MAGS O'BRIEN, the veteran campaigner for a law of divorce in Ireland, has just got divorced. It cost her less than £15, compared to quotations of £800 to £2,000 she got from solicitors.
Neither she nor her former husband had legal representation. They were both in full agreement on the terms of the divorce, so it was essentially a question of complying with the formalities. She decided to deal with these herself.
She did so in the context that both she and her former husband had lived happily with a separation agreement for many years. They were married in 1976, and separated in 1982. They had no children.
In 1984 they obtained a legal separation, after selling their house and dividing the proceeds. Neither of them sought maintenance, as they were both working. For the same reason, they are not concerned with the division of pension rights.
Since then they have both formed new relationships. For these relationships to have legal standing they need to marry, and they have not been able to do so because of the absence of divorce - until this year.
The first thing to be done was issue a Family Law Civil Bill. The Statutory Instruments, the supplementary documents that explain how the Family Law (Divorce) Act works, contain examples of a Family Law Civil Bill. Helped by a friend who is a legal executive (they used to be known as law clerks), Ms O'Brien drew up an "Indorsement of Claim".
This was a statement informing her former husband of the proceedings and giving him 10 days to respond. Failing that the proceedings would go ahead without him.
It also detailed the grounds for the divorce. This gave a brief history of the marriage and separation, and included the statement, "The Applicant and Respondent have been financially independent of each other since then and neither see any need to alter this in the circumstances that now exist."
It concluded: "As can be seen from the above:
(a) The Applicant and Respondent have lived apart for a least four years during the five years prior to this date;
(b) The Applicant and Respondent mutually agree that there is absolutely no reasonable prospect of reconciliation between them; (c) Having regard to the circumstances, proper, mutually agreed and welltested provision exists for both Applicant and Respondent and there are no dependent members of the family.
These three conditions meet those specified in both the divorce amendment to the Constitution and the subsequent legislation.
The final section of the document stated that the applicant (Ms O'Brien) claims a decree of divorce. It informed the respondent (former husband) that if he requires any financial relief he must file an Affidavit of Means and, where appropriate, an Affidavit of Welfare, to both the court and the applicant. It also informed him that it was in his interest to have legal advice, and provided the address of the Free Legal Aid Board.
When the Statutory Instruments were issued, they included examples of Statements of Means, Statements of Welfare and statements from solicitors that they had alerted their clients to the services of mediaturs and marriage guidance counsellors.
None of these documents was necessary in her case, according to Ms O'Brien, because neither party was looking for maintenance, and because it was solicitors, not the parties to the divorce, who were required to state to the court that they had provided information about counselling and mediation. So the only additional document she provided was the deed of separation.
She then had to make an affidavit that she had sent the Bill to her former husband, and submit it, along with the registration slip for the registered letter from the post office, to the court office. She lodged them on April 15th.
He wrote back to her, and to the court, saying he was not contesting the action. A copy of the Notice of Motion was issued on May 20th, setting a date for the hearing of June 4th. She sent this to him again by registered post, and made another affidavit that it had been sent. This, and the registration slip, were also lodged with the court.
Because he was out of Dublin for professional reasons on the day of the hearing, he could not be present and he had written to the court accordingly. Because he agreed to the divorce there was no need for him to be there, so the petition was granted. This is believed to be the first do it yourself divorce obtained in the State.
The affidavits and the cost of registering the letters to her former husband have been Mags O'Briens's only expenses, and they have amounted to less than £15.
However, she would not recommend this route to everyone who wants a divorce. "It is for people who are already well informed of their rights and entitlements. I would advise anyone who has any doubts to consult a solicitor," she said.
"The cost of legal advice is the product of the adversarial system. To protect their clients, they have to peer into every nook and cranny. The reality is, we had no nook and cranny left to peer into.
"Doing it without solicitors is suitable for those who already have a separation agreement or a judicial separation, and preferably no dependants. They should also be happy with existing pension arrangements, so it suits a case where both parties are working.
"If someone does proceed on their own, it is still open to the other party to consult a solicitor. If they then decide not to agree, then it does not go ahead."
She, along with a few friends who are also piloting their own divorces through the courts, plan to write a handbook on how to do it, with examples of the various documents required and how to write them.