Divorce Guide 

How To Divorce – The Divorce Guide Setting Out Everything You Need To Know About Getting Divorced

This Divorce Guide shows you everything you need to know about how to divorce.

This guide is not meant to be comprehensive. Let your lawyer worry about the finer details. We keep it simple so you can only focus on those issues which are important.

Length of Marriage & Residency

You must have been married to your spouse for at least 1 year – You will not be allowed to start the divorce procedure if the marriage is less than a year old.

Either you or your spouse must be domiciled in England or Wales, or have been habitually resident here for at least a year before the start of the divorce proceedings. This generally means that you must either live in England or Wales permanently or have treated it as your home for at least the year before the divorce begins.

Divorce Papers

To start a divorce you must serve divorce papers on your spouse. These divorce papers are also known as a divorce petition. The spouse serving the divorce papers will be called “the Petioner”. The spouse which has been served the divorce papers will be known as “the respondent”.

Ground for Divorce & Evidence

To be successful in getting divorced, you must provide evidence to the court “that the marriage has broken down irretrievably”. Contrary to public belief this is the only ground for divorce in England and Wales.

To show that your marriage has broken down you need to submit in your divorce papers evidence of one of the five the following ‘facts’:

1. Adultery
That your spouse has committed adultery, and you find it intolerable to live with him/her

2. Unreasonable Behaviour
That your spouse has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with him/her

3. Desertion
That your spouse has deserted you for a period of at least two years (this means that you have absolutely no idea where your spouse is and have had no contact with them – it’s as if they have disappeared off the face of the earth);

4. Two Years' Separation
That you and your spouse have lived apart for two years and your spouse consents to a divorce

5. Five Years' Separation
That you and your spouse have lived apart for five years

(for separation it doesn’t matter if you have lived under the same roof. All you need to show is that that you are living separate lives do nothing together).


An important point to remember is that you cannot use any evidence of the above facts if any of these grounds happened over six months ago and you and your spouse continued to live together as a couple. For example, you catch your husband cheating on you but you decide to stay together to work it out. Seven months later you feel that the marriage is not working and you want a divorce. You cannot use the adultery as a ground for divorce as it happened over six months ago.

How Long Will The Divorce Proceedings Take

The time the divorce will vary on several factors:

· the speed of the court in dealing with the divorce papers
· how quickly your spouse responds to the divorce papers and whether he contents it
· any unknown issues that may arise during the process.

That said, where a divorce is uncontested and there are no disputes about children, money or property, a quick divorce could be completed within 14-16 weeks (i.e. 4 months).


What Happens If My Partner Becomes Difficult

If your spouse does not agree to the divorce and decides to defend it, you may then need to prove that you are entitled to a divorce by submitting additional evidence and attending the necessary court hearings - the divorce will no longer be 'uncontested'. The court will provide details as to when you will need to attend court and what additional paperwork will be necessary as the divorce will now be treated as a trial and you should seek professional help. In this situation we suggest that you upgrade to our Platinum Service.


Finalising the Divorce

One the court is happy with the divorce papers and the arrangements for any children and property, an initial ‘Decree Nisi’ will be granted.

Once this is granted you must then wait at least 6 weeks before applying for the ‘Decree absolute’, which is the final order ending the marriage.

Once the Decree absolute is granted then you are no longer married.