No fault divorce, at last

The very long-awaited Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 is to come into force on the 6^th April next year.

This is a lot later than originally hoped and it would seem that the delay has been due to the IT changes necessary on the Government online divorce platform.  But the 6^th April 2022 is now fixed on the parliamentary record.  So those of you who have been holding off starting divorce proceedings on the traditional grounds, can now work towards this new timetable.

The new law will allow married couples to divorce without attributing blame as a reason to end the marriage.  The current law only provides for “blameless” divorce if you have been separated for two years, or five years.  Otherwise, the majority of divorces where the spouses agree they can’t wait for two years, require allegations of unreasonable behaviour to be raised by one against the other, or agreeing that adultery has taken place.  Neither ground is exactly the best start to ending a marriage in a civil and amicable manner.

The new law will permit spouses to divorce after being apart for a limited period of time.  The exact Rules will be finalised over the coming months and your local family law specialist will be able to provide more details closer to the date.

So watch this space…..

Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 Divorce