Couples will be allowed no-fault divorces and spouses will lose the right to contest the breakdown of a marriage under proposals for a historic overhaul of the law being drawn up by the government.

BuzzFeed News has learned that justice secretary David Gauke is set to announce a consultation on no-fault divorce in which he will call for the existing fault-based system of establishing marriage breakdown to be abolished.

Under current law, a spouse who wants to file for divorce must either provide evidence that their partner has committed adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or desertion, or otherwise wait two years if both parties consent to the divorce or five years without both spouses’ consent.

BuzzFeed News can reveal the government’s proposals, which are still being finalised, would keep the sole legal ground for divorce of irretrievable breakdown, but remove the requirement of a spouse to provide one of these five reasons.

The Ministry of Justice will also seek to end the opportunity for a spouse to contest a divorce and consult on the length of the divorce process, proposing a minimum timeframe of six months.

It would be the first significant change to divorce law in England and Wales in nearly 50 years. The proposed reforms would also apply to civil partnerships.