Navigating Divorce

Historically, a party to a marriage could obtain a decree of dissolution of marriage only if either party engaged in morally blameworthy conduct. This changed in 1976 with the enactment of the Family Law Act. There is now only one ground for divorce: i.e., the irretrievable breakdown of the parties’ marriage. A relationship will have irretrievably broken down when the parties have been separated for a period of at least 12 months.

Despite their apparent simplicity, divorce applications can be complicated by the following factors:

• A lack of evidence indicating that there are proper arrangements for the welfare of any children of the marriage;
• The parties have “separated under one roof”;
• The whereabouts of the respondent are unknown;
• The respondent disagrees with either the date of separation or the applicant’s allegation that the parties have separated; or
• The applicant is unable to prove that the marriage has, in fact, taken place.