In recent times there has been the biggest change to divorce Law in England and Wales and since the Divorce Reform Act was passed.
On the 6th April 2022, a no-fault divorce system was introduced. This has been a long time coming as for over 30 years campaigners have been calling for an introduction of a no-fault base divorce. There have been several concerning cases over the years of people being forced to remain in a marriage to incompatible and sometimes abusive partners.
What does this mean for separating couples?
The introduction of this law means that couples can get divorced without one person needing to blame the other . The change also applies to Civil Partnership dissolution. It is also no longer possible to contest a divorce or civil partnership dissolution (unless it is on the basis of jurisdiction). If both parties agree then a joint application for divorce and dissolution can be made allowing them to have a completely amicable separation and no one will need to worry about this being contested. This new law will save considerable time, cost and stress. A sole application can however be made, even if their partner does not necessarily agree with the divorce.
Essentially the new law removes the requirement to provide evidence of ‘conduct’ or ‘separation’ and it is replaced with a simple requirement to give a statement of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or civil partnership.
During this time, couples will still need to make separate arrangements to resolve their financial affairs, child arrangements/maintenance in order to resolve their ties.
Whilst the no fault divorce should, in theory make the process much more straight forward, it is still as important as ever to speak to a divorce/separation lawyer and specialist who can guide you through the process with sensitivity.
