No Fault Divorce – A Step Closer!

After many years of campaigning the Bill to introduce a no fault divorce has now received backing from MPs and brings the much awaited change to the law a step closer.

At the moment, unless you have been separated for 5 years, a divorce can only be achieved if someone is at fault or both parties agree to divorce after 2 years of separation. Because the current system requires someone to be at fault, this can cause a lot of unnecessary anguish and dispute between couples who otherwise may agree that their marriage is at an end.

A divorce is often preferable so that financial issues can be finalised for good. However, many couples find the prospect of a fault-based system unfair and unnecessarily distressing. This can have the impact of causing further upset when dealing with other issues like money and child arrangements.

The proposals are now that couple will be able to divorce sooner after separating and will not have to cite any fault on the other party. The hope is that this will make the divorce process much less combative and encourage couples to focus on how they can agree other matters.

In the meantime, it's still possible to deal with divorce and separation in a constructive and less acrimonious way. An experienced Resolution member Solicitor and/or Family Mediation can help to pave the way to a more amicable experience for all concerned.