Couples are messaging my lawyers in secret, longing to split up
Ayesha Vardag reveals how her firm has been overrun with spouses desperate to divorce post-lockdown
When lockdown first came in, we expected the phones to go quiet. After all, in times of crisis, many choose to batten down the hatches, waiting for calm to return before they make life-altering decisions. But this has not been the case.
Since the end of March, divorce enquiries to my firm have remained at pre-lockdown levels. And over the past week, as lockdown has begun to ease, they have shot up by 170 per cent. The crucial change we have seen is in the way contact is being made.
Normal routines have been cast aside; our days are being stretched beyond the 9-5 if we’re working from home. With couples cooped up together, the usual opportunities for a quick phone call to a divorce lawyer, out of earshot, have been removed – so more creative means of communication have had to be found.
Messaging services have become more important than ever. My colleagues have conducted weeks and weeks of conversations over Whatsapp to ensure the secrecy – and sometimes safety, given the alarming rise in incidents of domestic abuse under lockdown – of clients.
While the virus itself is not causing couples to separate, the drastic changes in lifestyle we’ve all experienced, along with increasing anxiety and stress, has put underlying issues into sharp relief for many. With life’s previous distractions removed, whether that be work, socialising or even a secret lover, people have been forced to assess the state of their relationships more directly. And many are seemingly finding that love cannot, in fact, endure all things.
For those who were already in the midst of divorce proceedings when lockdown hit, the situation has become far more complex. Some have reevaluated their decision to separate; having been forced to spend time together, take on more domestic responsibilities and have quality time with their children, they have been reminded of the person they first fell in love with.
But that is not the case for most, for whom the pressure-cooker environment of lockdown has crystallised a long-growing desire to
As restrictions have started to ease, we’ve seen divorce inquiries shoot up 170 per cent
divorce.
Lockdown can also pose practical challenges. There’s no simply presenting a partner with a decree to leave – and then doing so. With rental options limited and movement between properties restricted, where to go? Our clients are coming up with novel solutions, even, in some cases, partitioning the marital home to create distinct spaces for each partner and guaranteeing their physical separation.
Valuations of assets, imperative for a fair settlement, have also become mired in instability.
Many are devaluing rapidly, and with the economic outlook increasingly murky, any previously agreed settlements are no longer viable.
Of course, this can also bring opportunity, especially for the wealthier party in a marriage. With their assets temporarily devalued, initiating divorce proceedings has become a more attractive prospect, bolstered by the belief that any settlement will be more advantageous now than when their assets recover.
Necessity is often the mother of invention. And for those going through a divorce in lockdown, invention has become a necessity.