The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA) came into force on 6th April this year.
It represents the biggest reform of divorce laws in half a century and aims to reduce the impact that conflict and allegations can have on couples seeking to end their marriage or civil partnership especially where children may be involved.
This new act provides that only a statement or irretrievable breakdown will be needed without further evidence thereby removing the need for allegations, accusations, and animosity as was the case under the old divorce law.
It also enables couples if they wish, to jointly apply for a divorce, dissolution, or separation, further providing an environment in which couples can work together.
The act also removes the ability to defend a divorce petition in most circumstances meaning that where a party to proceedings may have previously defended a petition as a means of exercising control over the other party, an application will now only be able to be defended on the grounds of jurisdiction, validity of the marriage or civil partnership, fraud or procedural compliance.
The DDSA introduces a new minimum period of 20 weeks for divorce and dissolution proceedings. This will commence from the point the court issue the application.
After the 20-week period, a Conditional Order (formerly Decree Nisi) will be granted by the courts. There will then be a further 6-week period before the Final Order (formerly Decree Absolute) is granted. For most, this means that a divorce will take a minimum of 26 weeks which is longer than it would have taken under the old legislation.
Because the new act does not provide for any fault-based divorce, there is no provision for one party to ask the court to order the other party to pay some or all their legal costs. This means that a person wanting to start a divorce will need to agree in advance with their spouse if they want him or her to contribute towards their legal costs.
The DDSA also incorporates a plain English approach to the terminology during a divorce. This means that parties, especially those who are unrepresented, will be able to better understand the process.
The Future of Divorce
It is hoped that this new legislation will minimise the hostility that was so often felt between parties going through a separation which is particularly important where children are involved. Removing the need to apportion blame for the breakdown of the marriage will, it is hoped, lead the parties to be able to work together to resolve issues such as arrangements for the children and the distribution of the marital assets and finances.
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