Lawyer Christian Lebrecht Malm-Hesse a Private Legal Practitioner has revealed the minimum amount needed to start divorce proceedings.
The Private Legal Practitioner Christian Lebrecht, a minimum of GHC10,000 is required to begin divorce procedures in Ghana.
According to the Lawyer, the Ghana Bar Association has endorsed a new scale of fees for attorneys, increasing the expense of divorce processes.
He said on 3FM, “Ten thousand is an old price, and that’s when the situation is simple. Depending on the lawyer or legal company you go to, the fee might rise. Aside from that, the Ghana Bar Association believes incidental costs should be paid separately from the legal charge. It includes filing expenses and transportation fares for each time the lawyer comes to court”.
He also stated that many people are locked up in marriages because of the high cost of divorce proceedings in the country.
Christian Lebrecht added that “Besides paying a lot of money to the lawyers for that, it is emotionally absorbing, traumatizing, and it is not easy for both the man and woman, so as lawyers we turn ourselves into pastors, counselors, and everything for either side to go through, but for some, it is bitter from the beginning to the end. It’s poisonous.”
Explaining why divorce cases are held in chambers, said “the petition itself is like a dagger pulled through the other party’s heart because things that are not pleasant and things that were done in private between the couple that the public should not know would be mentioned. That’s why divorce processes are held in chambers”.
“the divorce and matrimonial court of the high court is like a hospital or maternity ward where mothers, dads, and children grieve”.Malm-Hesse said
He urged young people who wish to marry to recognize that nobody’s character would change because of marriage, therefore the attention should be on the person’s shortcomings to determine if one can manage with them for the rest of one’s life.