Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020

In June 2020 the new Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 received Royal Assent after being presented for debate before parliament in 2018. It is expected to come into effect in April 2022 and is set to change the divorce process by removing the concept of fault, a change that has been eagerly awaited by many within the legal profession, including Baroness Hale (former President of the Supreme Court).

Under current legislation, when applying for a divorce, there are five legally recognised reasons that must be proven to a court for a divorce to be granted. These are adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, separated for 2 years with consent or separated for 5 years without consent. This means that in most cases, one party must document and “blame” the other party's behaviour as to the reason for divorce, unless they have been separated for 2 or 5 years, which for many couples is not applicable. This has often created unnecessary conflict between couples who have simply drifted apart or have decided they want for different things in life. It can create a hostile environment which in turn will negatively affect any children the couple have or make reaching a financial agreement more difficult.

The new bill will allow for long-awaited changes to be made by allowing married couples to make a joint application for a ‘no fault divorce’ based on the ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of the marriage. If they agree to this, they will carry equal parts in the divorce proceedings. These couples will simply have to provide a statement to the courts confirming the breakdown of the marriage. While it is a concern that this will lead to a rise in divorce applications, the main focus of this Act is to remove the blame element of the current divorce process as well as eliminating the option to contest a divorce thereby hopefully leading to more amicable separations.

Couples will still need to have been married for a year to apply and the divorce process will not be sped up, rather it will introduce a new time frame of 20 weeks between the initial petition and the “decree nisi” (first order in the divorce process) and then a further 6 weeks and 1 day from the “decree nisi” to the “decree absolute” (final order that ends your marriage).

The Act will also remove the old legal jargon names for these decrees and instead refer to them as ‘conditional order’ and ‘final order’ respectively. This new time frame will be implemented in the hopes of removing the concept of a ‘quickie divorce’. This ‘period of reflection’ is to allow enough time for reconciliation or for fair financial settlements to be reached without the need for the courts to get involved.