In April 2022, England and Wales introduced what is commonly referred to as "no fault divorce". This means that you do not need to justify why the marriage has broken down and you can proceed with divorce without your spouse's consent. One caveat, though. They may still be able to challenge the divorce on other grounds such as jurisdiction for example.

Under the no fault divorce law you can apply for divorce as a sole applicant, which means that you can launch and drive the process on your own without the other party's consent. Interestingly, even if the divorce was initiated as a joint application but your spouse no longer wants to cooperate, you can still proceed as a sole applicant by giving them 14 days notice.

Keep in mind, though, that there are other rules that you will need to abide to in order to be able to apply for divorce, such as having been married for at least a year or ensuring that your marriage is legally recognized in England and Wales.

In our coaching sessions we can work to help you improve communication with your spouse to encourage a collaborative approach to divorce with both parties' consent. Making sure you tell them about your decision to divorce in a considered and thought through way will be a key starting point, as well as acknowledging that they may still need a bit of time to come to terms with your decision and be ready to face its consequences.

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