Hitchings: Early advice needed
“Substantial proportions” of divorcees do not understand the law on how assets are split, even if they used a lawyer, the first research of its kind has found.
The results have prompted a call to make early legal advice and information a priority for divorcing couples.
Though divorcees who had used a lawyer “tended to know more” than those who had not, researchers said they could not claim there was a ‘causal link’, said the report by Bristol University and Bryson Purdon Social Research.
“It may be that those who knew more about the law were more likely to reach out to a lawyer or use formal routes, rather than them learning about the law during the process.
“Or, it may be partly reflecting the fact that those with a greater level of assets [who have a better knowledge of the law] are more likely than others to use a lawyer.”
Though the differences in knowledge “were not always large”, the researchers observed that, “arguably, this may not matter as much if they are getting appropriate legal advice”.
They presented 20,500 members of the public and 2,415 divorcees with a list of 10 statements about the law on finance and property on divorce, half of which were true and half false.
The outcomes showed that understanding as a whole was “patchy and often poor”, with the level of “misconceptions and lack of knowledge” remaining high among married people and divorcees.
The public correctly identified an average of 4.5 statements as true or false, rising to 5.2 among divorcees and 5.7 where they had used a lawyer.
“However, substantial proportions of those who had experienced a divorce either misunderstood the law or did not know.”
Three in 10 divorcees – whether or not they had used a lawyer – wrongly believed the law required all assets and debts to be split 50:50. The area where those who had used a lawyer were notably better informed was in understanding that fault was usually irrelevant.
Divorcees who had consulted a lawyer “were significantly more likely to get the answer right” in relation to seven of the 10 statements. The three where they were not related to child maintenance, spousal maintenance, and the fact that couples could agree any split they want outside of the court.
The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, found that only 1% of members of the public correctly identified all the statements, while 11% identified none.
People with higher qualifications or incomes were “somewhat more likely” than those with lower-level qualifications or incomes” to know about the law, while women were “somewhat more likely” to know about aspects of the law relevant to children, and men the law on division of assets.
The differences in terms of understanding between the public, married people and divorcees were “not large, with misconceptions and lack of knowledge remaining high” among all groups.
The report said “some form of early legal advice and information for all divorcees” should be a policy priority for the Ministry of Justice and welcomed the early legal advice pilot in regions of England and Wales.
Emma Hitchings, professor of family law at Bristol University, commented: “This is the first national study to assess what people know about how assets are shared on divorce. Perhaps unsurprisingly, misconceptions are widespread and knowledge is patchy as the laws can be complex.
“But it is particularly concerning that this low level of understanding also applies to those who have actually been through divorce. The findings highlight the need to help ensure people are better informed about their legal position, so fair outcomes are reached.
“Some form of early legal advice and information for all divorcees should be a policy priority. This could help to address the deficit in knowledge about the law and legal procedure among the divorcing population, particularly amongst those divorcees who do not obtain any form of legal support.”
Let’s hope the lawyers themselves would get the questions right! Spousal maintenance can be very hard to judge!