Update on No Fault Divorce

Following on from our blog post of 24 June 2021, the introduction of this new law is eagerly awaited by both practitioners and individuals. This is due to come into force on 06 April 2022 and will introduce legislation to allow parties to get divorced without one party assigning blame or fault to the other party.

The law is proposed to include (but not) limited to the following:

• Introduce an option for a joint application for divorce;
• Ensure that language contained within the documentation is in ‘plain English’ as opposed to legal jargon;
• Remove the possibility of contesting/defending the divorce;
• Replace the current requirement of relying on one of ‘5 facts’ to prove the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and instead provide a statement setting out the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The government is currently working on implementation of the Act which was passed in June 2020 and there will of course be an adjustment period. It will be interesting to see what the criteria will be in respect of meeting the threshold of ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage’ and the criteria for whether an order for costs can be pursued in respect of any application for Divorce moving forward.