Court rules woman must remain married

It has been reported across a number of media outlets that the Court of Appeal last week ruled that Tini Owens could not progress her divorce on the basis of the statement in her petition setting out what she considers to be her husband’s unreasonable behaviour.  Whilst Mrs Owens was of the view that the marriage had broken down, her husband disagreed and so it seems did the Court of Appeal.

The Judge in the first instance had dismissed Mrs Owens’ petition for divorce as the alleged unreasonable behaviour amounted to minor rows which are usual within any relationship.  Although the allegations taken in isolation might be considered trivial, those acting for Mrs Owens argued that they had a clear cumulative effect and that as there was no prospect of reconciliation the original decision should be overturned allowing the petition to proceed.  Mr Owens however defended the application indicating a wish to remain married.  It looks likely that the only other option for divorce for Mrs Owens will arise when the parties have been separated for five years when she can divorce without requiring her husband’s consent.

It should be pointed out that it is extremely unusual for a court to compel couples to stay married and is generally considered to be an archaic step to force one party, who clearly wishes to be divorced, to remain in a marriage.  Clearly, given that Mrs Owens was prepared to spend a lot of time and money appealing the judgement she is extremely unhappy and the marriage has irretrievably broken down.  This case also highlights the challenges that the current fault-based system for divorce poses to separating couples which requires proof of that fault.  It is extremely rare to come across a divorce case that is defended and even rarer for a court to compel a couple to stay married. Sarah Crowther, a Partner in the family team at Chadwick Lawrence said “The easiest alternative to a fault based petition is for parties to wait until they have been separated for a period of 2 years when a petition can progress with the consent of the other party.  However, many don’t want to have to endure that wait when they have arrived at the conclusion that their marriage has broken down and there is no prospect of a reconciliation. In the vast majority of circumstance an agreement can be reached on the contents of the fault based petition to enable the couple to get divorced and move on with their lives.”

For advice on divorce, or any other family law matter contact our team on 0800 015 0340 to arrange an initial free half hour appointment at any of our offices in Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield, Horbury, Leeds, Pudsey or Morley.