No Fault Divorce – The New Law

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On 6 April 2022 England and Wales has the biggest change in divorce law in over 50 years. Instead of primarily fault based, it will be no fault. Based on a period of 26 weeks notice given by the applicant to the court. This webinar will look at the new law and its importance and potential for changing the way in which family law cases are approached. But there are some real problems in practice especially for the impact on the respondent who has much less notice of the proceedings. The webinar will look at the procedural rules and the digital journey, in circumstances where divorces will be a mandatory online process.

• History of divorce from 1969 including 1996 legislation
• Background to no fault divorce
• What does the new legislation say?
• What are the procedural requirements?
• Specifically what is the provision regarding service
• What will be the impact on the respondent of late service
• How will the online divorce process work?
• What is the new language of the divorce process

Learning objectives

• How will it be different from existing divorce work for clients?
• What differently do we tell our clients?
• In what circumstances should delayed service be a factor?
• What happens about jointly acting on a joint petition
• What new terminology must we use
• How to overcome the disadvantage for respondents
• How to adapt to the online divorce process within offices

David Hodson OBE, Partner, The International Family Law Group LLP, Deputy District Judge at the Central Family Court

Biography

Prof David Hodson OBE MCIArb is a family law dispute resolution specialist and co-founder partner of The International Family Law Group a specialist law firm representing international families. He is an English solicitor, mediator, arbitrator, Australian (NSW) solicitor and a deputy (part time) family court judge at the Central Family Court (DDJ in the FRC at the CFC) in London. He is a member of the English Law Society Family Law Committee, a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, a member of LawAsia, the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia and a similar contributor to many family law organisations around the world. He is Visiting Professor at the University of Law and Honorary Professor of Law at Leicester University. He is an Anglican lay preacher. He has written and spoken extensively throughout his career on family law, including many conferences overseas.

He was awarded the OBE (June 2014) for ‘services to international family law’. He is the editor and primary author of the LexisNexis textbook ‘The International Family Law Practice’ (sixth edition August 2021). He was appointed QC (Hons) in December 2021 for his significant contribution to English law and practice.

‘David Hodson is an encyclopaedia when it comes to international family law. There are very few like him in family law’. ‘David Hodson is a doyen in the field’. Listed in The Hall of Fame 2022. The Legal 500 2022