AN Ilkley law firm says it has been inundated with divorce inquiries following a law change earlier this year.

New data reveals divorce applications have reached their highest level for a decade, after ‘no-fault’ legislation was introduced and this national trend is being mirrored in Yorkshire, according to LCF Law’s family law department in Ilkley.

The changes to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which were introduced in April, is the biggest shake up of divorce laws for 50 years. It now means married couples in England and Wales can now divorce more amicably, without assigning blame.

Prior to this couples had to state why they were divorcing. Now couples can divorce on the grounds of ‘irreconcilable differences,’ either individually or together, and without having to set out reasons for the breakdown of the marriage or have a dispute about who was at fault.

Data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has revealed there were 33,566 divorce applications nationally between April and June, with 33,234 of these made under the new no-fault divorce legislation and is a 22 per cent increase on the same period in 2021.

Rachel Spencer Robb, who is a partner and head of LCF Law’s Family Law team, said: “We had a lot of clients who chose to delay starting divorce proceedings until after the changes in April, because they knew it would make the process less argumentative from the outset and as a result we’ve been very busy this year.

“However, it remains to be seen whether this increase will last and whether simplifying the procedure results in higher levels of divorce over the longer term, or if this year’s increase is largely due to pent-up demand following the introduction of this new legislation, as well as the return to normal after the pandemic.”

Rachel added: “Ultimately though, the new laws are having the desired effect. Removing the need for evidence of one party being to blame for the failure of the marriage has reduced the acrimony and conflict that often arises during a breakdown of marriage This is incredibly positive particularly where children are involved."

Other newly introduced changes mean there is now a minimum period of 20 weeks, between starting proceedings and applying for a conditional order. This has been introduced in response to concerns that the reforms make divorce a quicker and easier option for couples and has been designed to encourage ‘meaningful’ reflection.