Divorce Advice

Yes (although we still have to give you the correct advice and not break any rules. That is all for your own protection). We can generally quote you a fixed fee for a piece of work that appears to be agreed. We have no wish to start a fight where there isn’t one.

If there are no problems and your spouse cooperates, then typically around 7 months from the date of first issue. The divorce courts are currently very understaffed and there is a significant administrative backlog in matters being dealt with by the court.

No. It is very rare for someone to have to attend Court in an undefended Divorce.

In a straight forward undefended Divorce there is a Court fee to issue the proceedings of £550. However, if you receive a low income or benefits, you can apply to Court to try and get a reduction to the fee, through the “Help with Fees” scheme. We can assist you with this.

You can reach an agreement with your spouse for them to pay and the Court can record this agreement in an Order during divorce. The court decides who will pay, but keep in mind there is little point arguing over who is paying the legal fees, which will be causing you to incur legal fees.

There is only one ground for Divorce in this Country, which is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. You have to show this break down by basing the Divorce on one of 5 facts:

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behaviour
• 2 years separation and your spouse consents
• 2 years desertion
• 5 years separation

Although it may sound fault based, in reality it is not in this country. It does not give you any real advantage in financial issues or children issues by being the Petitioner in Divorce. The only advantage the Petitioner has is that they control the speed of the Divorce as they are responsible for filing most documents.

No, whatever ‘fact’ you base the Divorce on, the process is always roughly the same length (about 6 months from the date a Court issues it, in our local Courts). This will only change if Divorce Law is overhauled by the Government, and as we type it’s not one of their priorities.

If you base the Divorce on adultery they will be asked to sign a confession statement admitting to this before Divorce is issued. If based on 2 years separation and Consent, they will be asked to sign to confirm their Consent before Divorce is issued. The other grounds do not need their consent or admission before proceedings start.

Your spouse will be asked to return an Acknowledgment at the start of the proceedings to confirm they have received the Divorce papers. This is their only part to play. If they refuse to return the Acknowledgment, we can prove service by other means, for example by arranging for them to be served with the papers by Court Bailiff.

Defended divorces are very rare these days, as a marriage take two and they are extremely expensive. So if one spouse says the marriage is over, a Judge is unlikely to stop the divorce and force spouses to remain married. Often defending a divorce is mentioned when one partner is trying to delay the divorce for spiteful reasons, a good solicitor will remove the emotional aspect of the divorce to help them understand the costs involved, which usually out-weigh the assets involved, saving all parties a lot of unnecessary financial loss and stress.

A Divorce court can fairly share out Pensions earned during a marriage-even if they’re just in one person’s name. Sometimes that person gets half, sometimes it’s less, sometimes it’s more, but we can help you understand how you decide how much to ask for, and the process of making a Pension Share happen. It is worth reading this Survival Guide to Pension if you are getting divorced, and let us know if you have questions or need assistance.

Courts can’t Order (ex) husbands & wives to pay 3rd parties (like a Mortgage Lender). But Courts can Order one spouse to pay maintenance to the other (even before the rest of their case is sorted out); with that maintenance, the payee can pay his/her Mortgage Lender.