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Starting the Divorce Process
The Divorce process starts by drafting a Divorce Petition which is always based upon the irretrievable breakdown of your marriage but supported by 1 of 5 facts, namely adultery, unreasonable behavior, two years separation with consent from your spouse, desertion, or five years separation.
Once we have liaised with your spouse/civil partner and/or their legal representatives in relation to the petition (and potentially agreed on the wording of the same) in accordance with the Family Law Protocol, we send the petition to the Family Court for issuing with the court fee of £550.00 and other documentation which we can complete without any input from you.
Step
Divorce Petition is Issued by the Court
The court issues the Divorce Petition and assigns a case number that starts the proceedings.
The court sends your spouse/civil partner a copy of the sealed Divorce Petition together with an Acknowledgement of Service to complete.
From here on, your spouse will be known as the ‘Respondent’ in the divorce proceedings.
Outcome
Respondent Files an Acknowledgement of Service at Court
The Respondent is given 14 days to complete the Acknowledgement of Service and file it in court.
The form provides the Respondent with the opportunity to confirm whether they wish to defend the divorce or cross petition and/or confirm if they intend to defend any claim for costs made by the Petitioner. The court then provides a copy of the sealed Acknowledgment of Service, allowing us to progress the divorce proceedings to the next stage for you.
Outcome
Respondent Fails To File An Acknowledgement Of Service
It is not uncommon for a Respondent to refuse to cooperate.
If this happens we can instruct a Process Server to personally serve the Respondent with the paperwork. This costs approximately £110.00. After serving the documents, the Process Server provides a Certificate of Service. This is filed at court to evidence the Respondent has been served and allows us to progress the divorce proceedings to the next stage for you.
Step
Petitioner Applies for Decree Nisi
The next stage is for the Petitioner to make an application for Decree Nisi, the first stage of the divorce proceedings.
Whilst the application for Decree Nisi itself is rather straightforward, the Petitioner is also required to complete a Statement in Support of divorce based upon whatever fact (as listed above) supports the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage.
Step
The Court confirms the Pronouncement of Decree Nisi
Upon receipt of the application for Decree Nisi from the Petitioner and after considering the Statement in Support of divorce, the court will provide both parties with a Certificate of Entitlement to a Decree which confirms the date upon which the court will pronounce Decree Nisi on the open court.
The parties are not required to attend court for the pronouncement of Decree Nisi, but this may be an opportunity for either party to make representations to the court in relation to any dispute over costs.
Step
Court Pronounces Decree Nisi
As stated above, this is the first of two main steps you are required to take in order to bring your marriage to an end. After the pronouncement of Decree Nisi but before the pronouncement of Decree Absolute, you can still change your mind and remain married if you wish.
At this stage, you will receive your Decree Nisi certificate to acknowledge that your divorce has reached this stage.
Once a period of at least six weeks has passed since the pronouncement of Decree Nisi, the Petitioner will be entitled to apply for Decree Absolute. In reality, the period between Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute is usually longer than six weeks as we take this opportunity to bring the financial matters arising from your divorce to a conclusion during this time. This is because the pronouncement of Decree Absolute can bring an end to a number of matrimonial financial rights.
Outcome
Petitioner Applies for Decree Absolute
As stated above, once six weeks have passed since Decree Nisi was pronounced (and preferably once financial matters have concluded) the Petitioner will be able to make an application for Decree Nisi to be made Absolute, the second and final stage of the divorce proceedings.
If more than 12 months have passed since the pronouncement of Decree Nisi (which is often the case where financial matters have been heavily disputed) it will also be necessary for the Petitioner to provide the court with a Statement in Support of their application for Decree Absolute, confirming a number of factors in order that the court can be satisfied that the marriage is in fact at an end.
Decree absolute brings the marriage to an end.
Outcome
Respondent Applies for Decree Absolute
If the Petitioner has not made an application for Decree Nisi to be made Absolute once three months have passed since the first day the Petitioner was able to apply (simply put, four months and two weeks after the pronouncement of Decree Nisi), the Respondent will be entitled to apply.
Such an application will incur a £155.00 court fee.
If more than 12 months have passed since the pronouncement of Decree Nisi (which is often the case where financial matters have been heavily disputed) it will also be necessary for the Respondent to provide the court with a Statement in Support of their application for Decree Absolute, confirming a number of factors in order that the court can be satisfied that the marriage is in fact at an end and the divorce process is complete.
Step
Decree Absolute is Granted by the Court
Upon receipt of an application for Decree Absolute (and if applicable, a Statement in Support and court fee), a district judge will grant the Decree Absolute at a hearing in open court. Again, you are not required to attend the hearing.
This is the second and final stage of the divorce process and, once Decree Absolute has been granted, your marriage will be completely at an end and your divorce finalized.
As with Decree Nisi, the court will provide you with a certificate that you ought to keep in a safe place.
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