‘No-Fault Divorce’ Legislation
The long-awaited ‘no-fault divorce’ came into place on the 6th April 2022 and is the first major change in divorce law within the past 50 years.
This change has brought a set of changes to divorce and dissolution procedures:
The new legislation still relies on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage but removes the element of blame. Under the old legislation, the Applicant needed to establish one of five facts, these being: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, separation for 2 years with consent, separation for 5 years or desertion. The most commonly used of which being ‘unreasonable behaviour’. The new legislation will simply require the Applicant(s) to provide a statement confirming that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
A divorce or dissolution can no longer be contested and therefore removes the requirement of providing evidence to the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage where an application is contested. While most divorces proceeded uncontested, the new legislation provides security to the Applicant that they will not need to provide evidence as to the breakdown of the marriage, this will be especially welcomed by domestic violence victims where their abuser may threaten to defend the divorce in an attempt at coercing them.
Couples will now be able to make a joint application for divorce or dissolution to the Court. In this case, the parties will both need to provide a statement confirming the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
Removal of the old legal jargon: the divorce ‘petition’ now being referred to as ‘Application’ and the ‘Petitioner’ as ‘Applicant’. The ‘Decree Nisi’ is now referred to as ‘conditional order’ and ‘Decree Absolute’ as ‘final order’.
A new minimum timeframe of 26 weeks (6 months), consisting of a new ’20-week’ timescale requirement between the initial application and the ‘Conditional Order’ as opposed to the approximate wait of 8 weeks under the old legislation. The 6- week requirement between the ‘conditional order’ and ‘final order’ will remain the same. This new timeframe has been implemented to ensure there is a ‘period of reflection’ allowing the parties to reflect on their decision to separate and in the hopes that a fair financial settlement can be reached without the need for court proceedings.
It is hoped that this new change in legislation will reduce hostility between parties when trying to reach an agreement on finances or children matters by ending the “blame game” and has been highly welcomed by many legal practitioners across the country, including Baroness Hale (former President of the Supreme Court).
If you require additional information or legal assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Family Law Team at MJP Law on 01202 842929 or email info@mjplaw.co.uk
