After much campaigning, divorce is now under one ground “irretrievable breakdown” which means that no one is attributed the blame of the marriage or a civil partnership coming to an end.
How Do I Apply
You must have been married / in a civil partnership for at least twelve months, and living in the U.K in the same period before going forward with the application.
You can make a sole application or you can make a joint application together with your spouse/partner. https://www.gov.uk/divorce/file-for-divorce
A sole application means that you are the Applicant/Petitioner and your spouse/partner is the Respondent. Joint means you are both the Applicants and you must agree each step together. In all cases, you must have contact details for your spouse/partner so they are aware of the proceedings.
You must have an original or an original scanned copy of your certificate (marriage or registration) to proceed.
What happens after I apply
Once applied for, the application is issued by the Court as a Divorce Petition or a Petition for Dissolution. This is sent to your spouse / partner (if applied for solely) , and they will have to complete an “Acknowledgement of Service” to say they received the petition and on what date.
If you have applied together with your spouse/partner, then you proceed to the next step.
What if I apply alone and my spouse/partner does not respond
It depends on the circumstances, but you can proceed with the divorce by either applying for a different method of service, to give the Court reassurance that the other party has received the Petition or ask the Court to do away with that because you have been unable to locate them.
What is the next step
Once that the Acknowledgement of Service returned to the Court, you have to wait 20 weeks (five months) for the Court to process the petition to the next stage, which is the “Entitlement to a Decree”. As long as your spouse/partner has returned the Acknowledgement of Service, the Court will confirm that you are entitled to have a divorce and give you a date for your Conditional Order.
This is your penultimate certificate and the last point at which you can change your mind.
You will have to wait another six weeks before you can apply for the Final Order, which formally ends your marriage. You can and should deal with the divorce at the same time as your finances, as the Court considers that these are two separate applications.
Are Finances Included
No, you must make a separate application for your shared finances, if you agree or if you cannot agree. Please see our section on Finances for further information.
How long does it take
Divorce or Dissolution for civil partnership, can take between 7 and 9 months to conclude. This is also dependant on whether you make any applications for a financial order (by consent if you have agreed what to do with your finances or a formal order to the Court for the Court to assist you in reaching a decision).
What does it cost
Private fees for divorce/dissolution start at £900.00 plus VAT plus the Court fee and other disbursements as necessary.
If you have any questions on divorce or dissolution, please contact our Private Family Team for more information.