No-Fault Divorce Law Comes Into Effect in April 2022

Why did the government reform the divorce law in England and Wales?

For decades, the current divorce law has been heavily criticised by legal professionals and those who have gone through the process for being adversarial and in need of urgent reform. One of the most well-known cases that highlighted the ineffectiveness of the current law was that of Owens v Owens (2018). Tina Owens had been married for 40 years to Hugh Owens and alleged that her marriage had broken down irretrievably and that Mr Owens acted in such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to continue living with him. Mr Owens objected to the petition on the basis that he believed his behaviour had not been unreasonable. Mrs Owens was refused a divorce by the Supreme Court.

Prior to the drafting of the new DDSA 2020, the government published a consultation on reforms to divorce law. Respondents to the consultation included those specialising in family justice and with direct experience of divorce. It was acknowledged that the law in this area is over 50 years old and needlessly requires couples to lay blame, damaging prospects of reconciliation and the relationship of children to their parents.

In 2019, Justice Secretary David Gauke stated, “Hostility and conflict between parents leave their mark on children and can damage their life chances. While we will always uphold the institution of marriage, it cannot be right that our outdated law creates or increases conflict between divorcing couples. So I have listened to calls for reform and firmly believe now is the right time to end this unnecessary blame game for good”.

What is contained in the new Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (DDSA) 2020?

The DDSA brings the first radical changes in divorce law since 1973. It changes both the legal criteria and the procedure of divorce and dissolution, in addition to judicial separation. The first point to note is that “irretrievable breakdown” remains the only ground for divorce. The requirement to provide evidence for the reason (i.e. adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two years’ separation with consent, or five years’ separation without consent) for legal separation is no longer needed, however. Instead, parties to the divorce will just need to provide a simple statement confirming that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

The other key points to be aware of are as follows:

• Neither party can contest the divorce or dissolution (except on very limited grounds)
• A joint application for divorce or dissolution can be filed where the decision to separate is mutual
• There will be a minimum period of 20 weeks between the start of proceedings and application for conditional order or decree nisi. The idea of this is to allow divorcing couples to reflect on the decision they have made. In some cases, this may lead couples to reconsider their decision. If couples decide to proceed with the divorce, this will give both parties time to plan for their future and their children.

Is the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (DDSA) 2020 on track for April 2022?

According to the minutes of a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) meeting held in November 2021, the DDSA is on track to come into force on 6^th April 2022; “MoJ Policy informed that the delivery date for the DDSA implementation project has been confirmed for 6th April 2022 and MoJ is on track to meet that date)”.

The new law has been considerably delayed after its first reading in January 2020 and gaining Royal Assent on 25^th June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several changes were required to the Family Procedure Rules, the online divorce portal, and to court forms used for divorce before the DDSA was able to go live.

At present, the MoJ’s ‘digital team’ is readying the new online platform for no-fault digital divorce applications. Full guidance on the new process and online system will be released prior to the full go live on 6^th April 2022.

What will happen when the online system changes on 6^th April 2022?

If you are currently in the process of divorcing but have yet to formally apply, you may wish to wait until 6^th April 2022 to apply through the new system. If you are planning to divorce under the current system and don’t want to wait, you will need to submit your application by 4pm on 31^st March 2022. Between 31^st March and up to 6^th April 2022, you will not be able to use the online system for divorce applications. From 6^th April 2022, the new paper and digital services for no-fault divorce will be ready for use.



Final words

The changes to divorce law in England and Wales are long overdue and will do away with the adversarial nature of legal separation. We expect and hope that this will reduce the level of disputes arising from separation and the harm caused to children who are often caught in the cross-fire of parents who are forced to apportion blame.

For a free consultation regarding the new no-fault divorce law, please call our understanding and caring family law team on 0208 300 6666.