Recent press coverage of the divorce of film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie tell us that the negotiations of the financial consequences of their divorce took something over 8 years to conclude. Even for the (very) rich and (extremely) famous, this is a very long time for a divorce settlement to reach a conclusion. The emphasis on reaching settlement in the courts of England and Wales has shifted over recent years to using non court intervention, as a quicker and more cost effective means of reaching a settlement. From date of issue to the final hearing, if settlement cannot be reached along the way, can take up to two years before the English courts, depending on the nature and complexity of the case. Costs can often run into tens of thousands of pounds, and in some cases, considerably more than that.
The courts encourage the use of either mediation as an initial step, or an early neutral evaluation of a client’s case, once disclosure of all the assets has been undertaken and the financial landscape of the marriage is clear. Although, this can at first seem an expensive exercise (and is likely to cost in the region of £5,000 per party) compared to the cost of delays involving court proceedings this is small beer indeed.
The parties can also appoint an arbitrator (where am issues between them are limited and relatively straightforward) which is akin to hiring your own judge. We have found at Harrington Family Law the innovative use of bespoke settlement meetings (such as private FDRs or Early Neutral Evaluations) to be particularly successful in assisting our clients to settlement, over and above the usual route of solicitor led negotiations and, as a final resort, we issue court proceedings.
The beauty of the out of court settlement is that control of the negotiations and process itself, both from the question of time and costs, remains those of the parties themselves. Those carrying out the early neutral evaluations at private FDR can be directed to earlier areas of contention, and a settlement that might take a lengthy period of time and cost a great deal of money before the courts can often be reached in the space of a day or an afternoon.
It should not be thought that these remedies are the domain solely of those with a lot of capital or disposable income. Being increasingly popular in dealing with the “run of the mill” cases dealt with by family practitioners and clients need to be alive to the possibility they present.