The Arrival Of The No Fault Divorce

3 years ago

No fault divorce is due to come into effect in England and Wales in April 2022. But what does this mean and how will it work?

The Government confirmed in April 2019 that divorce law in England and Wales would be changing for the first time in 50 years. With the introduction of no fault divorce it means couples will be able to divorce quickly without one person needing to lay blame on the other. As it stands, a couple wishing to divorce without waiting need to use `unreasonable behaviour‘ as grounds which means – if things remain amicable – at least on paper one person needs to be at fault.

This will also apply to civil partnership dissolution.

The most important part of no fault divorce is the removal of fault or blame from the divorce process. It will mean that under the new laws, couples will be able to get divorced solely on the basis that the marriage has broken down and they will no longer need to cite one of the 5 reasons for divorce.

As it currently stands it is possible to divorce without `pointing the finger’ but they involve demonstrating desertion or adultery or waiting either 2 or 5 years depending on circurmstances.

It also means that couples will be able to apply for divorce jointly.

Until now, one spouse issues divorce proceedings against the other. The person that starts the divorce is called the petitioner and the other person is called the respondent but under the no fault divorce system, both people will be able to make apply jointly.

There will however now be a minimum of 20 weeks between application and divorce becoming final. This ‘period of reflection’ has been introduced to counter concerns that the changes will make divorce a quicker and easier option making it more appealing than trying to save their marriage.

The new no fault divorce process will still have the two stages of Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute, but the names of these will change. The Decree Nisi will become a conditional order of divorce and the decree absolute will become the final order of divorce.

Couples can also make a separation agreement, which is a written agreement outlining the terms of the separation. Whilst a separation agreement will not end the marriage, it can be used to enable both people to agree on the terms of the separation.

With the current system of fault-based divorce, one person submits a divorce petition, citing their spouse’s behavior as the reason for the divorce. The spouse can contest this but to be granted a divorce the Court needs to be convinced that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, to a point where it can’t be saved.

Unless a couple lives separately for at least 2 years a divorce  can only happen if one person blames the other for this irretrievable breakdown of their marriage and it must fall into the category of either unreasonable behavior or adultery.