Divorce & Family Law

One in three marriages now end in divorce, and many divorces involve acrimonious disputes over finances, matrimonial property and children, in addition to obvious emotional turmoil. Our divorce lawyers and solicitors, based in our London offices in Edgware, North London and Central london are experienced, sensitive to the situation and always seek a mediated solution, but never at the expense of the best available outcome for clients.

We also assist clients when dealing with legal separation issues, co-habitation issues, children and divorce related pension issues. Different circumstances apply to divorces which are high value, contested divorces or with difficult children related issues as contrasted with uncontested, amicable divorce where there are few or no financial issues. For the latter, we offer a competitive, fixed fee service to ensure paperwork is completed accurately and swiftly. For divorce advice which is straightforward, please get in touch wherever you are in London.

What are the grounds for divorce?

There is only 1 ground for divorce, that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. However, the petitioner must prove 1 of 5 facts as follows:

• That the spouse has committed adultery and the petitioner cannot be expected to continue living together;
• The spouse has exhibited unreasonable behaviour and the petitioner cannot be expected to continue living together;
• The spouse has deserted the petitioner for a period of 2 years;
• The petitioner and the spouse have been living separately for more than 2 years and both parties agree to a divorce;
• The petitioner and the spouse have been living separately for more than 5 years whether or not the spouse agrees to a divorce.

How is judicial separation different from divorce?

In judicial separation the parties remain married but do not live together. The petitioner for judicial separation will only have to apply for one decree instead of decree nisi and then a decree absolute with divorce.

For judicial separation there is no need to have been married for 12 months but the petitioner must still prove one of the five facts. There are also other implications, with regard to pensions and other matters, please consult us for further advice.

Basic divorce procedure

The divorce procedure is administrative as long as the other party does not defend it. In most cases, the procedure is completed in four to six months. The process commences by filing a standard form petition at court that sets out the details of the marriage, any children and the grounds for divorce. A fee and accompanying documents are also required.

The court issues the petition and it will be sent to the spouse (respondent) who is then required to file at court an acknowledgement of service form, which gives the court certain information and tells it whether or not he or she intends to defend the divorce. If not, then the divorce can go forward on the "special procedure".

The next stage is for the petitioner to file an affidavit at court, with a formal request for divorce, called a request for directions for trial.

The Judge will consider the papers and if all is in order the case can proceed to decree nisi.

A decree nisi is the first stage of the divorce, and once granted, it is quite straightforward to deal with the second stage. There is generally no need to attend court for a decree nisi.

The petitioner can then apply for the decree nisi to become a decree absolute after six weeks have passed from the grant of decree nisi. If the petitioner does not apply, for whatever reason, the respondent can do so three months later as long as he or she gives notice to the petitioner. This leads to a court hearing. The marriage is fully terminated once decree absolute is pronounced.

Please contact us today, whether you are based in either by telephone or by completing our divorce and family law enquiry form.