Divorce: Legal Costs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Department is taking to protect (a) disabled people and (b) people with serious long-term health conditions from disproportionate legal costs during divorce proceedings.
Answered by Ministry of Justice
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the adequacy of rules in relation to people with serious or deteriorating health conditions. The rules regarding costs in divorce proceedings and financial remedy proceedings on divorce are governed by Part 28 of the Family Procedure Rule and apply in respect of all litigants, including those who have serious and deteriorating health conditions.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that legal costs in financial proceedings on divorce are proportionate, including for disabled people and those with serious long-term health conditions. That is one of the reasons why the Government has recently consulted on reforms to the law of financial provision on divorce to make the law clearer and more accessible, to reduce litigation and costs spent by separating couples. A clearer framework could make it easier for divorcing couples to resolve finances without going to court, helping to avoid disproportionate costs.
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