Divorce

“Irretrievable breakdown” – is the only acceptable ground for a divorce in the UK and you must have been married for a minimum of one year.

How do you prove the irretrievable breakdown of your marriage?

There are only 5 reasons that can be used to support an irretrievable breakdown of a marriage.

• Adultery:
  • You must be able to prove that your spouse has had a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex.
  • Unfortunately, you cannot cite adultery in a divorce petition if you continued to live as a couple for six months or more after discovering their infidelity.
  • At this time the law does not recognise sexual relations with someone of the same gender as adultery.
• Unreasonable behaviour:
  • The test for unreasonable behaviour is that you find it intolerable to live with your spouse because of their behaviour. E.g. financial controls, physical abuse, alcohol or drug addiction.
• Desertion: 
  • When your spouse has been absent for a continuous period of two years before starting divorce proceedings.
  • That there is no good reason, no agreement and that the deliberate intention is to bring the relationship to an end
• Two years of separation:
  • You can use this reason when you have lived separate lives for two years or more. Normally this will mean living at separate addresses. It is still possible to be 'separated' while living under the same roof, as long as you sleep in separate rooms and maintain separate lives in all other respects You can then seek a divorce if both of you agree.
• Five years of separation: 
  • Almost all the same rules as above apply if you are seeking a divorce for the reason of five years' separation. The only significant difference is that your spouse doesn't have to agree to a divorce for it to be granted by a judge.

The divorce process is generally administrative. This means that you will not need to attend Court and it is usually agreed by a Judge via paperwork.

The document that starts the process is called a Divorce Petition and the law requires one spouse to petition the other even if you both agree that there should be a divorce.

The length of time your divorce is likely to take can vary depending on:

• The current timescales at the Court.
• Whether each step for the divorce is taken promptly.
• That financial arrangements do not hold things up.

We can also advise:

• whether a judicial separation is more appropriate
• on separation agreements.

What is a No Fault Divorce?

What is the current divorce system?

The divorce system in England and Wales currently requires one spouse to start the process of filing for divorce. This means that either you or your spouse has to provide a reason for wanting a divorce. There are three reasons to choose from:

• Adultery,
• Unreasonable behaviour,
• Desertion.

A fault-based system requires evidence of guilt from one party. If neither party is able to do so then you must live separately for two years so that the marriage can be dissolved. If one partner contests the divorce then it will be a minimum of five years before you’ll be considered eligible for divorce.

Separation-based arrangements are effectively unavailable to those who cannot afford to run two households before resolving their financial arrangements.

How will no-fault divorce change that?

• The new law will mean that instead of having to attribute blame for the breakdown of the relationship, a couple can mutually cite ‘irretrievable breakdown’ as the sole grounds for wanting to divorce.
• This can be done in a joint statement or by an individual. Either spouse will be able to provide a statement saying it has broken down without having to provide evidence about bad behaviour.

Why does no-fault divorce matter?

• It should avoid further bad feeling between couples, which your family and your children have to deal with.
• Even if things have been relatively amicable, the process of having to apportion blame can turn things sour pretty quickly.
• Research from Relate shows that conflict between parents is the most damaging thing for children during divorce proceedings.
• It will also stop domestic abusers trapping a spouse in a marriage for five years, by contesting it.

Further information

From the Law Society gazette:

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/no-fault-divorce-to-start-in-autumn-2021/5104682.article