By Elizabeth Taylor

It is over a year since the law was changed to introduce ‘No Fault Divorce’ in April 2023.  From that date onwards, someone applying for a divorce no longer needed to prove that the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage was caused by one of a specific list of issues including adultery, unreasonable behaviour or specific periods of separation.  Instead, it became enough to say that the person applying to the Court felt that the marriage had ‘irretrievably broken down.’

On the whole, the new system has been a positive change.  The time (and cost) that was previously spent negotiating the terms of the divorce petition is saved and this eliminates an opportunity for dispute between the separating couple.

There have, however, been new challenges to navigate including the HMCTS portal itself, through which all applications for divorce have to be submitted.  A choice can also be made by the applying person to either submit the application on their own or jointly with their former partner.  Questions relating to linked applications for financial claims still need to be answered and if the respondent person does not reply, there are various options to consider for progressing the divorce.  We recommend that legal advice about each of these remains particularly beneficial at an early stage.

It is, however, more important than ever to our clients in the current economic climate, that costs are clear and minimised wherever possible.  With this in mind, Phillips Law have launched a new fixed fee service to complete a straightforward divorce application of just £495 plus VAT.  We will complete the application and deal with each stage through to the conditional and final orders with you.

For more information about this, please contact our family team on 01256 460830 or by email at [email protected]