No Fault Divorce = No Problems?

 

With No Fault Divorce starting from 6^th April 2022, it's easy to think that from then on divorce will be plain sailing, but will it?

 

Of course the purpose of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA) is to remove the need for 'blame' or long waits to be able to divorce. It should therefore follow that the process will be easier. There are, however, some factors to consider which could cause delay or difficulties between the parties.

 

1. Sole or Joint Applications

There will no doubt be parties that agree to a divorce at the outset and they can submit a joint application to the Court. They will be referred to as the First and Second Applicants, they must both complete the relevant sections of the Application and sign it.

When you reach the further stages of the divorce to apply for the Conditional Order or Final Order, on a joint application you should both sign this. If one party then refuses to, for any reason, the other party can proceed with the Application as a sole application.

They do however, need to give 14 days notice to the other Applicant of their intention to do so. This will no doubt cause some delay at this stage where one of the Applicants had been expecting to continue with the Application on a joint basis and they then need to delay the next stage due to the other Applicant’s refusal.

 

2. Delays to the process

As with the current divorce process, the Applicant is required to serve the divorce application on the Respondent. This is usually done by the Court in the first instance and will now be served by email, where an email address is provided. The Applicant can request to serve the Respondent themselves.

Service of the Application should take place within 28 days and if it has not, an application to extend the time for service would need to be made with evidence of what efforts have been made to serve the Application. These additional steps may cause delay in more complicated matters.

If the Respondent does not acknowledge the Application, the Applicant will still need to evidence service (the fact that the Court emailed it to the Respondent will not be enough) and then provide this evidence to the Court at the stage of applying for the Conditional Order.

What if the Applicant does not know where the Respondent is? Again everything needs to be done to attempt service on the Respondent. If they cannot be found the Applicant will need to apply to dispense with service and evidence of the efforts made to find the Respondent will need to be provided to satisfy the Court.

As stated above, there can also be delays if you need to change from a joint application to a sole application at the Conditional Order stage or Final Order stage.

3. Costs

Currently the Applicant can include an order for costs against the Respondent.

This will no longer be the case. At the outset of the divorce, the parties will need to discuss and agree how the costs will be paid, including the Court fee of £593.00.

The court will take the payment from one party. If submitting an online application the fee will be taken from the Applicant (or Applicant 1 if a joint application). If an application is made on paper and it is a joint application, either party can provide their account details to pay the court fee. The court will not take half from each.

If it is a joint application and you wish to claim fee remission from the court, you both need to be eligible for this. 

 

4. Disputed Divorce

The Respondent cannot defend the divorce, they can only dispute the application in the following limited circumstances;

1. They dispute the jurisdiction of the court in England and Wales to conduct proceedings.

2. They dispute the validity of the marriage or civil partnership.

3. The marriage or civil partnership has already been legally ended.

It will also be possible to challenge proceedings for reasons such as fraud and procedural compliance.

Sarah Townsend, Family Law Solicitor, comments: 

“I expect that in most cases the process of divorce will run smoothly, however, it is clear to see that problems can still arise and I expect the most common of these to be the failure of the Respondent to acknowledge the divorce, especially if they do not want it. For the Respondent, this is all they can do to try and stop or slow the process down. It does not mean the divorce will not proceed, and if acted upon promptly by the Applicant, it may not slow the process.  I would always encourage people to get some advice, even if it is some initial guidance, before going it alone. It is also important not to forget that the divorce does not end the financial relationship and everyone should get advice about this.”

 

At Lawson West Solicitors, we provide a Fixed Fee Divorce from as little as £500.00 + VAT. Contact us here.

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