Divorce Solicitors

If you have decided that you no longer want to be married, you can apply for a divorce. You will need to provide your solicitor with your original marriage or civil partnership certificate, your former partner’s name and address and documents for the change of name.

The next step is making a statement to the court that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. Only one application needs to be made between you. This can be a join application from both of you or a sole application form you or your partner.

A divorce can take at least six months to complete, even if your circumstances seem relatively straight forward. If children, pensions or property are involved it may take longer to sort out any issues.

There is not a definitive answer to how much a divorce will cost as the circumstances in each case will be different. However, if the divorce is uncontested, fees will be far less than if the case went to court and a financial settlement was required.

Both parties are entitled to a fair share of the combined net assets in the marriage. The starting point is for each of you to receive half but in most cases, this will not achieve a fair settlement for one of you, who may require a larger share to meet your needs. There is no standard settlement. Section 25 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 lists the factors that must be taken into consideration. Click here to view them.

The family home is often the main asset in most relationships to be divided up in a divorce, and the court will look at the needs of both parties, but especially in the needs of any minor children, which are the paramount concern of the court in these cases. Therefore, it is quite likely that in most cases a family home will be sold to provide for the needs of all parties, but not necessarily. Therefore, we suggest you seek legal advice from us and we can help you with your particular case as to whether or not your home would be sold.

To be able to remarry, your divorce needs to be finalised. You need a document called a Decree Absolute. This document is different to your Decree Nisi, which entitles you to a divorce but does not end your marriage. Once your Decree Nisi is pronounced, you need to leave six weeks and one day before you can apply for your Decree Absolute, which will dissolve your marriage. The most important thing to remember is do not make any plans to remarry until you have your Decree Absolute.

Your ex-partner will receive exactly the same information pack as you. If they do not respond immediately, we will try to contact them again by telephone or text or e-mail following the MIAM with you. It is often possible for us to engage people in mediation once we have had an opportunity to speak to them and ​can explain how mediation may assist in your particular circumstances.

It generally doesn't matter who begins divorce proceedings anymore, particularly because you can do a joint application or a solo application. Before, it did matter because there was the cost element. But, actually, if you're both in agreement, either one of you can apply. It might be more associated with emotions and agreements between the couple as to who will start.

If you're getting a divorce, you don't have to go to court. Matters can be resolved with you and your partner outside of court and can be resolved amicably.

No-fault divorce is a recent development in family law. It allows for couples to separate amicably without attributing fault to either party.

As a general rule of thumb, costs are not usually awarded in family proceedings. This is because family proceedings are not of the litigious norm, where the loser pays the winners costs. In divorce proceedings, you can ask for the other side to pay your costs, and for the cost to be shared equally. In financial remedy proceedings, the court can make an order for costs but this is very rare and only in certain circumstances. In child proceedings, it is at the court's discretion as to whether they make an order for the other party to pay your costs. As I've just explained, it is not usually the norm in family proceedings for the other party to pay your costs, however, we'll be able to advise you when it may be necessary to make that application for the other side to pay your costs.

The short answer to the question is no. You can get divorced in a jurisdiction of England and Wales if your marriage in a foreign country was properly registered and noted at the time, and either you or your spouse are now, what we call, habitually resident in the United Kingdom. In fact, the jurisdiction of England and Wales is a favourite forum for divorce from people from all around the world. So it's actually quite common to get divorced in England and Wales even though you were married abroad.