There have been several quite big changes to divorce law with an approach based on mediation being the most prominently reported change. Lawyers are also changing their approach to divorce and many are now offering different and creative fee structures for different types of divorces, such as where all matters are agreed and there are no children or where children are grown up and have left home. In these cases the exercise is largely a paper processing exercise where it needs to be cost effective for the client to decide to rely on experienced divorce solicitor. This kind of flexibility and client centred approach separates the "old school" type lawyers from the more progressive practices such as Solicitors in Manchester.
Another quite significant change is the greater acceptance of prenuptial agreements by the courts and the tendency to use different, less legal language. This is welcome as many of the concepts are really quite straightforward and use of antiquated terms or latin really does not reflect the modern world and where more individuals are dealing with sat least some aspects of their legal needs themselves. Below are some of the changes made to a number of divorce related terms.
- Ancillary relief has been changed to Financial order
- Divorce decree has been changed to Matrimonial order
- People with mental incapacity are now referred to as Protected parties
- Guardian ad litem is now called children’s guardian
- The term Next friend is now Litigation friend