Divorces rise by almost 50% as 'no fault' law kicks in

Divorce applications shot up by almost half, a week after the 'no fault' law came in, new figures show.

Since the rule change, around 3,000 couples have sought an end to their marriages.

The regulation amendments, which began last Wednesday in England and Wales, do not require couples to apportion blame.

Lawyers have said the new law resulted in 50 percent more divorce applications than in a typical week.

This compares to last year's weekly average being around 2,072, with 107,724 divorce petitions filed last year in total.

Ms Gumbrill-Ward added: "It will be interesting to see how these figures pan out across the whole quarter, and whether this initial flurry slows down and levels out.

"Will the annual figures for 2022 see an increase because people wanted to avoid the blame game and start the process off on a more amicable footing? We will have to wait and see".

While the statistics represent a sharp rise in divorce applications, sources state that the system for recording divorces did not work the week before, meaning the 3,000 figure may represent a two-week total.

Final figures are expected to be released in June.