Marriage separations are a difficult time and the last of your worries would be having to deal with further complicated divorce proceedings or further strains put on your family. Bond Adams Solicitors LLP have an award-winning family law team who can provide advise best suited for your divorce.
Currently, the current law in England and Wales for couples wanting to file for a divorce must either:
- Live apart for two years of consensually or
- Five years of non-consensually, or
one spouse must be held blameworthy for the marriage breaking down, this may include issues of
- Adultery,
- Desertion or
- Unreasonable behavioural.
Arguably, having only two grounds to enforce a divorce can be frustrating when the decision was a mutual agreement in the first place, yet you have not lived apart. In addition, this game of who should be held accountable can add tension and strain onto the existing issue, in particular for those who have children.
The current law on divorce does not aid with this issue, it appears to ignite further frustration by creating further problems between parties.
On the 17th of June 2020, the ‘Divorce, Dissolution and Separation’ Bill passed which had meant that a ‘No-fault divorce’ law was being enacted. What this means is that in the foreseeable future, the law on divorce will include another ground for filing a divorce, and this would be that no party was to blame for the marriage breaking down, which would be under the ‘no-fault divorce’ law.
This would also mean a spouse cannot contest the choice unless it is for coercion or fraud. Couples will also be able to jointly file for a divorce.
Like with any divorce an exact figure cannot be estimated, however with the new online divorce applications process which we here at Bond Adams Solicitors use, could reduce the admission costs. Therefore, there is a possibility that the fee for a no-fault divorce could be less than a normal divorce.
A few statistics to bear in mind in relation to the current law on divorces:
- Approximately 70% of couples believed that a fault-based divorce made proceedings more ‘bitter’.
- Coins21% felt that it made it more difficult to make agreements on child arrangements.
- 31% believed it was harder to agree on finances.
Divorce proceedings can be complicated and expensive and without the right legal expertise, it can be even more strenuous. Therefore, here at Bond Adams Solicitors in Leicester our Family Law department who have profound knowledge in relation to family matters, are here to help ease the divorce process.