Divorce all around the world

Different developments in Divorce and Family Law around the world serve to highlight different attitudes to these sensitive questions. Sometimes the legal position that we take for granted in Australia is surprisingly different in other countries around the world. In Australia we have had no fault divorce laws for many decades and that position has not come under any serious or prolonged scrutiny or criticism. Many people are surprised to learn that this is not the position in England and Wales where it is still necessary to allege fault on the part of one spouse in order to obtain a divorce, or to wait 2 years and then an Application is possible if both parties consent. However this can be impractical for many people because in England and Wales an Application for Property Settlement is not possible until an Application for Divorce has been commenced.

All 50 states in the USA currently have no fault divorce legislation, and most of them have had that in place for many decades. It seems that in contrast to Australia that there is some appetite for change in that position, and there is currently proposed legislation before the Legislature in Iowa that would end no fault divorce in situations where people have children under the age of 18 and would require anyone seeking a divorce to allege fault. The fault to be alleged would be one of Adultery, physical or sexual abuse, imprisonment, if one spouse is missing for more than one year or if the couple have lived apart for more than 2 years.  The supporters of the Legislation apparently promote it on the basis that it would serve to reduce the incidents of divorce in families of minor children.