Knowledge about divorce proceedings will also be helpful when you hire the services of a divorce solicitor. The English law does not require you to hire a divorce lawyer in order to proceed with the divorce. However, some people choose to hire a competent divorce lawyer to ensure that the legal aspects are taken care of completely while they sort out their emotional battles.

The last thing you would want around this time would be for a divorce lawyer to take you for granted. Therefore, it is important for you to be aware of the divorce procedure so that you can gauge the knowledge and competency levels of your lawyer during your lawyer selection process. To ensure that you understand the basic legalities concerning divorce, we will highlight the step-by-step procedure for obtaining divorce in the UK.

Step-by-Step Procedure for Obtaining Divorce in the UK

1) You will have to file a petition and take it to any divorce county court or to the Principal Registry in London. Petition is the most important document in the divorce proceedings. A petition will contain factual details about the parties’ names and addresses, the reason for marriage breakdown, and the date and place of marriage.

The petition also contains claims for maintenance, orders concerning marital assets, and pension sharing orders. The party seeking divorce is called a Petitioner and the other party is called the Respondent. You have to be married for at least a year before you can file a petition.

The petition is an important document and should be filled with utmost care and caution. Any incorrect information provided in the petition can go against you. In addition, make sure that you state valid reasons for the breakdown of your marriage. This is an area where most people tend to make mistakes.

According to the court, not all reasons justify ending a marriage. The court will only accept the one or more of the following reasons for a marriage breakdown. Make sure that you have enough evidence to prove these grounds.

• If your husband or wife has committed adultery

• If your spouse’s behaviour is objectionable and you can no longer bear to stay with your spouse because of this

• If you have been staying separately from your spouse for two years and you and your partner agree to the divorce.

• If your spouse deserted you at least two years ago

• If you and your spouse have stayed separately for five years in case of a contested divorce


2) After the court receives petition from your side, it will review it and send the petition to the other party concerned. The other party is then required to state if he or she accepts the decision to divorce. The respondent is required to fill in a form to authenticate that he or she has received and read the legal papers. This form is called ‘form of acknowledgment of service’. The respondent will have to sign this form and send it back to the court.

The respondent will have seven days to acknowledge that he or she has received the petition. If the respondent fails to send an acknowledgment, the court will send someone to serve the petition personally.

3) You will now need to send a ‘request for directions for trial’ document to the court’s office. This document will have to be supported with an affidavit. This affidavit is a statement stating that the information provided by you in your petition is true and accurate. You will need to take this affidavit to another lawyer or to a Commissioner of Oaths, who will ask you to sign the document and be a legal authorized witness.

Therefore, an affidavit is nothing but a sworn statement on paper that is similar to taking an oath in the court. Along with the affidavit, you will request the court for a Decree Nisi.

4) The judge will review all your papers and then send a certificate stating that your divorce will be granted. A date for pronouncing the Decree Nisi will also be stated by the judge. There will be a six-week waiting period between the Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute. After six weeks you will be allowed to apply for a Decree Absolute, which pronounces a legal end to your marriage.

The divorce procedure typically takes 3 to 4 months. This period will vary from case to case depending on the speed of the court and the respondent. There are times when the respondent is residing overseas at the time of divorce initiation. In such cases, the respondent will have thirty days to return the Acknowledgment of Service form as opposed to the usual seven-day period. The divorce process can be further delayed if the respondent does not return the Acknowledgment of Service form. In such circumstances, you will have to prove that the respondent has received the petition before the divorce process can move ahead.

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James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you want to find out more about a solicitor managed divorce see http://www.managed-divorce.co.uk