No-Fault Divorce in England and Wales: What Changed and What It Means for You

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which came into force in April 2022, was the most significant change to English divorce law in fifty years. It ended the requirement to allege adultery, behaviour, or separation periods to obtain a divorce. After three years of practice under the new regime, here’s what it actually means in practice.

What changed

Before 2022, to obtain a divorce in England and Wales you had to prove that the marriage had irretrievably broken down by establishing one of five “facts”:

1. Adultery
2. Unreasonable behaviour
3. Desertion
4. Two years’ separation with consent
5. Five years’ separation without consent

In practice, the vast majority of petitions used “unreasonable behaviour” — even in amicable separations — because the alternative was a two- or five-year wait. This forced couples to manufacture grievances against each other at exactly the moment when cooperation mattered most for the children.

The 2020 Act removed all of this. The new test is simply that one (or both) spouses gives a statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. No reasons. No blame. No defence.

The new process

1. Application — filed online by one spouse (sole) or both spouses (joint) at HMCTS. Court fee currently £593.
2. Acknowledgement — the other spouse acknowledges receipt within 14 days.
3. 20-week wait — a mandatory reflection period before applying for the conditional order.
4. Conditional Order — the first of two divorce orders (formerly decree nisi).
5. 6-week wait — between conditional and final order.
6. Final Order — the divorce is complete (formerly decree absolute).

Total minimum time: 26 weeks, roughly 6 months.

What this changed in practice

Significantly less acrimony at the start. Couples no longer have to draft and serve a list of complaints about each other in week one. This makes early negotiations on finances and children dramatically easier.

Joint applications are now common. About a third of new petitions are joint, which would have been impossible before 2022.

No more contested divorces (almost). Previously a respondent could defend the divorce itself. Under the 2022 Act, a divorce can only be contested on very narrow procedural grounds (jurisdiction, validity of marriage, fraud). The substance of “should we be divorced” is no longer a court question.

What did NOT change

Two big areas were untouched:

Financial remedy proceedings. Whether the marriage ends amicably or bitterly, the financial settlement (division of assets, pensions, ongoing maintenance) is a separate and often contentious process. The 2022 Act did nothing to reform this. We are still operating under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, which gives judges very wide discretion.

Children Act proceedings. Custody (now called “child arrangements”) and contact disputes are governed by the Children Act 1989 and the welfare principle. Unaffected by the 2022 reforms.

So if your divorce involves significant assets or contested arrangements for children, the divorce itself is now the easy part — but the substantive disputes are unchanged.

Common misconceptions about no-fault divorce

“No-fault means an equal financial split.” No. Financial division remains discretionary. The conduct of the parties is rarely relevant to financial outcome (it has to be conduct that would be “inequitable to disregard” — a high bar). The starting point in long marriages is broadly equal sharing of marital assets, but courts depart from this regularly.

“No-fault means we don’t need lawyers.” For procedurally simple divorces with no children, no real estate, and modest assets, you may not need a solicitor for the divorce itself. For everything else, you do — particularly because the financial remedy process is more complex than ever.

“My behaviour during the marriage doesn’t matter anymore.” It doesn’t matter for the divorce. It can still matter for finances if it crosses the threshold (typically dissipation of assets or domestic abuse), and it can matter very much for children’s arrangements.

Getting started

If you’re considering a divorce in England or Wales, the first practical step is to get clear on three things: your finances (assets, debts, income), your housing options post-separation, and your children’s school arrangements. Most family solicitors will offer a fixed-fee initial consultation to scope your case.

If you’d like to discuss your situation, I offer fixed-fee initial consultations at our Bedford Row offices or by video.

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This article is general information about English family law and not legal advice. Consult a solicitor about your specific circumstances.