Divorce and Dissolution of Civil partnership

Reasons for a Divorce

You need to show that you have been married for over a year and that the relationship has broken down irretrievably. You must show one of the following “facts”:-

• The other party has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with them. You cannot rely on adultery for the divorce if you carry on living with the other party for more than 6 months after finding out about it.
• The other party has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with them. You must give brief examples of the behaviour and you must not carry on living together for more than 6 months after the last example of behaviour.
• You have been separated for 2 years and both agree to the divorce. A period of separation is discounted if you start living together for more than 6 months.
• The other party has deserted you for more than 2 years
• You have been separated for 5 years. A period of separation is discounted if you start living together for more than 6 months.

Procedure

If the divorce is undefended, the procedure is fairy straightforward:-

• One party needs to file a petition and it is usual to agree this before filing it so as to avoid problems later on.
• If there are children, a statement of arrangements for them is also filed and again, it makes sense to agree this document before filing it. Both parents will have parental responsibility for the children, (but not necessarily for step-children) and in most divorce cases, no orders are made and shared parental responsibility continues.
• The person receiving the petition and statement of arrangements for children completes an Acknowledgement of Service form and in most cases the divorce is undefended.
• If the case is undefended, you will not need to go to a Court hearing but there must be some sworn evidence in the form of a statement called an affidavit.
• A Judge will read the papers without the parties being present and if satisfied will set a date for decree nisi.
• Six weeks after the decree nisi, the person applying for the divorce can apply for decree absolute which is the final decree. The parties will still be married until the decree absolute has been pronounced.

If the divorce or dissolution is defended, a much more complicated procedure will apply.

The process for the dissolution of a civil partnership is the same as the process for a divorce. The only difference is that it is not possible to dissolve a civil partnership on the basis of adultery.

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