‘No fault’ divorce laws are expected to be introduced in less than a year
The rules mean warring spouses no longer have to live apart for years
COURTS are braced for a surge of unhappy married couples rushing to get divorced under new “no-fault” rules announced today.
Currently, husbands and wives must be living apart for up to five years before they can legally split unless they can prove why they are breaking up.
But under plans to end the damaging “blame game”, Justice Secretary David Gauke today confirms he is removing the need for a spouse to show their other half has been behaving badly or playing away from home.
He said: “While we will always uphold the institution of marriage, it cannot be right that our outdated law creates or increases conflict between divorcing couples.
“So I have listened to calls for reform and firmly believe now is the right time to end this unnecessary blame game for good.”
Documents published by the Ministry of Justice show the reforms to the 50-year-old divorce law will likely lead to a rush of new cases.
This is because it will end the system whereby a spouse must wait two years to show they are separated - or five if their husband or wife disputes the claim - if they want to divorce without
showing evidence of adultery or unreasonable behaviour.
Instead, they will just have to give a statement of “irretrievable breakdown”.
“It is also possible that there could be a temporary increase in the volume of matrimonial proceedings,” the MoJ said.
“The net impact of this could cause a temporary peak in work for HMCTS [the courts service], who would require additional administrative and judicial resource to maintain timeliness.”
The shake-up will – due to become law within a year - also remove the ability for one spouse to contest a divorce, over fears the system can be abused by spouses trying to control an unhappy partner.
Last year 68-year-old Tini Owens was told by the Supreme Court she must stay married until 2020 because her husband of 40 years, Hugh, refused to agree to split.
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