Good Divorce Week Campaigns For Minimising Impact Of Divorce On Children

Family and divorce law experts at leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth are arguing no-fault divorce presents the best outcome for children involved in the divorce process ahead of Good Divorce Week.

Good Divorce Week, a campaign run by family law organisation Resolution, runs from the 26th November to the 30th November and focuses on how parents can minimise the impact of divorce on their children, with no-fault divorce being an obvious answer to the problem of conflict between parents.

Family specialists at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth agree that no-fault divorce would be a major progression for minimising the emotional impact of divorce on children.

Expert Opinion

“Parents are often drawn into arguments over the smallest things because emotions run high during a divorce - I had a client who wanted to fight over a fridge magnet collection – that’s how blinkered parties can become, all the while dragging out litigation and if they have children, prolonging their turmoil too.

“The problem is that the system encourages this. At the moment parents have to lay the blame at one another’s doorstep to try and ‘win’ the divorce. This is obviously extremely damaging for children to see and they are often used as pawns by one or both parents out of desperation or because the relationship has deteriorated so much they cannot see past their prejudices.

“The reality for parents and children alike could be so different if we introduced no-fault divorce law.” Ros Bever - Partner

Support from the media and public for no-fault divorce reached a peak this summer with the Supreme Court case of Owens v Owens, where Tini Owens sought a divorce from her husband who had contested the application.

The Supreme Court reluctantly ruled against granting Mrs Owens a divorce, with a pointed remark from President of the Supreme Court Baroness Hale stating ‘it is not for us to change the law laid down by parliament – our role is only to interpret and apply the law that parliament has given us’.

Though there were no dependent children involved in the Owens case, the issue of no-fault divorce has sparked discussion in the family law sphere over just how far-reaching its effect could be if implemented.

Ros continued: “Owens shone a spotlight on the issues with divorce law and has given a new lease of life on reforming the existing laws, which are far too focused on conflict and less on putting the best interest of all parties involved ahead.

“The courts may say the children in a case are the most important factor in a divorce, but what good can come to them if litigation is drawn out for years because their parents cannot agree on the outcome?

“We absolutely support Resolution’s Good Divorce Week campaign and hope in the future that this will be greatly helped with the introduction of no-fault divorce law in the UK.”

The government is currently consulting on changes to the divorce process and will be reporting back on its findings in 2019.