What is No Fault Divorce?

The UK divorce law changed in April 2022 to allow no-fault divorce, removing the need to blame one spouse and making the process less adversarial.

Divorce law underwent a major change on 6th April 2022, with the introduction of no-fault divorces under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act, the first major change to the system in 50 years. This was announced in September 2019 by the Justice Secretary and has been widely welcomed. This new law will allow couples to follow a more conciliatory and reflective approach, which in turn will reduce conflict and hopefully make the process more amicable for the parties involved, as well as any children.

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Before No Fault divorce

Under the previous law, if a couple wished to divorce then they had to prove that their relationship had irretrievably broken down. In order to do this, they needed to rely on one of the following five “facts”:

• Adultery (and this has to be admitted by the party that has committed it)
• Unreasonable behaviour
• Separation for two years with consent
• Separation for five years without consent
• Desertion for two years

Unless the parties were willing to wait for the separation route to apply, there was a need to blame one of the parties for the reason that the marriage has failed. Where one party disagreed with the divorce application, they could contest it through the courts and even prevent it completely in certain situations. 

Why the law needed to change

The fact that one party needed to be “blamed” for the breakdown of the marriage was widely criticised as being both outdated and making the process more adversarial, which made resolution of contentious issues more difficult. It was seen to aggravate a situation that is already likely to be fraught, and by removing the “blame game”, it was suggested that there would be less conflict between the parties, meaning that factors such as finances, property and care for the children could be the focal point. 

However, the introduction of no-fault divorce has not been without controversy. There is concern that the institution of marriage is losing its value in society, as divorce is now possible without providing specific reasons or proof, which some perceive as making it "too easy." Nonetheless, fault-based divorce emerged during a period when social norms were vastly different and the process of assigning blame is not suitable in helping divorcing couples work collaboratively to address their issues, for example on child-related and financial matters.

The new no fault divorce PROCESS

There are various factors that are different to divorce under the fault-based system pre-2022.

when can you get divorced?

You may be wondering how long do you have to be married before you can get a divorce and has this changed under the new system. This has not changed and you still have to have been married for one year before you are able to start divorce proceedings.

How to start divorce proceedings

Under the new law, there is no need to apportion blame and instead a statement has to be provided that the relationship has irretrievably broken down. It is no longer necessary to prove one of the five facts for the divorce to be allowed. Parties will also be allowed to make a joint application if they agree, paving the way for an amicable separation, although sole applications are also possible. 

Can the other party contest the divorce?

It is no longer be possible to contest the divorce, dissolution or separation. 

What other aspects have been changed?

The question of ‘how quickly can you get divorced?’ is also a common one. The process following the initial application has been amended in that the decree nisi is now the conditional order and the decree absolute is now the final order. There will be a 20-week timeframe between the start of the order before the decree nisi is granted, however, the six weeks between the conditional order and the final order remains the same. This allows the parties six months to consider whether they really want the divorce to go ahead before it is finalised. This period can also be used to resolve issues relating to the couple’s finances and children.