ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Carruthers, Oliver Heeks and Sian Brooks, Hughes Fowler Carruthers
Hughes Fowler Carruthers Academy Court 94 Chancery Lane London WC2A 1DT UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7421 8383 Email: a.carruthers@hfclaw.com Web: www.hfclaw.com
1. Divorce 1.1 Grounds, Timeline, Service and Process Grounds for Divorce The grounds for divorce in England and Wales have recently been changed and are contained in Section 1 of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (the “DDSA 2020”), which replaced Section 1(3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (the “MCA 1973”). Under the new law, there is now one ground for divorce, which is that the marriage has irretriev - ably broken down. Further, a statement that a marriage has irretrievably broken down is treated as conclusive evidence of that fact. This is in contrast to the law under the MCA 1973, where - by parties were required to give evidence of one or more of five “fault-based” facts to establish the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Further, under the DDSA 2020, it is possible for applications to be made on a joint basis – mean - ing there can be an “Applicant 1” and an “Appli - cant 2”. Under the old law, this was not possible.
The law for civil partners is contained in Sec - tion 44(4) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 as amended by Section 3(5) of the DDSA 2020. It also holds that a statement that a civil partner - ship has irretrievably broken down is conclusive evidence of that fact. Process and Timeline for Divorce Broadly speaking, there are three stages to obtaining a divorce, and the process takes a minimum of 26 weeks. There is no separation requirement. • Stage 1 – divorce application is issued. Twenty weeks after the divorce application is issued, the applicant(s) can apply for a condi - tional order. • Stage 2 – the conditional order is pro - nounced. The applicant(s) may apply for a final order 43 days after the conditional order is pronounced. If the applicant does not apply for a final order, the respondent can do so after a further three months from the day on which the applicant could first have applied. • Stage 3 – the final order is pronounced. At this stage, the marriage is dissolved.
116 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook