Over a third put off from divorce by COVID-19

The survey examined several aspects of respondents’ experiences of divorce, and key findings included:

• Family and friends are replacing legal aid: 41% of under-55s borrowed money from friends of family to finance their divorce, compared to 11% of over-55s, who were most likely to have been eligible for legal aid.
• The perception is that solicitor fees are becoming less transparent: More than a third of under-55s said their divorce was more expensive than initially quoted, compared to 26% of over-55s. 
• The younger demographic is moving away from their solicitor’s office to the web: only 20% of under 55s sort help from a legal adviser compared to 66% of over 55s.

 The survey revealed some interesting regional variances in terms of attitudes towards family lawyers:  

• Londoners were shown to be the most fee-sensitive.
• Those in the SE were the least happy with their initial consultations and felt additional support services should have been provided.
• Wales stood out as the region where respondents had the strongest opinions about how their family lawyers could improve.
• Scotland showed the highest overall satisfaction levels.

Louise Hall, Commercial Director at Ampla Finance, added:

“We are pleased to contribute to the conversation about divorce with this survey, and hope it will shine a light on how family lawyers can continue to adapt to changing customer preferences. It’s clear that finances are a huge concern for individuals going through divorce, so we’re proud to be offering a solution that takes some of the stress out of the process.”

Access the full survey here.