Grounds for Divorce - A Practical Guide
There is only one ground for divorce, that is, that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.Irretrievable breakdown can be established by proving one of the five grounds of divorce:-
- That your husband or wife has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with them;
- That your husband or wife has behaved in such a manner that you cannot be reasonably expected to live with them;
- That your husband or wife has deserted you for a continuous period of at least two years immediately before you start your divorce;
- That you and your spouse have lived apart for two years and that the two of you agree to a divorce; or
- You have lived apart for at least five years for in these circumstances a court can grant the divorce with or without consent from the other party.
Divorce procedure is usually quite straightforward and will not normally require either spouse to attend court. Whoever starts the proceedings by issuing their divorce petition at court is known as the Petitioner. The person receiving the petition is known as the Respondent.
The solicitor acting for the Petitioner will do most of the work with the Respondent’s main obligations being merely to acknowledge service of the divorce petition. If there are children involved then a supplemental form called a statement of arrangements will also have to be completed by the Petitioner and served with the petition on the Respondent.
Once the necessary documentation has been prepared and acknowledged by the parties respectively the next step will be for the Petitioner to apply for Decree Nisi. At this stage it will be necessary for the Petitioner to swear a short affidavit in support confirming that the contents of the petition are true under oath.
Usually Decree Nisi of divorce will be pronounced in open court without the need for either party to attend. Finally Decree Absolute (finalising the divorce procedure) can be applied for after a minimum of six weeks and a day from Decree Nisi pronouncement. Often however Decree Absolute will not be applied for until all financial aspects of the case have been dealt with. Whilst Decree Absolute can be achieved as quickly as 4 months it all depends on each set of circumstances and it is not unusual for a divorce to take 12 months or longer.
For more information and for a free 1 hour consultation please contact one of our solicitors on 0845 270 2093. [email], or fill in the enquiry form:
If you believe one of these applies to you then contact one of our solicitors for a free 1 hour consultation on 0845 270 2093. by email, or fill in the enquiry form on the left.
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