A fully digital divorce and financial remedy system for individuals and legal representatives has been put in pace by HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
The system has been in place for online divorces since 2018, with more 100,000 applications since then, and less than 1% being returned because of user error, compared to 40% with the previous system. However, the aim for 2021 is to update the system to allow for financial remedies, the implementation of No Fault Divorce in October, and for it to allow people to apply to end civil partnerships.
The move to online divorces has been welcomed by professionals and separating couples alike. The process is much more user-friendly and streamlined when compared with the paper divorce petitions, which run to 15 pages, ask broad questions covering all scenarios and use legal jargon throughout. Our experience has been that respondent parties are able to more easily return their acknowledgement of service, and the questions asked of them are clearer leaving less room for doubt or confusion.
At Tozers, we have been using the online service for filing financial consent orders since before the rollout date in August 2020. Prior to this, consent orders were filed on paper to regional divorce centres and generally we would wait 12 or more weeks to hear from the court with an update. The online consent order service is also more streamlined, only asking relevant questions, provides updates at every stage by email and orders are typically dealt with far more quickly. As a result, we have found that the online divorce and consent orders has enabled us to provide an even better service to our clients.
How can Tozers help?
To find out more about No Fault Divorce, or for further support and advice on divorce or financial remedies please contact our dedicated Family team.
