Divorce Reform: At Last!

Like most Family Law practitioners in the country, I was delighted to hear of the news from Justice Secretary David Gauke that the government is now planning to bring in ‘no fault’ divorces.

The impetus to this move was undoubtedly the Owens case of last year, when the Supreme Court ruled that Mrs Own would indeed have to wait the full 5 years before she was able to apply for a divorce. It has been nearly 50 years since there was any major reform to our divorce system. Over this time, society and attitudes have changed markedly, so we are well due for a reform.

What the government has announced to date is encouraging, with an emphasis on more speed and less confrontation and an end to what Mr Gauke refers to as ‘the blame game’. It was also good to see that there is also proposed a 6 month ‘time for reflection’ gap between the filing of the Petition and application for the Decree Absolute.

As and when the government announce the full details of the reforms, I will then comment further in my Blog. In the meantime it is important to stress that these proposals are not yet enshrined in law, they are simply proposals. The government say that the reforms will be introduced ‘as soon as possible and as and when Parliamentary time allows’. Let us just hope that Brexit leaves enough time for our MPs to get these urgent reforms through!

Hayley Veale-Head of Family Law at Thatcher + Hallam Solicitors LLP

 For more information on these proposals or advice on what the current law is, Hayley can be contacted on -01761 414646 or hveale@th-law.co.uk. Alternatively, advice can be obtained at our free Thursday evening Legal Surgery held every week 5pm to 6pm