The divorce process usually takes between five to six months. This aspect is usually refered to as 'the main suit' by lawyers. It is started by presenting to the Court a divorce petition and the marriage certificate. If there are children involved, the petitioner will also file a form detailing the arrangements made for the children post separation. A Court issue fee (akin to an administration fee levied by the Court Office) is also sent with the paperwork, currently standing at £300.
the five facts
There is only one way of securing a divorce. A petitioner must convince the Court, that the marriage has 'irretrievably broken down'. To prove this, the petitioner must rely on one of five facts. In summary form, these facts are known as:
- Adultery
- Unreasonable behaviour
- Two years of desertion
- A two year separation based upon the consent of both parties
- A five year separation where the respondent need not offer his or her consent to the proceedings.
In normal cases, the recipient of the divorce papers (respondent) is served with the relevant paperwork by the Court Office. The respondent will reply by completing the Acknowledgement of Service indicating whether he or she wishes to defend the case. If proceedings are undefended then the acknowledgement form will formulate a part of the petitioner's application for the decree nisi. The Judges involved may deal with the progress of the main suit based upon the evidence on the face of the papers. Attendances at Court in this straight forward situation are not necessary.
However, if the case is defended by the respondent then the progress of the main suit will often necessitate the parties' attendance at Court. This can be a costly and very unpleasant experience.
Once the decree nisi has been pronounced the petitioner cannot apply for the decree absolute for six weeks and one day. If the petitioner still fails to apply for that final decree then it is open to the respondent to make an application three months thereafter.
Lawyers often use this intervening period of inactivity prior to the decree absolute to focus upon resolving any outstanding issues regarding financial negotiations.
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