The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 will come into force on 6 April 2022, which means ‘no-fault divorce’ will become a reality from that date.
After a long wait, couples who have not been married for at least two years and who wish to divorce or dissolve a civil partnership without one of them placing the blame on the other will be able to do so. This means that couples will not have to claim adultery or unreasonable behaviour if they want to divorce or dissolve a civil partnership, but new rules mean that there must be:
- a twenty-week period between the date of petition (this is the date of the application to the court) and the court sending out the decree nisi
- a six-week period between the decree nisi being issued and the decree absolute being applied for
It was hoped that ‘no-fault divorce’ would become a reality in autumn this year, but the Ministry of Justice has declared that this was an ambitious timetable. The ministry is now working closely with the Family Procedure Rule Committee and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to identify the changes needed to the rules and practice directions, devise new procedures, amend the necessary court forms and work on the digital divorce service.
Juliette Darlymple, mediator and managing director at Family Matters says:
“Despite the slight delay, the change is very welcome and will mean that the divorce process will no longer need to be based on fault and criticism. Moving away from the need to blame each other means that couples can take up mediation in a system that no longer has to be accusatory and destructive.”
For further information about ‘no-fault divorce’, read our previous article. You can find out how family mediation can help you, or about online mediation on our web pages.
