Family Solicitors

Who Can Get a Divorce?

To get divorced in England or Wales:

• You need to have been married for over 12 months
• Your relationship must have permanently broken down
• Your marriage must be legally recognised in the UK (including same sex marriage)
• The UK must be your permanent home, or the permanent home of your husband or wife

Grounds for Divorce

There are five ‘facts’ for divorce. They are:

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behaviour
• Desertion – when one party deserts the other for more than two years. 
• Living apart for at least two years and you both agree to the divorce
• Living apart for at least five years. In this case, it doesn’t matter if your partner doesn’t agree to the divorce.

Step One

Every family situation is unique, so the first thing we do when you instruct a Beswicks’ divorce solicitor is to meet with you so that you can fully explain your circumstances. This can be done face-to-face, over the phone or via video call.

You can choose from a comprehensive Beswicks Overview appointment consisting of an in-depth meeting at which we will accurately assess the best next steps for you and provide you with a clear Moving Forward Plan that you can keep and refer to whenever you need to (£250+vat) or a standard hour-long fixed fee appointment (£100+vat).

Step Two

There are two parties in any divorce; the person who initiates the divorce, also known as the petitioner, and the other party who is the respondent. 

If you are the petitioner, step two will involve writing your divorce petition. Your solicitor will draft this for you using the information discussed at your initial consultation.

Once you have reviewed your divorce petition. It will be sent to your spouse to give them the opportunity to respond.

If you are the respondent, we will review the details contained in the divorce petition received from your petitioner. You have two options at this stage, to either agree the petition or to defend it. 

If you agree to the petition, this is an uncontested divorce but if you decide to defend the petition, it is a contested divorce.

Step Three

The next stage varies depending on whether your divorce is contested or uncontested.

An uncontested divorce is usually more straightforward than a contested divorce. In an uncontested divorce the divorce petition is sent to the court, along with an acknowledgement of service form filled in by the respondent. The petitioner then applies for a decree nisi, which is a provisional decree of divorce.

Unless there is any disagreement about costs, an uncontested divorce does not usually require the participants to attend court.

If a divorce is contested, the petition will be sent to the court and the respondent given 21 days to file an answer saying why they disagree with the divorce. This leads to a lengthier and more costly process.

Final Steps

Divorce proceedings can be complex and there may be many issues to resolve before your divorce is final, for example, financial issues, child arrangements and property matters. Your solicitor’s expert advice and support is crucial in ensuring you achieve the best possible outcome.

Once these matters have been resolved and providing a period of six weeks and one day has passed since your decree nisi has been pronounced, the petitioner can then make a final application for a decree absolute to officially end the marriage.