At Paul J Watson Solicitor, we understand that a marital breakdown is a difficult and sensitive time. You can be sure that we provide all our clients with sympathetic and independent advice, guiding you through the divorce process.

We provide a free initial consultation for all our clients, whether by telephone, skype or in a face to face appointment. If you would like to contact our Family Solicitor, Stacey Phoenix, please call on 01642 293427.

Alternatively, complete the Contact Form, providing your contact details and a brief outline of your case, and we will contact you.

In the meantime, we have included some information about the divorce process, including some frequently asked questions.

What information does my solicitor need ?

We need to obtain as much background information as possible so that we can fully assess your circumstances and grounds for divorce. Whether you would like to do this by telephone, skype, email or in an appointment, you will need to provide the following information;-

• Why you would like a divorce (see Grounds for Divorce below).
• The date upon which you and your spouse separated (or the approximate month and year if you do not know the exact date).
• The names and ages of any children who are part of the family.
• The children’s current living arrangements and your proposals for the future in this regard.
• What contact you/your spouse currently have with the children.
• Whether there is a marital home and if so, whether it is owned in the parties’ joint names. An approximate value of the property would also be helpful, together with details of the value of any mortgage.
• A list of your assets, savings, income and pension, together with those of your spouse (if you know them).
• Details of any ongoing problems, such as substance abuse or gambling debts.
• Details of any incidents of domestic abuse.
• Your original marriage certificate, particularly if you intend to file for divorce. We will need this to file at Court with the Divorce Petition. If you do not have the original, you can obtain a copy from the Registrar of Births and Marriages.
• Any other relevant documents, such as letters from your spouse’s solicitors.
• The name and address of any person with whom your spouse has committed adultery, if you want them to be named in the divorce proceedings.

 Grounds for Divorce

In order for the Court to grant a divorce, it must be proven that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. This proof must be in the form of one of the following facts;-

• Adultery committed by your spouse.
• Unreasonable behaviour of your spouse.
• 2 years’ separation – if you have lived apart for two years and your spouse will consent to a divorce.
• 5 years’ separation – if you have lived apart for five years, in which case your spouse’s consent is not required.
• Desertion – your spouse left you and will not return.

We would discuss with you which of these grounds would be most appropriate, depending on your particular circumstances.

Any financial issues or those relating to children are separate to the divorce proceedings.

What happens next?

If you are applying for the divorce, then first of all we would need to start by writing to your spouse, telling him/her that you intend to file for divorce and the grounds on which you propose to do so. We usually provide a copy of the Divorce Petition for your spouse to consider and we are required to tell them that they should seek independent legal advice before proceeding further (if they have not already done so).

The person who files the Divorce Petition is thereafter known as the “Petitioner” and the other person is known as the “Respondent”. Any person with whom your spouse has committed adultery who is named on the Divorce Petition is referred to as the “Co-Respondent”.

Your spouse does not have to agree to the particulars (incidents) stated in the Petition in order for you to proceed; they can simply confirm that they consent to the divorce but that they dispute what is alleged in the Petition.

The Divorce Petition is then filed with the Court. In the Petition, you must state what orders you are asking the Court to make, such as asking that your spouse should pay your legal costs or should provide other financial support.

Your spouse or his/her solicitor will receive a copy of the Petition and will file a form known as an “Acknowledgement of Service”. They have eight days to do this, following receipt of the Petition. If they do not do this, then it is possible to arrange for a Court Bailiff to serve the Petition upon your spouse.

At this stage, you will need to file a sworn statement, known as an “Affidavit in Support of Petition”, confirming your intention to proceed. This statement also confirms whether there has been any attempt at reconciliation between the parties. This sworn statement is then lodged with the Court.

What happens next depends on whether your spouse indicates that the divorce will be defended i.e. whether they contest your request for a divorce.

Arrangements for Children of the family

If there are children of the family aged 16 or under (or between 16-18 years, if they are in full time education), then you must complete a form called a “Statement of Arrangements for Children”. This form asks you to give details such as with whom the children will live, plans for contact with the other parent, where they should go to school etc.

Where children are involved in a matrimonial breakdown, your children’s welfare should come before anything else. It is very important that the children should not become involved in the proceedings and that they are not encouraged to take sides. You should carefully consider what you intend to tell the children about your separation and you can find excellent resources on the Resolution website http://www.resolution.org.uk

The First Divorce Decree

If the Court is in agreement that you should be granted a divorce, then it will set a date and time for the Judge to pronounce the initial Divorce Decree, which is the “Decree Nisi”, now known as the “Conditional Order“. You, your spouse and your respective legal representatives do not need to attend Court for this pronouncement, unless objections raised to the grant of the Decree Nisi/Conditional Order. You are not divorced at this stage.

If the parties have not agreed by this stage who should pay the legal costs of the divorce, then the Judge will decide this now.

The Final Divorce Decree

Six weeks and a day after the Decree Nisi/Conditional Order is pronounced, your solicitor can apply for the divorce to be made “absolute” i.e. final.

If the Petitioner does not apply for the Decree Absolute, now known as the “Final Order”, then the Respondent can do so after three months have passed from the date of pronouncement of the Decree Nisi/Conditional Order.

Once the Decree Absolute/Final Order has been issued by the Court, you are legally divorced and you are free to remarry. If there are financial matters to be settled between the parties, then it is usual to wait for these issues to be resolved before applying for the Decree Absolute/Final Order. The Judge can make a Financial Order before the Decree Absolute/Final Order is granted which comes into force after the Decree Absolute/Final Order is pronounced.

Disputes between you and your spouse

Both our Solicitors are members of Resolution and are committed to helping you resolve matters as amicably and cost effectively as possible, without the need to go to Court. Resolution has a Code of Practice to which all Resolution lawyers required to comply. The Code encourages the parties to resolve their differences out of Court, avoiding the need for costly, stressful court battles.

By keeping communications between you and your spouse polite and non-confrontational, you can keep down the legal costs, cause less heartache for you and your children and allow you to deal with the divorce more easily, allowing you to get on with the rest of your life.

We would therefore encourage you to settle any disputes in relation to the separation, which typically involve finances, property or issues relating to the children, by one of the following methods;-

• Between you and your spouse directly. Negotiating between the parties directly is obviously going to be the cheapest option, but not everyone remains on good terms. You should still ask us for legal advice on any terms that you do agree with you spouse direct before making any final decisions.
• Through mediation. A trained independent third party would meet with you and your spouse face to face. The mediator will help to identify those issues on which you cannot agree and will help you to try to reach an agreement. If you can reach agreement, then the mediator will prepare a summary to send to us. Once both parties have received legal advice, we can convert the agreement into a legally binding document.
• Through collaborative law. Both parties and their solicitors meet face to face, instead of writing letters, to see if an agreement can be reached by negotiation. This is a relatively new process and you can find more information on the Resolution website; www.resolution.org.uk.
• Through negotiation via solicitors. Obviously, each party’s solicitor is focused on their own client’s interests and the outcome of negotiations usually depends on what solicitors would expect the Court to decide at the end of a hearing, based upon the circumstances of your case. If negotiations by this method are exhausted, then an application would need to be made to the Court for it to make a decision, which can be a lengthy and costly process. It is for this reason that court proceedings should be avoided if at all possible.

How much will it cost?

The cost of a divorce will largely depend upon how complex the case is and how far you and your spouse can come to an agreement. For example, if both parties agree to a divorce and there are no issues such as financial or property matters to resolve, then you could expect the case to proceed swiftly through the Court at a cost of approximately £500-£800 (plus VAT and third party fees, such as Court fees). If the case is complex and cannot be settled out of Court, then the costs can run into thousands of pounds.

We offer reasonable private fee-paying rates to clients who do not qualify for free legal funding. If you are on a low income or on Benefits, then you may qualify for help towards your legal costs from the Legal Services Commission. Otherwise our fees are charged on an hourly rate; you pay for the work which we do on your behalf and you can pay in instalments if you wish.

At the outset of your case, we will consider your circumstances and provide you with an estimate as to the costs of the divorce, which we will keep under review. If our estimate changes, then we will tell you why, as circumstances can often change during the course of a case.

You should not only think about costs however; the involvement of a solicitor who is approachable and sympathetic should also be of concern and we strive to achieve the highest levels of client care.

How long will it take for the divorce to be finalised?

Usually, a divorce takes 4-8 months, from start to finish, assuming that the divorce is straightforward and is not defended by your spouse. As you may appreciate, the process varies vastly from case to case and can be affected by simple factors such as how quickly you or your spouse deals with paperwork. Finances and property issues often take much longer to resolve, particularly if the case has to go to Court.

What alternatives are there to a divorce?

There are alternatives to divorce, which you should consider before making a final decision. You can find more information in our blog article;-

http://www.pauljwatson.com/family-matters/is-a-divorce-my-only-option-by-our-middlesbrough-divorce-solicitor/

In particular, you could consider a Separation Agreement. This would involve setting out in writing, with the help of a Family Solicitor, issues such as;-

• Whether or not you and your spouse intend to divorce in the future.
• What arrangements you have made in relation to the children.
• What maintenance payments have been agreed.
• What will happen to the matrimonial home.

Please note that a Separation Agreement is not legally binding and can be set aside by the Court.

 

The information that we have given is intended to be a basic outline of the process involved. You should still seek legal advice regarding your specific case.