‘No Fault’ divorces: should the law recognise that sometimes nobody is to blame?

Currently, in order to divorce one spouse, the Petitioner must show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.  The breakdown must be as a result of one of the following five reasons;

* adultery

* unreasonable behaviour

* desertion

* two years separation with consent to divorce

* five years separation

The law insists: someone is to blame…

The law as it stands states that if a couple have not been separated for two years then they can only divorce based on adultery or unreasonable behaviour. This can be incredibly upsetting for a couple that have agreed that they would be better off apart and that this is nobody’s fault. In essence, the law insists that someone is to blame, when very often this is simply not the case.

If a couple is insistent that neither party is to blame for the breakdown of their marriage, they must wait for at least two years to start divorce proceedings.