The latest ‘Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill’ is said to be the biggest change in divorce law for the last 50 years. Under current legislation to divorce with consent, you must provide evidence of a two year separation. In order to divorce without consent, you must prove separation of five years. To divorce before this time period, you must establish that your spouse is guilty of adultery, unreasonable behavior or desertion.
In the case of Owens v Owens, which was the driving force behind the change in legislation, a wife could not divorce her husband on the grounds that she was deeply unhappy. In order to establish the irretrievable breakdown of marriage and to be granted a divorce, she had to rely on the ground of five years separation. This meant that Mrs Owens was required to stay unhappily married to her spouse until the period of five years separation was complete.
The new Bill has been in progress for two years, and it is almost ready to be implemented. The Government have recently proposed that it will come into force in Autumn 2021. In June 2020, the Bill passed its third reading and concluded its time in the House of Commons. It was returned to the House of Lords, where amendments were considered before it received its Royal assent on 25th June 2020.
Under the new legislation, irretrievable breakdown of a marriage will still remain the main ground and fundamental principle for divorce, however, the Bill will change what is meant by irretrievable breakdown to consider other factors and alter how the ground of irretrievable breakdown is established.
The Bill is set to remove the requirement for evidence of the breakdown. Instead, parties will be required to make a statement swearing that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and this will be used as the conclusive evidence the Court require to grant the divorce.
The new legislation will allow couples to jointly apply for a divorce, or for one spouse to apply without needing to point out their partners wrongdoing, if any.
The final change to the legislation is in regard to the timescales in which a divorce can be granted. Currently, a divorce can be finalised in a minimum of 6 months, whereas the new law extends the minimum period in which a divorce can be finalised to 9 months. This new timeline has been introduced to provide parties with additional time to reflect on their marriage to ensure a divorce is the option they wish to take.
The Law Society have stated that this movement in legislation will “bring divorce law into the 21st century” and that it will hopefully reduce the emotional impact which divorce can often have on both the spouses and their families.
If you require legal advice, whether it relates to an impending or current divorce, children and parenting matters, or living arrangements, our Family Law Team can help you. Our Team of Family Lawyers are experts in helping Clients throughout the East Midlands and rural Lincolnshire to include Skegness, Boston, Louth, Lincoln and Grimsby. To get in touch call Hodgkinsons Solicitors Skegness on 01754 897150 or submit a contact form to request a call back.