Nearly 60% of divorce petitions are based on unreasonable behaviour as couples no longer feel that they can wait two years to issue a petition that in essence can be labelled as the “no fault divorce. At two years the spouse has to give their consent, at 5 years they do not. However, many people feel that they could not wait 2 years and need to issue divorce proceedings now and pass blame to the other party for the breakdown of the marriage. This then leads to a rise in divorce petitions that are issued on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour and may not always have the strongest of particulars to support their petition.
Hannah Bickley, Associate Director & Deputy Head of Broudie Jackson Canter's Family Law department, comments:
“It is probably the most common phrase that I have heard from a spouse when discussing the grounds for a divorce “but it is the principle.” Unreasonable behaviour petitions can cover a variety of issues as to why the party’s marriage has broken down and often a solicitor will ask for 5 or 6 examples but not everyone can give these examples when the case may simply be that you have grown apart.
What would the answer be then? “Principle” often ends up costing parties more in legal fees than what they anticipated to spend. It can also add unnecessary time and pressure to a divorce that neither party actually needs to do. Unreasonable behaviour petitions can become so watered down that the Judge may question the grounds of a divorce. The petition may also lead the other spouse to feel so aggrieved that they refuse to sign the acknowledgment of service unless certain parts of the petition are removed. This may result in endless correspondence before the petition has even been issued and the divorce has made any progress.
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