On 6 April 2022, the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 reformed the divorce process to remove the concept of fault as it was felt by many that the divorce laws were out of date. The aim of the new process was to simplify divorce proceedings and reduce the costs incurred by the parties. 

Now, the Government is in discussions with the Law Commission to review the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the act that determines how financial assets are divided following divorce in England and Wales. 

There is criticism that the current law is out of date and that cases such as White and White in 2000 and Radmacher and Radmacher in 2010 changed the direction of how financial proceedings are resolved, but are not reflected in the statute, and that this can lead to unnecessary and longer litigation and consequently unnecessary costs and delays which can have a negative impact on the families that are separating. 

A lot of family lawyers already look at ways for their clients to avoid incurring unnecessary costs and delay as a result of lengthy court proceedings and support clients engaging in alternative dispute resolution which, alongside receiving legal advice, can be really effective. 

There are often news headlines about the excessive costs of resolving financial matters arising out of divorce, which can be very worrying for clients, but often these are parties with significant assets which is not a true reflection of most people. 

However, given it has been 50 years since the Matrimonial Causes Act, a review to determine whether changes can be made would be very interesting and we will wait for the outcome.