England and Wales on Wednesday relaxed their divorce laws, now allowing couples to separate amicably, without waiting years or having to blame the other.
Until then, it was necessary to invoke “adultery”, “unreasonable behavior”, “desertion” (one spouse has left the other for at least two years), or even separation for two years in the event of an agreement, five years in case of disagreement. These rules remain in force in Northern Ireland, while Scotland has more flexible legislation: no-fault divorce exists and can be pronounced after one year of separation.
Tini Owens, who in 2018 lost her legal fight to end 40 years of marriage and whose situation had started the movement to reform the law, hailed an “important step”.
“No one should have to stay in a loveless marriage or go through a long and expensive legal battle to end it,” she said.
The reform does not go far enough, however, believes his lawyer Simon Beccle, stressing that there is a minimum period of 20 weeks between the start of the procedure and a conditional order, and six additional weeks before the divorce is pronounced.
The National Family Mediation association meanwhile indicated that it was preparing for an unprecedented month, with a “flood of requests”.
On BBC Radio 4, a woman named Vicky testified on Tuesday to the difficulties induced by the old system and the artifices necessary to circumvent it.
After his first marriage, with a colleague, the spouses realize that they are “very good friends” and want to separate. “We quickly realized (…) that it was not possible to have an amicable divorce in the eyes of the law,” she explained.
“So we had to invent all sorts of reasons why we could no longer be together and be married”, but the case was rejected by the courts, because “the reasons” given were “not serious enough”. Thus, the couple had to “invent scenarios” so that the divorce was finally accepted, she testified.
Vicky also recounted the ordeal of her second divorce, to get out of a relationship that had become “violent” in which she felt “trapped”. Her husband, whom she describes as “manipulative”, refused to sign anything that cast him in a bad light.
“If he could have said something else,” as in the no-fault divorce, “I’m sure he would have signed,” she concluded, “and I could have gotten out of that relationship a lot quicker and much earlier”.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com