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Prior to a recent change, proof of adultery, desertion, or a five year separation was needed to carry through a divorce in the UK. Now, the revised ‘no-fault’ law means blame no longer has to be apportioned and that marriages can end amicably.
When for better or worse goes out the window, things can actually get a whole lot worse.
Where, prior to getting married, ending a relationship could be achieved with a carefully constructed WhatsApp message or an uncomfortable Starbucks date, splitting post matrimony is far more complicated as feuds enter the legal realm.
Within the UK, where 42% of marriages end in divorce, legislative hoops have prevented couples from splitting acrimoniously since the 1970s. This is because, only until recently, they had to apportion blame to one person for the breakdown of the relationship, which often meant involving solicitors and souring relations. Sounds intense, right?
The only conditions that negated a long and drawn-out process like this were proof of adultery, desertion by one half of the couple, or a split which had occurred five years before proceedings. Without any of these, unbinding a marriage would usually involve a combative process of recriminations.
As we sit here today, however, the blame game has effectively been removed from divorce law in the UK. The ‘no-fault’ system in England and Wales will, as of this week, allow people to file for divorce forms without having to cite provocative reasons that will be picked over by the courts.
The bill was officially passed in June 2020, but the need for a complete overhaul to the online application system delayed its implementation until this point. I had a quick peruse myself, and couples can now select ‘irretrievable breakdown’ as an option without getting into the nitty gritty details.
