Adulterers could be ‘named and shamed’ in new divorce forms

Lawyers say these changes could lead to more people being accused of adultery.

A newly-designed and government-sanctioned form that's used to apply for a divorce will ask for the name "of the person your spouse has committed adultery with," as reported by the BBC. As things currently stand, anyone that's seeking a divorce in the UK must show that their marriage has broken down due to one of the following reasons; desertion, unreasonable behaviour, you've have lived apart for more than two years and both agree to the divorce, you've lived apart for more than five years, and finally, adultery. Here's the new online form below. The Ministry of Justice has said there was "no obligation" to name the people "your spouse has committed adultery with," but this addition could have legal ramifications as the person named might become part of the court case. The spokesperson said: "It has always been possible for a petitioner to name the person they believe their spouse has committed adultery with on divorce application forms. As set out in the previous form, and more clearly in the new form, there is obviously no obligation to do so. This is a relevant part of divorce proceedings." According to recent statistics, adultery was specifically cited as the factor for 12,148 of over 100,000 divorces in the UK.