Thousands of couples in UK are rushing to file for divorce before Wednesday

Couples are scrambling to file for a divorce this week ahead of a new law change - which will make getting a divorce easier. People will only be able to apply for a divorce under the current law until Wednesday (30 March) before the online service closes, to make way for the changes which come into place the following week.

Next week will see the introduction of 'no fault' divorces, which means couples will no longer have to give a reason for getting divorced. Grounds for dissolving marriages - such as adultery - will be a thing of the past and applications will immediately be granted.

Couples won't be able to apply for divorce again until Wednesday 6 April, when the updated online service relaunches, the government has confirmed. The new alterations, under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, aims to reduce the potential for conflict amongst divorcing couples.

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But surprisingly, law firms have been seeing an increase in couples filing for divorces before the 'no fault' policy comes into effect. Amanda Phillips-Wyld, Managing Partner at Lawyers at Stowe Family Law, says the number of individuals scrambling to enquire about divorce, while still within the time frame to cite the grounds of divorce, has been 'surprising.'

Research carried out by the firm revealed that that 43% of Brits erroneously believed that being able to prove the other party was at fault for the marital breakdown would favourably impact their financial settlement and custody over any children. But, as Amanda explains, this is not the case.

She said: "This perhaps points towards a lack of understanding as to what no-fault divorce means. We are