Divorce, separation and relationship  breakdown

Dealing with a relationship break up can be a complicated process. Not only has your relationship come to an end, but you have to think about how to move forward.

 

How am I going deal with the house?

How am I going deal the children?

I gave up my job to care for the children, and now I need to go back to work?

How am i going to afford everything? 

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I make the process as clear and simple for you to understand. Supporting you with making sense of the situation and giving you options.  

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If have been married on in a civil partnership, for at least a year you are entitled to apply for a divorce and process is generally administrative.

 

This means that usually neither of you will need to see a judge to get a divorce as it is almost always agreed by a judge on the paperwork.

 

The process is simple as long as your spouse/civil partner does not decide to defend the proceedings and ask the court not to grant your divorce. When this happens, it is called a defended divorce and is a different process, but defended divorces are costly and thankfully very rare.

 

The person applying for a divorce is known as the Petitioner, and files a Divorce Petition with the court  (from 13 September 2021 if you are legally represented you must the use the online divorce system, which can often be a speed up the process)

 

The petition is a form that gives the court information about you and your spouse and tells the court that you feel your marriage has irretrievably broken down.

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There are fees set by the court for making the application, and information in relation to the court fees can be found here.

 

For the purposes of any financial or children’s arrangements that need to be made, it doesn’t matter in most cases who starts the divorce proceedings and why.

 

You can ask the court to make orders about money and about children if necessary, during (or after) the divorce, but these legal processes are completely separate from the divorce itself, and you are best obtaining legal advice about this before making any applications to the court.

 

How long your divorce is likely to take can vary depending on the current timescales for the court dealing with your divorce, and whether each step in the divorce is taken promptly and financial arrangements do not hold things up.

 

It’s important to note that divorce may mean that certain provisions in your Will do not work as you might have intended them to. You will need to make a new Will quickly after decree absolute (or in contemplation of divorce) to ensure your wishes are carried out in the event of your death.

 

If you would more advise in relation divorce matters do not hesitate to contact me for an initial and informal chat about how I can help you