No Fault Divorce Bill To Be Debated In The House Of Commons

No fault divorce has quickly been put back on the Government’s agenda with the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill being debated by Parliament at its second reading today (8^th June 2020).

Hailed as the biggest shake up in divorce law for 50 years, it seeks to “end the blame game” and to reduce the impact that allegations of blame can have on a couple and, in particular, children.

Current divorce law

The current divorce law is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which only allows separating couples to divorce on one of five “facts”:

1. Adultery;
2. Unreasonable behaviour;
3. Two years separation with the consent of the other party;
4. Five years separation; and
5. Desertion.

No fault divorce bill

The new bill will replace these facts with a new requirement to provide a statement of irretrievable breakdown. An aggrieved spouse will no longer be able to contest the decision of their spouse to divorce and the Court will be able to make a conditional order after a 20 week “reflection” period has passed.

The bill could introduce the concept of a joint application being made by both spouses for a divorce along with a minimum time-frame of six months.

Long awaited changes to divorce law

A change in divorce law, now nearly 50 years old, has been long awaited by many family lawyers who consider the current laws to be outdated, simply increasing animosity and acrimony in already difficult circumstances.

This was brought into sharp focus in 2018 with the case of Owens v Owens. This case saw a wife refused a divorce even though the Court had found that her marriage had broken down. Mr Owens had defended the divorce proceedings.

The Judge found that Mrs Owens had failed to prove, within the meaning of the law, that her husband had behaved in such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with him. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, the highest Court in this land, who upheld the Central Family Court’s decision. Both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court said that it was for Parliament, and not Judges, to change the law.

Comment

Despite the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill representing a welcomed change for many family law professionals, there are concerns that removing the blame from divorce proceedings and simplifying the process will lead to a spike in divorce cases, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reports that divorce enquiries are on the up as a result of the strain that has been placed on relationships during lockdown.

However, it has been stressed that the focus of the proposed new law ending the “blame game” will prevent situations where the law exacerbates conflict and harm to an already fragile relationship, particularly when it comes to dealing with other issues that inevitably arise from the breakdown of a marriage, including arrangements for the children of the family and the matrimonial finances.

Whilst it is proposed that there should be a change to divorce law, the law in respect of financial provision on divorce will remain the same.