There are over 100,000 divorces in England and Wales every year. Below are the official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Grim reading.
England and Wales No. of Marriages and Divorces 2006 to 2016
The above figures testify to a sad tale of desperation and heartbreak experienced by thousands of people every year who find their marriage has run into difficulty. Research shows that over 50% (Fifty Percent) of people involved in divorce proceedings either did not want a divorce or were unsure. A staggering 17% of people who started divorce proceedings stated that divorce was not the outcome they were seeking.
Many people turn to family law practitioners in the hope and belief that they will receive assistance to save their marriage. Instead the reality is that the family law courts, overwhelmed by the volume of applications have, with a nod and a wink from government (reference the “Special Procedure”) manipulated the law and disregarded the Judicial Oath of office so as to deal with the case load.
By taking the stance that the petitioner should be believed and the defendant be ignored, they can deal with thousands of applications in very short order. In this they are aided and abetted by the family law profession. Their manipulation and collusion assists the courts in ensuring that no court time is “wasted” in adjudicating un- triable (as they would like us to believe) marital conflicts.
Given that the right to defend one’s self is a fundamental aspect of The Rule of Law, The European Convention for Human Rights and the UK Human Rights Act, the howls of outrage when one person actually managed to successfully defend a divorce petition in 2017 and 2018 was astonishing to behold. (Owens V Owens).
The legal profession ensure that the approximately 50% of people who are reluctant divorcees are pushed into the divorce processing machine. They then feast handsomely whilst guiding the shell shocked client through the financial settlement minefield.
Financial settlement is where the legal profession makes its money.
Applications for financial settlement can only be triggered after divorce proceedings have started, so for the legal profession it is important to get the divorce process under way.
During the second reading of the Divorce (Financial Provision) Bill in the House of Lords on 27 January 2017 Baroness Deech stated:-
“This area of law desperately needs public and parliamentary input. Go to any of the blogs about this and see the misery of couples who have spent a fortune on settling and do not understand why their sense of fairness is disregarded. Read the many reports that have tried to reform this area, and you uncover an area of misery, wasteful expense and incomprehension”