve all financial matters at the time of the divorce. The divorce process, that is the granting of the Decree Absolute, does not on its own deal with financial matters which should be dealt with separately but at the same time as the divorce itself. If financial matters are not properly dealt with and recorded in a separate legally binding document or Court Order, then the ex-husband and ex-wife can still make financial claims against each other sometimes many years later.

If it seems too cheap to be true it probably is too good to be true and that applies to a quickie divorce. Therefore, beware of advertisements for a cheap quick divorce, as that legal service is unlikely to include also dealing with financial matters or any child arrangements.

Harold G Walker Solicitors have an experienced team of family lawyers and offer a free half-hour consultation to advise on all aspects of a divorce, child arrangements, and financial matters. In addition, costs are discussed at the very start to enable our clients to make an informed decision before committing themselves.

For further information please contact our Family team.