DWF signs divorce-funding deal with Co-operative bank

Readers' comments (8)

• Anonymous | 6-Jan-2011 4:41 pm

  V disappointed in the Co-op for going down this route. To my mind, encouraging people to get divorced on the back of a personal loan does not sit comfortably with their stated ethical policies.

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• Anonymous | 6-Jan-2011 8:33 pm

  Occupation:
  Unemployed
  Income:
  Job seekers allowance
  Assets:
  Half ex council house worth £130,000
  Mortgage:
  £160,000
  Reason for wanting loan:
  To make sure that she doesn't get a penny
  Over to you at the Co-Op...................

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• Rural bliss | 6-Jan-2011 9:41 pm

  Poor old DWF must be desperate to indulge in this sort of bottom-fishing.
  
  Tacky doesn't begin to describe it.

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• sylvia benson | 6-Jan-2011 11:46 pm

  i concur

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• Still in pyjamas | 7-Jan-2011 9:42 am

  This is surely part of the Co-Op's stated aim to enter the legal services market. DWF had better be careful about being used as a trojan horse. Once the Co-Op have their toes in the water they'll use this experience to set up their own divorce business. High street lawyers should beware even of big branded ethical providers!

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• Dayglo Dave | 7-Jan-2011 1:21 pm

  I wonder if come commentators are being too cynical. I'm not a divorce solicitor but I can see that some form of funding scheme would be attractive to a not-insignificant proportion of people who are getting divorced. When getting divorced one or both parties, for a variety of reasons, may be asset rich but cash poor and have difficulty paying legal fees. Does this scheme not address that problem?

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• Sceptic | 7-Jan-2011 4:29 pm

  "When getting divorced one or both parties, for a variety of reasons, may be asset rich but cash poor and have difficulty paying legal fees. "
  If there's any decent cash on the horizon any legal firm will give the client credit and get paid at the end out of the loot that's been recovered.
  This is a much better deal for both the lawyer and the client, as there are few constraints on spending to get a result.
  If the client's in hock to the Co-op she'll be moaning every time any money's spent.

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• Mark Andrews | 26-Jan-2011 3:26 pm

  There appears to be a lot of spin in this story. In the first instance this is a referral agreement. That means DWF are referring clients to the CoOp who will then assess them for an unsecured loan, just as they would any other.
  Thats not funding thats a standard repayable unsecured loan.
  As for solicitors extending credit on good case, that would be the right approach , it is however no longer the case. In a recent a recent case we were asked to help on a very large law firm had taken the ladies engagement ring as down payment.
  Solicitors firms rarely want to take all the risk on their own balance sheet .
  I have seen clients paying with credit cards, which is much worse than a funding or loan agreement.
  The reality is many people face a divorce with no money to pay. That gives their former partner a significant advantage into the negotiations that settle the divorce.
  As horrendous as it is former partners will happily use their financial might to squash the claim against them.
  Funding allows an equal footing and thus a fair hearing. It is not a perfect solution but it is in the absence of a desire by anyone else to help.

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