Elizabeth was taking part in a major lobby of Parliament organised by family law organisation Resolution, who represent 6,500 family justice professionals that are committed to supporting couples to reach non-confrontational resolutions to family disputes.
In total, 150 family justice professionals took part in the event which saw them hold meetings with MPs to discuss the need for divorce law to be changed to allow couples to break up without having to cite blame.
Elizabeth Wyatt said:
“Current divorce law is sadly not fit for today’s modern society. Many couples break up because they simply fall out of love with each other, but the law fails to recognise this as a legitimate reason for separation.
“Instead, couples are often forced to cite blame on their divorce forms, and from my personal experience as a family lawyer in the West Midlands, this often leads to argument and conflicts. This is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing, and undermines the work I and other Resolution members do to help separating couples minimise conflict.
“This is why I was delighted to travel to Parliament today to support Resolution’s calls for no fault divorce and to meet with Victoria Prentice”.
Resolution’s call for no fault divorce is supported by, among others, the most senior family judge in the country; the deputy president of the Supreme Court; the Family Mediation Task Force, and Relate.
Victoria Prentice said:
“I was pleased to meet Elizabeth today in Parliament and hear about their experience on the frontline of working with separating couples every day in the West Midlands.
“I agree that divorce law should be modernised to allow couples to break up without having to attribute blame and I will be raising this issue in Parliament and with Government ministers”
In a recent survey of family lawyers carried out by Resolution, over 90% agreed that divorce law needs to be modernised to allow for no fault divorce. As well as no fault divorce being a better option for separating couples, family lawyers also predicted that the change in legislation would see a rise in the use of mediation and lead to a reduction in the amount of court time spent dealing with children or financial issues relating to divorce.
Nigel Shepherd, National Chair of Resolution, said:
“I’m delighted that Elizabeth Wyatt took part in Resolution’s lobby day in Parliament.
“Divorce is already difficult enough, we don’t need it being made harder by the law pushing couples into conflict and arguments.
“It’s vital that politicians from all parties understand this and realise that it is time to act to support the many separating couples who want to divorce amicably”.
Editors notes
Under most construction contracts, the contractor takes on the ground conditions risk. However, a recent case has demonstrated that the risk can fall on the employer.
The UK Government has been consulting on how it should promote social value in its procurements. Here is our response that we submitted to the consultation...
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 came into force on 1 June 2019.
A recent case in the Court of Appeal will no doubt bring a sigh of relief for employers, but a corresponding sigh of disappointment may be uttered for equality and gender balance in the workplace.
This briefing assists response to the consultation paper by outlining the consultation questions, providing some background information and prompting some thoughts and potential answers.
A report published on 29 May by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that since 2009-10, local government spending on services has fallen on average by 21% in real terms.
A long-awaited decision of the Court of Appeal has clarified that a lower standard of proof should apply than previously thought before an Inquest can return a conclusion of suicide.
New regulations come into force on 1 June 2019, amending the Section 21 (s21) prescribed form template for use with assured shorthold tenancies.
In a challenging economic climate with continuing budget cuts and increasing expectations of staff, sickness absence remains an ongoing problem that is important to address.
Social housing providers will routinely have a number of construction projects underway at any one time. It is essential for client teams to understand and avoid key contract management pitfalls.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.