Divorce, Dissolution and Separation

No Fault Divorce

After being announced in 2019, no fault divorce came into effect in England and Wales on 6th April 2022.

No fault divorce means that individuals seeking to end their marriage or civil partnership no longer need to blame each other for the breakdown of their relationship.
Under the previous law, separating couples had to choose one of the below 5 reasons to divorce:

• 2 years separation
• 5 years separation
• Adultery
• Desertion
• Unreasonable behaviour

With the new no fault divorce law, we leave behind the fault-based system of blaming one party for the breakdown of the relationship, and now couples no longer have to rely on one of the 5 reasons mentioned above to get divorced. The new law puts an end to the blame game and allows parties to take a more constructive approach to separation.

Another key change to the legislation is that it is no longer possible to object to an application for a marriage or civil partnership to be brought to an end.