No Fault Divorce Laws Impact On Private Investigators?

On the 6th April 2022 there was a shake-up of divorce laws which means that petitioners no longer have to give reasons for divorce and begs the question how will this impact private investigators? Before we look into this lets have a look at what changes have been brought in. For decades there has been campaigning for a ‘no fault divorce’ position which eventually resulted in the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill obtaining Royal Assent in June 2020.

So what exactly are the changes?

• Married and couples in a civil partnership can obtain a divorce without having to blame the other party.

• Decree Nisi is no more – the ‘Conditional Order’ is new.

• Decree Absolute is now gone – the ‘Final Order’ is new

For most people this will be a much welcomed and long overdue change in the law surrounding divorce petitions. This new law intends to reduce potential hostility between couples when separating by removing the need to apply blame on the other partner.

Under the current divorce law, married couples seeking to divorce would have to prove the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. This would require evidence through one of the following facts being proven:

• Adultery

• Unreasonable behaviour

• Desertion by one party

• Two years separation with the consent of the spouse; or

• Five years separation without consent.

For the full specifics then further reading can be obtained here.

Let’s not be under any illusions, when you think of the words private investigator, PI or private detective the first thing that springs to mind is a man in a trench coat and trilby hat following a wayward husband trying to obtain evidence of him through the lens of a camera committing adultery.

Although the conjoured images you may have could not be further from the truth it is a fact that we do often investigate cheating spouses and cheating partners in Coventry and Warwickshire. Quite often the client will be looking to prove adultery which can sometimes be hard to prove or often settling for unreasonable behaviour which has always been easier to prove. So with  adultery and unreasonable behaviour no longer being required to be proved you may think people no longer require the services of a private investigator in Coventry or anywhere else in the UK?

I would say not. My reasons for this are that in my experience once a divorce is going through the process it does not finish once the divorce papers are served. There is most likely going to be arguments over financial situations, parental rights, assets etc. Although the initial hurdle of the divorce being granted being taken away, there will no doubt be legal obstacles to overcome. Where children are involved, if it can be proven that one side was less stable than the other not only down to infidelity but company they keep and any habits such as drug taking will sway a judges opinion when it comes to parental rights. If it can be shown that a partner is guilty of infidelity it can can impact the court’s  decision to protect the children and place them in the most stable,  healthy, and physically safe environment they possibly can.

Also in our experience not all people are looking for divorce they are just looking for peace of mind and if it is proven their worst fears are incorrect they are happy to have used our services. Sometimes if they find their suspicions are founded they will seek to find out the root cause and plan to resolve the situation. There will also be those that although they don’t legally need the proof , will want to know for sure before filing for divorce. Also in Asian culture they require proof of wrongdoings such as adultery before their family are supportive as they work on an innocent until proven guilty protocol.

If you require us to investigate a partner you suspect of cheating give us a call today on 024 7512 0316. Please take a look at our matrimonial page where you can view a sample report and sample video evidence of what we can achieve for you.