Divorce Advice
Further Information
A divorce is a formal termination of a marriage.
As long as you have been married for one year or longer either you or your partner can apply for a divorce to the court in England and Wales. One partner must have lived in England or Wales for at least the year previous to the divorce application. If you have married abroad and now wish to divorce then you can apply for a divorce in England/Wales but you must have been domiciled or habitually resident in England or Wales for one year to apply for a divorce.
Prior to using specialist divorce solicitors, you should consider whether the marriage can still be saved perhaps using services such as mediation, counselling and all other alternatives to save your relationship before you decide to commence the divorce proceedings.
What do I do first?
Before even thinking about starting divorce proceedings you should ensure you are fully informed - it is important you are aware of the procedures and your rights. Our panel of specialist divorce Solicitors at CompareTheSolicitor.com can help you by giving you guidance and support throughout your divorce.
There is only one ground for divorce and that is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. The court will need evidence proving the ground for divorce. Evidence of the breakdown has to be shown by proving one of the following:
- Adultery
- Unreasonable behaviour
- Desertion for at least two years
- Two years separation if both parties agree
- Five years separation
Your evidence is set out in a document called a petition. If you file for divorce you are called the petitioner and your husband or wife is called the respondent.
If your divorce is going to be complicated involving large assets, custody of children, an unpleasant ex-spouse or you simply don't want to deal with your ex then you are better involving a divorce law solicitor at this stage who will complete the petition with you. The petition is sent to court and one copy is then sent to your ex partner.
What happens next?
If your ex partner does not intend to contest the divorce (defend the petition) then they will reply to the court and you will be sent a copy. If your partner does intend to defend the petition you will be notified of the same.
Depending on whether the petition is contested or not will determine if you have to appear in court. If the case is straightforward and a judge is happy to grant a divorce you will be sent Form D84A which will tell you the time and date when the Judge will grant your divorce. This is called 'pronouncing the decree nisi'.
Divorce has two stages:
Decree Nisi - this is given by the court if they are satisfied that grounds for divorce have been established.
Decree Absolute - this makes the divorce final. At this point the divorce is irrevocable.
How long it takes to get a divorce varies - the shortest timescale between starting to fill in the petition and decree absolute is 4 to 6 months. The shorter timescales relate to simple divorce only. Where agreements relating to financial matters and children are required it can take much longer. Contact us with your requirements and our experienced handlers will help you find the firm of professional divorce solicitors that best suit your needs.
CTS.com is best placed to find the solicitor to best suit your requirements. For further advice contact us with some information on your situation and our trained consultants will endeavour to help.
What Next?
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