Sarah Anticoni quoted in The Independent on the surge of divorce applications since the introduction of no-fault divorce laws
According to recent data from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service, divorce applications have surged by as much as 50 per cent since no-fault laws were introduced a week ago. Figures show around 3,000 divorce requests were made in the last week.
Sarah Anticoni, family partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, said the initial rise in applications was “predictable” and forecast that demand would ease.
“The initial surge in uptake in the first week of no-fault divorce was predictable as historical Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics demonstrate such blips when there are any changes in the law. Clearly, some couples who were contemplating divorce held back the actual issuing of the court process, choosing to wait to use the new system.
“With divorce statistics being static, the surge is unlikely to be sustained over the year ahead. Overall, it’s important to bear in mind that people don’t decide to divorce because of law changes.”
Sarah Anticoni’s quote first appeared in The Independent.