Divorce: The basics

If you are contemplating, or involved in, divorce proceedings you will want to know the basic law governing them.

The first point to note is that divorce proceedings cannot be commenced until the expiration of the period of one year from the date of the marriage.

There is only one ground for divorce – that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. However, the petitioner (the party issuing the divorce proceedings) must show such breakdown by proving one of the following:

⋅ That the respondent (the other party) has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent; or

⋅ That the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent; or

⋅ That the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of two years or more; or

⋅ That the petitioner and the respondent have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years and the respondent consents to the divorce; or

⋅ That the petitioner and the respondent have lived apart for a continuous period of at least five years.

The procedure is that the petitioner will issue their petition with the court, alleging one of the above facts. The court will then send a copy of the petition to the respondent, together with an acknowledgement form for them to complete and return to the court stating, amongst other things, whether they intend to defend the divorce. Assuming they do not (defended divorce is extremely rare), the petitioner can then apply for the divorce to proceed. If it is satisfied that the petitioner is entitled to the divorce, the court will fix a date for the pronouncement of the decree nisi. Six weeks after the decree nisi has been pronounced the petitioner may apply for the decree absolute, finalising the divorce.

If you require further information regarding divorce, or advice as to how the above may apply in your case, Family Law Café can help. To contact us click the Contact link above and fill in the form, or call us on 020 3904 0506.

Image: Royal Courts of Justice, London – November, 2012, by Dan Perry, licensed under CC BY 2.0.