New rules come into force on 29th April 2024
In a case (X v Y [2024] EWHC 538 Fam) involving marital assets worth £30 million, the couple had already spent near enough £580,000 on legal costs with an expected further £1/2 million to take the case to trial making an eye-watering total of over £1 million pounds on legal fees. The judge, Mrs Justice Knowles, remarked that it was ‘…utterly unfathomable’ that the waring couple hadn’t met at a mediation to try to settle the case.
New rules come into force on 29th April 2024, giving judges the power to adjourn a court case so as to encourage the parties to go to a mediation or some other kind of dispute resolution which does not involve going to court.
Plus, if one of the couple refuses to properly engage in mediation, the other person can request a judge to penalise the obstructing party by making a costs order against the individual.
This is good news for all clients who are going through a divorce or contemplating getting divorced and wish to negotiate a settlement rather than go to court. It is good news because it will be:
- quicker
- cheaper
- less stressful
Sterling de Zuk is a big believer in mediation and will use the changes in rules to benefit clients.
