Grounds for divorce

Grounds for divorce

Grounds for divorce

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 reforms the divorce process to remove the concept of fault.

Many legal professionals felt that divorce law was out of date, particularly following the 2018 Owens v Owens case.

The act was passed in June 2020 and came into force on 6 April 2022.

From 6 April 2022, the new legislation:

  • replaces the ‘five grounds’ and allows couples to divorce without assigning fault
  • removes the possibility of contesting the divorce
  • introduces an option for a joint application
  • makes sure language is in plain English, for example, changing ‘decree nisi’ to conditional order and ‘decree absolute’ to final order

These changes also apply to the dissolution of civil partnerships.


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