London is ‘Divorce Capital’

A steep rise in the number of international divorces has led to London being dubbed the ‘divorce tourism’ capital of the world.

An article in The Times cites that international divorce now accounts for 24,000 of the 150,000 divorces handled by the English and Welsh legal system every year, with one in six cases in London Courts involving an international element.

In addition, there has been a six fold increase in custody cases where the parents concerned live overseas and it is estimated that around half of the ‘big money’ divorce cases in our legal system involve foreign nationals.

According to legal commentators and family lawyers, the increase in the number of international divorce cases over recent years can be attributed to generous settlements in recent cases, along with the rise in the number of super-rich foreign nationals choosing to live in London.

Generous financial settlements, particularly those that favour wives may also be a further reason for the growth that has been witnessed.  It has been suggested that an increasing number of foreign nationals are choosing to relocate to England for a year in advance of filing for divorce, in order to take advantage of the legal system here.

Forensic accountants, who are often called upon in divorce cases of this nature to investigate the financial situation of one or other spouse, have also have noticed the sharp increase in recent times, with their services being called upon more frequently.

“International divorce cases are often highly complex, with the need for specialist accountants to carry out forensic accounting investigations into the business affairs and assets of the parties”, commented Vivian Cohen of forensic accounting firm Frenkel Forensics. “We have certainly noticed an increase in demand for our forensic accounting services when it comes to cases of this nature”.

“The increase in legal and accounting work has been widely hailed as positive news for the country’s professional services industry, with Desmond Hudson, Chief Executive of the Law Society commenting it is “We have always said that, at one level, this rise in international work is good for UK plc”.

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