• As if the other issues complicating relationships were not enough, now COVID-19 indirectly is putting a strain on them.
• Divorces worldwide have surged.
• The families are locked down in homes under the same roof, schools are closed, and risks of job losses loom high.

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After the lockdown is over, the legal firms would see an overload of divorce petitions. The courts would see a great burden on them. What is the solution? Should we switch to a French-style divorce system?

The current divorce system

The current divorce system is a 50-years-old one and rather traditional. It focuses on the ‘irretrievable collapse’ of marriage.

And this is based on five factors namely, infidelity, unreasonable behavior, abandonment, separation for two years with mutual consent, or five years of separation without consent.

This implies that if you want a fast divorce you have to show a fault in either or both parties of the marriage. In 2018, the wife of Tini Owens lost her petition for divorce in the UK Supreme Court because Tini refused to give her divorce. At this point, people started asking for a change in this fault-based system for divorces.

What change are people demanding now?

The intellectuals feel that the current divorce system is widely outdated and needs immediate changes. The academic world believes that due to this system, either party makes an attempt to exaggerate the fault of the other party so that they get a divorce fast without having to wait for the two years of separation in between.

In 2017, a study was carried out on this and it revealed that 62% of petitioners and 78% of defendants thought that the process of proving a fault in the opposite party only made the divorce process bitter.

With coronavirus breakups, the real reason for the split is the lack of personal space and not any of the other reasons.

A change in the system is the need of the hour. The fault-based system should end. Either party can just ask for a divorce and the other party cannot contest it.

After a specified interval for practical arrangements between the couple, the court should be able to grant the divorce.

Many countries of the world already have a place more liberal divorce process which is suitable for post-pandemic divorces as well.

French-style divorce-Divorce à la française

The French-style divorce process seems to be the best one. As early as the 1970s, France introduced the concept of mutual consent divorce.

And more so since 2016, the civil code even permitted the parties to agree mutually that their marriage is broken. This requires no judge to intervene.

There are lawyers of both parties who oversee that the procedure is going in order. They keep a check to see that the parties observe the agreement and deadlines.

Also, read Kellie May Chauvin does not want any spousal support! The wife of Derek Chauvin files for divorce from him!

There is a waiting period of 15 days after which a notary verifies the contents of the made agreement and monitors its compliance.

A date is provided after which the divorce agreement becomes binding. The total cost is also less, around 50 euros or 45 pounds. This is 10 times less than the current divorce cost in the UK.

The family court comes in only if there is a child who asks for it. The family court also comes in only if the child’s life or health is in danger.