The Divorce, Dissolution, and Separation Bill – welcoming no-fault divorces in the UK
The UK is all set to enforce a Divorce, Dissolution, and Separation bill that will finally ensure that divorcing couples don’t have to blame one another for the breakdown of their marriage. This bill, meant to be enforced on 6th April 2022, will welcome no-fault divorces in the UK and reduce family conflicts between divorcing individuals.
This divorce and separation bill is inarguably the biggest shake-up in divorce laws in more than 50 years as it will directly target the archaic blame game, which has been part of English divorce law since 1660. The new bill will give way to no-fault divorces, which have been the norm in jurisdictions worldwide, such as the US, Australia, Canada, etc.
Let’s explore the divorce bill in more detail!
Currently, one of the partners has to make an accusation regarding the conduct of the other partner, citing unreasonable behaviour, desertion, adultery, etc. Otherwise, they will have to face years of legal separation (at least two or five years) before the court will grant them a divorce. The same is true for mutual divorces.
Out of every five marriage dissolution petitions from the past three years, almost three depend on conduct-based evidence and two on separation-based rulings. From 2016 to 2018, behavioural complaints accounted for 46.7% of all the petitions (47.1% when combined with adultery.)
The new bill, first introduced in June 2019, has now been brought up again following the general election. It aims to remove this blame game from the equation as it will allow either spouses or both to make a statement of their divorce. This reform that is set to take effect in April will prevent one of the divorcing parties from contesting the divorce in most cases when their partner wants to end the marriage. It will prevent domestic abusers from exercising control over their victims.
An overview of the bill
This reform will help divorcing couples separate amicably instead of exacerbating their conflict, which will also affect their child if they have any. It will help the family move on with their lives and enables the ex-partners to form a healthy co-parenting relationship.
According to academic research, the US saw a one-third decrease in domestic violence and a 10% decrease in the murder rate of women by their partners in states that followed the no-fault divorce after Ronald Regan introduced the country’s first no-contest divorce in 1969.
The Divorce, Dissolution, and Separation Bill will:
- Replace the blame-game with a statement of irretrievable breakdown
- Strip away the power of contesting the decision to end the marriage from either party
- Introduce a minimum period of 20 weeks between the start of the proceedings to the court’s confirmation of divorce
The government will also make parallel changes to the law governing the end of a civil partnership as it largely mirrors the legal process taken for the dissolution of marriage. Lastly, the bill will not apply to other areas of matrimonial law, such as the division of finances, as they are handled in separate court proceedings. With that said, this monumental bill is undoubtedly a welcome change in divorce laws that have been in existence for centuries now, and it will welcome the era of no-fault divorces in the UK!
Further reading:
Government website: Divorce ‘blame game’ to end
Resolution: Get ready for no-fault divorce
