A solicitor at an East London-based law firm has said that couples should be cautious of online divorce, saying that it can be a false economy.
Jonathan Diamond, a Solicitor-Advocate and Partner at Wiseman Lee, made the comments after figures published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) showed that 23,000 applications have been made since the system was launched in May 2018.
The figures included the eye-catching point that 13 people applied online for divorce on Christmas Day.
Jonathan Diamond said: “There are huge pitfalls to online divorce for those without knowledge of the law in this area.
“It will save people money if they deal with the divorce themselves. However, there could subsequently be problems with regard to sorting out issues of property, finances and pensions. This means online divorce can be a real false economy.
“What people do not tend to know is that there is a possibility of something called the ‘remarriage trap’, which, if they do not deal with the completion of the divorce papers properly, may preclude them from making an application for what is a called a Financial Remedy Order against their spouse or former spouse.
“I have come across this on a number of occasions where people have undertaken their own DIY divorce.
“People need advice to understand the wide-ranging and long-term consequences of divorce proceedings and it is also a great pity that legal aid in the main for divorce work was done away with a few years ago.”
