Divorce Solicitors

• The divorce itself – i.e. the ending of the marriage.
• Agreement on the financial arrangements, such as how the assets will be divided and whether any maintenance will be payable.
• Agreement on the arrangements for looking after any dependent children.

At the first meeting, your solicitor is required by a code called the Family Law Protocol to consider a number of issues and may need to discuss some of them with you. These issues include the prospects of reconciliation, possible referral to a family mediator, children issues, whether there is a need to limit access to joint bank accounts and credit cards, the need to register rights of occupation of the family home at the Land Registry, and much more.

The process of divorce itself starts when a divorce petition is filed with the court. This petition can be filed as a sole application or a joint application. In a sole application, the applicant’s solicitor normally completes the required documents.

In the case of a joint application, the court will send notice of the issued petition to both parties and they must acknowledge receipt of this.

With a sole application, the respondent spouse must file an acknowledgement of service (a document asking the respondent to acknowledge receipt of notice that the applicant wishes to divorce) within 14 days of service. If they intend to dispute the proceedings, they must file notice of this within 21 days, following the initial 14 days. Although a spouse will no longer be able to defend a divorce, they can still dispute the proceedings on restricted legislative grounds such as whether the court in England and Wales has jurisdiction over the marriage, the validity of the marriage or if the marriage has already been legally ended.

The applicant(s) must then wait a minimum of 20 weeks before confirming that they wish to proceed with the divorce. These 20 weeks of meaningful reflection can be used by the parties to co-operate amicably in getting their affairs in order and planning for the future.

Following this, the court will make a Conditional Order (previously known as a Decree Nisi).

After a minimum of 6 weeks, the courts can make a Final Order (previously known as a Decree Absolute). This signifies the official dissolution of the marriage.

We would, however, always advise that parties reach a financial settlement before applying for a Final Order, so as to not limit the finances available in a settlement (such as pensions). As such, the length of time it takes to reach a financial settlement will ultimately delay the divorce being finalised.

You should notify your employer, particularly if you have any health benefits, pension scheme or other employment related benefits which may be affected.

If you are receiving benefits, you should notify the Department for Work and Pensions. (In fact, you may need to notify them earlier if you separate, as this can affect some benefits).

If you have joint arrangements, such as joint bank accounts or memberships, you should inform the organisation concerned.

You should conduct a financial audit to ensure any insurance policies or any other policies have the correct beneficiaries.

You should consider making an up to date Will if you have not already done so.

A copy of the Final Order (previously known as a Decree Absolute), or in some cases the original certificate, is generally all the documentary evidence that you need to provide.

There is a bar on applying for a divorce within the first year of the marriage. After one year has passed then you can make an application for a divorce.

No. The law changed in 2022 and grounds are no longer required to get divorced.  The new laws are referred to as the “No-fault divorce”. 

All that you must declare is that the marriage is irretrievably broken down.

It is now possible to make a joint application for a divorce as well as sole one.

If the application is made on a sole basis, the other party will need to confirm receipt of the application and send back an “acknowledgement of service” within 14 days.

The change in the law in 2022 made it impossible to contest a divorce.

You can apply for a divorce yourself on the gov.uk website or with the help of a solicitor through the divorce portal.

We provide a fixed fee in relation to divorce applications. We aim to take the stress out of the process by ensuring all deadlines are met and documentation is correctly filed with the court in a timely manner.

After the application has been acknowledged by the other party there is a 20 week “cooling off” period before the Conditional Order can be applied for. This time aims to prevent people divorcing in haste.

People often use this time to try and agree the financial settlement of their divorce.

The decree nisi is what the conditional order was previously called. You may hear people use the term decree nisi if they divorced prior to the recent change of the law.

No. The granting of the Conditional Order does not mean that you are divorced. It simply marks a stage of the legal process.

After the Conditional Order has been granted it becomes possible for the Financial Order related to the divorce to be made. This may be made through agreement or through a court application.

After the Conditional Order has been granted it is still possible to change you minds and continue with your marriage.

The divorce is only finalised once the Final Order of the Divorce is made.

The Final Order can be applied for 6 weeks after the Conditional Order has been granted. Once the Final Order is granted this marks the end of the marriage. At this point it is not possible to change your minds.

The Final Order used to be called the Decree Absolute.

No, this is a separate process.

We always advise people who are getting divorced to formalise the financial settlement of the divorce through the court. This provides protection against future claims.

We advise that the Final Order of your divorce is not applied for until the Financial Order has been granted.

We offer expert advice as to the law in this area and can provide you with an indication of what would represent a fair and reasonable split of your assets. We will aim to help you negotiate a settlement outside of court but, if it becomes necessary, we can carefully guide you through the court process.

You do not have to formalise the care of your children through the court. Many people can arrange this between themselves successfully.

If you are unable to reach an agreement or wish for the agreement you have made to be formalised by the court then we can assist you in doing this. Our experienced solicitors will explain what to expect at each step of the process.