Divorce no longer financially viable?

26/09/2011

Women are finding it increasingly difficult to escape unhappy marriages as many banks no longer offer short-term ‘divorce loans’.

Lawyers told the Mail Online that even in London, reputed to be the world’s divorce capital, it has become extremely difficult to borrow money in order to cover the cost of divorce.

According to one divorce law firm, there has been a threefold increase in cases of women (statistically the lower earners in most marriages) turning to friends and family to fund a split in the last two years.

Whilst amicable divorces which only require paperwork may only cost around £1,000, a fully contested divorce which goes to trial may cost more than £20,000 – rising to the hundreds of thousands.

Liz Cowell, a partner at Manchester-based divorce lawyers told the Mail: “Women looking to meet the costs of divorce have been successively squeezed. They have been hardest hit by the withdrawal of litigation loans because they had predominantly relied on them, often having no income or assets of their own.

“Many find themselves caught in a grey area where they might not be able to persuade their spouses to pay their costs too, don't qualify for Legal Aid and haven't got the means to afford legal fees themselves. Other family members and friends are increasingly the only sources of money left to turn to.

“Even in relatively wealthy couples, a wife may have devoted herself to building a home and been provided with housekeeping by her husband but had little or no income herself.”

Tags; Current UK Economy, Income Worries and Debt, Debt Management and Banking,

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