Update: No Fault Divorce To Come to Fruition April 2022
UPDATE: Today marks the day that No Fault Divorces can be implemented, a welcome change for couples looking to end their marriage amicably. Enabling divorces to be processed within as little as a 26 week timescale.
For those looking at a no fault divorce, contact our team today who can guide you through the process and inform you of the options available.
On 6 April 2022 the biggest reform of divorce law in 50 years will be introduced and is aimed to reduce conflict between couples legally ending a marriage or civil partnership.
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020 and will come into force on 6 April 2022. This will introduce the much anticipated “no fault divorce”.
This will mean that there will be no requirement to provide an explanation as to why a divorce is required, just a statement to say the marriage has irretrievably broken down.There will no longer be the opportunity for the other party to defend the divorce and neither party will be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage. The introduction of no fault divorce is expected to significantly reduce conflict within the legal process of divorce, dissolution and separation, which can be emotionally damaging for both parties and children.
The no fault divorce legislation also introduces a number of other changes. This includes the option of making a joint application, as well as retaining the current ability of one party to initiate the legal process. This is expected to greatly reduce the conflict between parties in certain circumstances as they will be able to apply for the divorce together rather than be pitted one against the other.
The legislation looks to use more simple terminology to avoid any confusion. For example,‘decree nisi’ is to be changed to conditional order, and ‘decree absolute’ will be named final order.
Many of the procedural rules are yet to be finalised, however, there will be a timescale of a minimum period of 26 weeks from the start of proceedings until a Final Order ending the marriage.
At GA Solicitors we are very excited to see this change implemented. We believe that no fault divorce will be a great help to many of our clients. Quite simply, anything that can reduce the opportunity for conflict and animosity has to be a good thing for everyone.
If you would like to know more about no fault divorce or have any questions, please contact GA’s experienced family law solicitors on 01752 203500. You can also email directly via rachel.eyre@GAsolicitors.com
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