Thousands of couples are rushing to divorce this week ahead of what is being heralded as the biggest change to UK family law in half a century.
But the change that will take effect on April 6 will not make it harder to separate. Instead, it will see the introduction of “no-fault” divorce.
The move will put an end to the blame game of divorce, meaning couples will no longer have to give a reason for separating permanently. And that means grounds for dissolving a marriage, like adultery, will be a thing of the past and divorce petitions will be granted immediately.
Read more: All the new laws coming into force in the UK in April – including car tax, wages and divorce
But before the new law takes effect, the current online divorce application service will have to shut down for a week to make way for the new changes.
This means couples will no longer be able to file for divorce until Wednesday April 6, when the updated online service will be relaunched, the government has confirmed. The new changes, under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, aim to reduce the potential for conflict between divorced couples.
But surprisingly, law firms have seen an increase in the number of couples filing for divorce before the no-fault policy took effect. Amanda Phillips-Wyld, managing partner at Lawyers at Stowe Family Law, said the number of people rushing to learn about the divorce, while staying within the time limit to cite the grounds for the divorce, has been “surprising,” according to the Manchester Evening News report.
Research by the firm found that 43% of Britons incorrectly believed that being able to prove that the other party was responsible for the marriage breakdown would have a favorable impact on their financial settlement and the custody of any children.
But Amanda said that was not the case. “This perhaps indicates a lack of understanding of what a no-fault divorce means. So we’re seeing people educate themselves about divorce when they can still blame their spouse assuming they’ll get more out of the divorce.
“But the reality is that taking blame in a divorce does very little. In reality, removing blame is what will help people focus on the important issues and has no impact on financial settlements or for families. children.
“The rise in divorce filings shows how entrenched the blame game is in our culture, and in many cases, apportioning blame is part of a person’s catharsis upon filing.”
Stowe Family Law attorneys believe the nation should “embrace” the new laws because they will be beneficial “not only from a practical standpoint” but also from a “mental health standpoint.” Amanda added: “The new laws are designed to help reduce the emotionally traumatic process of a divorce.”
Stowe Family Law research also found that 79% of people know nothing about changes to divorce law, while 17% of people about to divorce are not waiting for no-fault divorce to become law. against 11% who will wait.