English Solicitors Urged to be Rude

An article written by Scottish solicitor Lucia CLark  of Morton Fraser last week urged  English solicitors to be rude when dealing with cross-border divorce applications between Scotland and England & Wales.

In England & Wales solicitors there is a  a Family Law Protocol  and the family lawyers organisation, Resolution, also publishes Guides to Good Practice. The  aim is to  encourage out of court settlements. It is considered  good practice  to send  a draft of a divorce petition to the other spouse to check if they will agree not to defend the divorce and give them the chance to object to a particular allegation.

Of course Scotland has it's own legal system with different divorce procedures. There is no practice in Scotland of sending a draft divorce writ for approval.   If a solicitor in England  writes to a Scottish solicitor notifying them of the intention to commence divorce proceedings the  Scottish solicitor's response will be  to  raisie a divorce action in Scotland. The convention is that the country where divorce proceedings are first initiated has jurisdiction. So Lucia's advise to English solicitors is be less polite!

The lesson for a spouse  who lives in England & Wales and wants to divorce someone living in Scotland is ensure your solicitor appreciates the law is different in Scotland  and  they know to issue proceedings  without notice. 

Full article  Family Law