The law on divorce/dissolution has changed. Divorce applies to marriages and Dissolution to Civil Partnerships.
On 6th April 2022 “no fault” divorce/dissolution was introduced. It is no longer necessary to allege adultery or unreasonable behaviour or wait for 2 years following a separation. The new law only requires a statement that the relationship has irretrievably broken down.
There are a number of initial requirements:
Alternative options to a divorce include Judicial Separation, which is procedurally similar to a divorce, or an Annulment of the marriage, which may be applied for during the first year of marriage.
You will have stated that your marriage or civil partnership has irretrievably broken down.
The new Application (formerly a Petition) will require general information about both parties including crucially addresses and email addresses.
In addition you must provide your marriage certificate. If you were married abroad you may need to provide an official translation.
Change in terminology
The new law allows for individual (Sole) Applications or Joint Applications. There are potentially great personal benefits for amiable couples to divorce with joint applications. However, there is a concern that if financial issues are not resolved that it may be better to consider a Sole Application in most cases.
Where a person instructs a solicitor to act for them all Applications must be made online via the Court Service digital portal. You will need your original marriage certificate or a certified copy (and a certified translation if it is not in English) https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate. There are a few rare circumstances where a paper application should be made. Any application for Judicial Separation or Nullity requires paper applications.
After the Court issues (starts) an Application there is a minimum 20 week wait before a Conditional Order (formerly Decree Nisi) can be made. There are slightly different rules for sole and joint applications. There is no longer any opportunity to Defend a divorce. It is possible to Dispute a divorce but only on the grounds of jurisdiction, invalid marriages or that the marriage has already been dissolved.
Once a Conditional Order has been made by the Court there is a further “cooling off” period of a minimum of 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks has elapsed applications can be made for a Final Order. Again there are complications depending on who is the applicant and whether or not there is a sole or joint application.
The Final Order ends the marriage or civil partnership. Once a Final Order is made either party can lawfully re-marry or enter a new civil partnership.
It also changes legal status which can have tax consequences and end rights under life policies and pensions. It also can affect gifts to a former spouse in a Will. You should review your Will after a Final Order is made; not only will some provisions cease to valid but you may wish to revisit the purposes behind the overall terms.
Decree Absolute does not terminate your financial rights and responsibilities towards your former spouse. Financial issues must be considered; any agreed terms should be recorded separately in a court order in order to achieve finality and enforceability. It is strongly advised that parties do not apply for a final order until all financial issues have been settled and recorded in an order form the court.
The court system now has a minimum set timetable of at least 26 weeks (6 months). However, the duration will be longer if financial issues are complicated or take a long time to resolve.
A nuptial agreement is a contract entered into by spouses or civil partners to regulate the ownership of money, property, assets and responsibility of debt.
The Ministry of Justice has said the increasing court fees said to be vital to ongoing court work for all those who seek justice, however,
No more unreasonable behaviour petitions, no more adultery petitions. As from April 2022, couples who want to divorce and then co-parent on an amicable basis
How does the court calculate child maintenance? The starting point for calculating child maintenance payments will always be the CMS formula. This formula applies on
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© Gordons Partnership is the trading name of Gordons Partnership 2020 Limited a company registered in England & Wales (Company Number 12464371).
Registered office is at First Floor, 1 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1LF. VAT No: GB 629 857 388 - Site by WBJ Designs
