Burden on lawyers

When a 50-50 split of relationship property was first enacted, the aim was to simplify things. It was meant to give arithmetical certainty in most cases but allow couples to trim their own special edges by written agreement.

That was a bit rough-and-ready but was no bad idea. It is, alas, overtaken as the economics of marriage and living together are swamped by social factors.

People, when entering a relationship, find it a passion-killer drawing up special agreements. Those in de facto arrangements often didn’t know they were. Trusts began playing a corrosive part. What used to be lucrative careers were becoming tenuous bouts of employment. Mediation is often only the first step in costly litigation.

The Law Commission is now proposing new measures to re-level the playing field. Commission ideas are always worth considering but, on any analysis, they will be likely to introduce new complexities.

Against all that, some now demand that lawyer fees be capped. The fact is that lawyers don’t make the law. Parliament does, while the parties themselves often fight tooth and nail fuelled by notions of revenge.

With greater complexity and client stubbornness comes more time sorting things out. Lawyers should not have to carry that burden.

Dave Smith, Tawa