Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill
The Bill makes important changes to the legal process for married couples to obtain a divorce, for civil partners to dissolve their civil partnership, or for obtaining a judicial separation.
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The Bill seeks to give effect to hugely important and long overdue reform that will have real benefits for individuals, parents and children and is a key piece of social domestic policy for the government. It will align the ethos underlying divorce law with the government’s approach elsewhere in family law, which is to encourage a forward-looking non-confrontational approach wherever possible – thereby reducing conflict and its damaging effect on children in particular.
The Bill:
- replaces the requirement to prove either a conduct or separation ‘fact’ with a requirement to file a statement of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (couples can opt to make this a joint statement)
- removes the possibility of contesting the decision to divorce as a statement will be conclusive evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably
- introduces a new minimum period of 20 weeks from the start of proceedings to conditional order stage