What are the new laws that are coming in for divorce in the UK?

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50 year old divorce laws will be over-hauled under government plans designed to end “blame game” divorces faced by couples seeking to end their marriage.

The move follows a public consultation where family justice professionals and those with direct experience of divorce voiced their views for reform.

Paul Cooper

Ending the “blame game”

Under new laws, divorcing couples will not longer have to blame each other for the breakdown of their marriage in Court.

Currently in England and Wales, unless someone can prove there was adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion, the only way to obtain a divorce without their spouses agreement is to live apart for 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice said this forces spouses wanting a divorce to submit evidence of their partners wrong doing or endure years of separation and they have to do this even when the decision to split is mutual.

New process

Spouses will be able to submit a “Statement of Irretrievable breakdown” to apply for divorce under the new laws.

Rather than having to provide evidence relating to behaviour or separation (as is the current policy), divorcing spouses will be required to make a statement that the marriage has broken down.

There will also be the option for a joint application for divorce. Irretrievable breakdown of a marriage will however remain as the sole ground for divorce.

No more contested divorces

While accounting for under 2% of the approximate 120,000 divorces triggered each year, the ability of Husband or Wife to contest proceedings is being scrapped.

The Ministry of Justice said the practice is known to be misused by abusers to continue coersive and controlling behaviour.

Breathing space and an opportunity to turn back

A minimum time frame of 6 months from Petition to divorce being finalised will be introduced under the proposals.

The current 2 stage legal process, currently known as Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute will stay in stay in place.

However, it will take a minimum of 20 weeks to go from Petition stage to Decree Nisi and 6 weeks (as it is now) from Decree Nisi to Decree Absolute.

What was wrong with the existing laws?

Described as “outdated” by campaigners advocating reform, Britain’s existing divorce laws had been shown to exasperate conflict between divorcing couples.

The foremost concern was that the potential damage caused to children by undermining the relationships the parents may have after the divorce.

What effect might the changes have on marriage?

The government has stated that it “will always uphold the institution of marriage” and said the new law should not create or increase conflict between divorcing couples.

When will these be in place?

The Ministry of Justice has said the new legislation is expected to be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.

At the moment parliamentary time is quite severely restricted by the Brexit negotiations so there is no date at the moment.

In what situations will this be benefit to couples looking to divorce?

The outdated fault based divorce system led parting couples to apportion blame, often resulting in increased animosity and making it harder for ex partners to develop positive relationships as co-parents.

Whilst divorce is not a decision that people tend to take likely, extension of the minimum time frame will allow more time to reflect, give parties another go (if appropriate) and access support such as relationship counselling or Mediation.

It is hoped the exasperating tensions between couples will be reduced which will not only assist the couples but will also have a direct impact upon their children.

The government’s decision to introduce a no fault divorce will help to cut some of the conflict from what can a highly stressful experience.

For separating parents, it can be much more difficult to focus on the needs of their children when they have to prove a fault based divorce against their former partner.

Introducing a no fault divorce will change the way the couples obtain a divorce – for the better.

Is there any potential draw back to the new laws?

It will take longer to divorce which in turn may have an impact upon the cost.

Online divorces are being encouraged which some people have difficulties in filing.

Some Advocates say the proposed legislation will not cover other arrears of matrimonial law such as financial provision which it should.

Financial provision on divorce is handled in separate proceedings and the Court has wide discretion to provide future financial needs.There are no plans to change this approach at the moment.


A column from Paul Cooper, Senior Partner and Head of the Family Department at Ringrose Law