Wednesday 6th April sees a momentous change in divorce law in this jurisdiction. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 comes into force and, where marriages have sadly broken down, it will no longer be necessary for one spouse to point the finger of blame at the other in order to get a divorce.
The sole ground for divorce will be the irretrievable break down of the marriage and the divorce applicant will just need to make a statement to that effect. It will no longer be possible to defend a decision to divorce and, even more ground breaking, husbands and wives will be able to make a joint application for divorce.
This represents the biggest reform of divorce laws in half a century and aims to reduce the impact that conflict and allegations of blame can have on families and, in particular, on any children. The Government have long taken the approach that when dealing with families, everything possible should be done to avoid conflict between the parties and reduce the damaging effect of that contact on children in particular. As a firm, we uphold the code of conduct set out by Resolution, the organization of Family Lawyers, which was set up specifically to try and minimise conflict in such situations.
For further information contact our experienced Family Team who are happy to help you through the procedure.
