Coming Soon…A Time To End The Blame Game

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The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 was given Royal Assent and became an Act of Parliament on 25 June 2020. 

At a time when many of us were distracted by other more pressing concerns, the government approved the biggest shake-up of divorce laws in almost 50 years. 

As divorce lawyers we believe that when a marriage is over, the divorce process should be made as painless as possible to enable separating spouses to focus on the important issues of how they are going to care for their children and/or manage their future finances.  The new Act means that finally couples wishing to divorce will no longer have to apportion blame against each other, with all the conflict, damage and distress that entails.

The new law is not expected to come into force until Autumn 2021 but when it finally does come in, (around the same time and having faced a similar number of postponements as the latest instalment of a well-known spy franchise), what will it mean for divorcing couples?

THE APPLICATION

  • Either or both parties to a marriage will be able to apply to the court for a “Divorce Order”, which dissolves the marriage on the ground that it has broken down irretrievably.
  • The application must be accompanied by a statement by one or both parties that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
  • The court dealing with the application must take that statement as conclusive evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and make a Divorce Order.

THE DIVORCE ORDER

  • A Divorce Order is, initially, a conditional order.
  • After the conditional order has been made, the party (if one applied) or parties (if both applied) must wait a period of 6 weeks before applying for the conditional order to be made final.
  • In any event, there is a mandatory 20 week (approximately 6 month) period between the start of the proceedings and the application for the final order.

POINTS TO NOTE

  • You will no longer need to claim one of ‘five facts’ to prove the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage.
  • Divorcing couples will no longer have to navigate confusing Latin and legal terminology – there will be no more Petitions, Decree Nisis or Decree Absolutes.
  • There will still be a bar against applying for divorce within the first year of a marriage.
  • The 20 week/6 month minimum period between the start of proceedings to application for final order is to allow couples to reflect, turn back, or try to agree important arrangements for the future such as how best to look after their children.
  • It will no longer be possible to contest the decision to divorce, as a statement will be conclusive evidence that a marriage has broken down irretrievably.
  • The new legislation has, however, retained provisions under Sections 9, 10 and 10A Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 enabling a party to object to a conditional Divorce Order being made final in certain limited circumstances:
    • To consider one party’s financial position after divorce. This is not to contest the proceedings but a right to postpone the conditional Divorce Order becoming final in appropriate circumstances, for example where one party may lose pension rights on divorce.  These provisions have previously been narrowly interpreted by the courts and it is likely those cases will continue to apply under the new law.
    • In certain cases of religious marriage, to ensure both parties also take the necessary steps to dissolve their religious marriage.
  • A similar process to the new divorce procedure applies to the dissolution of a Civil Partnership, and the more rarely used Judicial Separation procedure.
  • The new procedure will not apply to proceedings for divorce that have started before the commencement date.

A key point to highlight, is that divorce proceedings (under the current law and under the new law when it comes into force) do not resolve how your finances will be divided. It is crucial that you consider your financial claims in conjunction with the divorce proceedings. There are risks to finalising your divorce before you have resolved your finances.

Please remember, the new law is not yet in force.  If you have any questions about the current divorce process, the new procedure, resolving financial claims or any other aspect of family law, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We would be happy to help in any way we can.

 

 

Disclaimer

Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice.  The contents of this article are for general information purposes only.  Specialist legal advice should be taken in relation to specific circumstances.

No warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy and we do not accept any liability for error or omission.  We do not accept any responsibility for the information contained in this article and shall not be liable for any action or decision taken based on this information.

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