Dubai: Divorce is no longer the last resort for incompatible couples as they are increasingly considering it as an option within months of their marriage, according to the Dubai Divorce Legal Clinic at TWS Legal Consultants.
Nita Maru, managing partner at TWS Legal Consultants who established the pro bono service, said, “The trend is alarming – over 70 per cent of the couples who come to us are not able to resolve their differences.”
She said the clinic’s lawyers always offer mediation and negotiation as a starting point for couples to resolve their differences, but there are cases where the decision to divorce becomes impulsive. A European man who was hard-pressed to give up his independence after the arrival of a baby boy; an Indian woman who realised life with her husband was not the same when her in-laws came to stay with them; a western woman who couldn’t wait for her jobless husband to find a new placement – there have been many instances where divorce has been filed for early on in a marriage in recent months.
Maru said marriages can sometimes fall apart due to unrealistic expectations, behavioural issues, a lack of understanding and commitment and a host of other inherent factors. Lawyer Nida Chaudhry from the clinic said external factors also play a role. “There is a lot of temptation for young couples at work or other places and it is easy for them to make new friends. The proliferation of social media like Instagram, Tinder, Facebook and WhatsApp gives them ready access to their contacts; social and night life are diverse and active; and the moral compass is off for most people as they are away from their families.”
She explained how couples are emboldened to go in for divorce as there is no immediate family around to counsel them or influence their decision.
According to the experts, sometimes couples are so determined to divorce that any attempt to mediate between them is shunned. However, in most cases, Maru said, “We try to go down the route of an amicable settlement which is faster, more cost-effective and less distressing than a contested divorce.” Only 10 per cent of the cases end up being contested, she added.
