No Fault Divorce

It is no secret that January can be a busy month in Family law with statistically higher divorce applications. Whether 2022 will see that being the case remains to be seen but what can be seen, is a new way of proceeding.

From 6^th April 2022 the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 takes effect. This means that couples in a marriage or civil partnership who wish to bring it to an end can do so without having to wait two years, if they do not wish to blame the other. This No Fault divorce has been in the legal background for a couple of years with key family law group, Resolution (www.resolution.org.uk)   lobbying the government for this to come to the fore for many years before.

There has been resistance to introducing this legislation as there was concern that it would be too ‘easy’ to end marriages or civil partnerships and that it would increase the UK divorce rate further.

However, many people find their marriages and civil partnerships come to an end as they are no longer in love or are in different places as people than they once were. It is no one’s fault and the law now recognises that sometimes, there is no blame. Trying to find blame when there is not or waiting two years to start divorce proceedings can make an already difficult time more difficult. Statistically, there are more ‘blame’ based divorces than separation but this landscape may now change.

There has been resistance to introducing this legislation as there was concern that it would be too ‘easy’ to end marriages or civil partnerships and that it would increase the UK divorce rate further.

What Changes?

The key difference is to the previous grounds, which relied on behaviour or having to wait two or five years to convince the court there was grounds to terminate the marriage or civil partnership.

A joint application can now be made which is completely different to the previous position. The fact that a joint application can be made is a progressive step to post divorce harmony. Also the Latin phrases used in the divorce process have been altered to reflect those already referenced in Civil Partnership Disillusionments. The Decree Nisi is no more, it is now a Conditional Order. The Decree Absolute has become a Final Order.

The Future

Many couples may now wait until April to process their divorce applications and avoid the blame game in the meantime. Overall, the division of finances and arrangements for children can only be assisted by the divorce starting without blame and without the sting of a behaviour petition being sent from one to the other.

The grounds for divorce have no impact on the financial arrangements on divorce but a less hostile divorce process can lead to a less hostile future. This is particularly important in civil partnerships or marriages with children. The Final Order is the legal end of the marriage but for many there is a need to maintain a level of relationship for children or when resolving finances. There is finally a recognition that the Final Order is only one part of the picture when a marriage or civil partnership ends.

Navigating The New Landscape

We at legaltips can assist when considering the grounds that you wish to end your marriage or civil partnership on and when looking at the financial and possible child arrangements, following on from the end of the relationship. The new grounds will take effect from April 2022 and for some, waiting may not be an option. In situations where there is no fault, this change is a welcome way of making the whole process less hostile.