Important Changes to Divorce Procedure
There have been some significant changes to the way in which divorces are to be conducted and these come into force with effect from 7th August 2017. The format of the divorce petition has been changed and, whilst this is intended to make it more ‘user-friendly’ there may still be some traps for the unwary. The other big change is that Petitioners will now be required to sign a Statement of Truth, verifying that all they have said in the Petition is true. This was not previously required until the Statement in Support of Petition was filed, when the court is asked to consider whether the grounds for the divorce have been met.
The changes can be found in the Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2017. It will still be possible to use the ‘old’ Petition until early September, but then only the ‘new’ Petition will be accepted.
The rules also introduce procedural changes to financial remedy applications, most notably the requirement for all cases to be referred to a Financial Dispute Resolution appointment, except in exceptional circumstances.
For more information about divorce or to find out about our fixed fee option, please contact Andrew Hill, Head of the Family Department.