Family Law

The recent announcement of the Government’s intention to change the legal position surrounding divorce had the sniff of ‘rehashed news’ around it, especially to those of us involved in the divorce industry.

The Centre for Social Justice was amongst the dissenting voices, accusing ministers of “focusing political attention on an institution that is apparently no longer particularly relevant.” Some of the reservations expressed by the CSJ remain valid, but the true relevance of the planned changes is that, once implemented, couples who have decided to separate will be able to make their fresh start without unnecessary complications.

The current legal need to prove a spouse’s ‘unreasonable behaviour’ fuels bad feeling. Our experience is that couples who, for whatever reason, have decided to separate just want to get on with it and make a fresh start. Yet current laws where someone has to tick a box to show ‘fault’ mean cases that should be relatively simple instead escalate to full-blown courtroom battles, which help nobody - least of all the children involved. For each and every adult involved, the stress, time and expense involved is staggering, and this vital change should help many more parents settle their divorce or separation in a more mature and adult fashion than the current system allows.

The long-running discussions about the process underpinning the UK’s divorce from the EU must not be allowed to delay these new laws. My current fear is the overdue legislation will become still more overdue as a result of the parliamentary timetable continuing to be log-jammed.

Brexit delays cannot be allowed to stop tens of thousands of couples who want to divorce being able to get on with it relatively painlessly, now that ministers have set out plans to change the law. The move can also signal a start of reducing the current estimated £50 billion cost to the public purse of poorly managed relationship breakdown. Let us hope they get on with it, and fast.