Family Law Experts Call For An End to Divorce Blame

One of the region’s leading divorce specialists has called for the law to be overhauled to stop couples needlessly blaming the other for relationship breakdown.

Family Law Group commented that the current laws in place means that all divorces need to attribute blame for the failure of a marriage, but this is unnecessary.

“It is ridiculous that in 2018, we still have a situation where separating couples have to attribute fault for their marriage break down,” said Amanda Brown, of Nottingham Family Law.

“The law can often be slow to act and in this case it is incredibly frustrating for family law experts, not to mention thousands of couples having to abide by these outdated and destructive rules.”

Amanda’s comments come shortly after senior family lawyers from across the UK gathered outside Parliament to call on the Government to reform the divorce laws and remove blame from the process.

In a new survey of professionals by Resolution, 9 out of 10 lawyers agreed the current law makes it harder to reduce conflict and confrontation between clients and their ex-partners and 80% believe the introduction of a no-fault divorce would make it more likely for separating couples to reach an agreement out of court.

In 2016, the last year for where there are records available, more than half of all divorce petitions were submitted on the basis of adultery or behaviour, meaning over 60,000 people apportioned blame to their ex-partner for the breakdown of their marriage. The body has campaigned for no-fault divorce for decades.

“Divorce is difficult enough as the current laws create more conflict by forcing couples to blame each other which is unnecessary,” added Amanda.

“It is time to realise that sometimes marriages just fizzle out and people want to move on in a different direction,” she said. “Let’s hope this approach is listened to and we can bring an end to these ancient laws, which are no longer fit for purpose.”