The law surrounding divorce in England and Wales is governed by The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. This law amends the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 to remove fault-based divorce, dissolution and separation.
- There are three stages to obtaining a divorce:
Applying for divorce - Conditional Order (previously called the ‘Decree Nisi’)
- Final Order (previously called the ‘Decree Absolute’)
This article will deal with each stage in turn.
Stage 1: Applying for Divorce
You can only apply for a divorce if one year has passed since the date you got married. There is one ground for divorce – that your marriage has broken down irretrievably. Prior to The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, there were 5 possible fault-based grounds for divorce.
Spouses can apply jointly, or one spouse can apply in their sole name.
Applications are made online at HMCTS Portal – which is a government ran portal.
There is a Court fee for getting divorced, which is £593.
If spouses apply for divorce jointly, they are both called the ‘applicant’.
If one spouse applies for divorce alone, they are the ‘applicant’. The divorce application will then be served on the other spouse within 28 days, this spouse is called the ‘respondent’.
The respondent must complete an acknowledgement of service and return the completed acknowledgement of service to the Court within 14 days. The respondent can either accept the divorce, or defend it.
There are limited grounds to be able to defend a divorce, one example is if one spouse believes the divorce has been issued in the wrong jurisdiction.
Stage 2: Conditional Order
In an undefended divorce, the applicant can apply for a Conditional Order once 20 weeks have lapsed from the date the application for divorce has been issued by the Court.
This period of time is called the ‘cooling off period’ and allows the spouses to reflect and ensure they want to proceed with divorce. Some spouses use this period of time to reach agreements in relation to finances and the children or, if an agreement cannot be reached, to commence negotiations to agree those matters.
Once the 20 weeks have lapsed, the Conditional Order can be applied for. The Conditional Order does not finalise your divorce, it is document that says the Court does not see any reason why you cannot end your marriage.
Stage 3: Final Order
The applicant can apply for a Final Order once 6 weeks and 1 day has lapsed from the date the Conditional Order is pronounced by the Court.
The Final Order is the final stage of divorce and confirms that you are divorced and your marriage has legally ended. You are then free to remarry.
Please contact our experienced family team if you require assistance in connection with divorce proceedings on 0121 233 4333 or by email on [email protected].
