Divorce
Dealing with divorce and its financial implications requires expertise, experience and sensitivity, which is what our divorce lawyers will deliver to you. Our clients’ best interests are paramount throughout the process.
The breakdown of personal relationships is a traumatic event in any person's life and can cause all sorts of difficulties, some of which can only be resolved by legal routes.
Our divorce team will guide you through the legal minefield when a relationship breaks down and will support you at what is inevitably an emotional period of your life.
Early settlement by skilled negotiation is often desirable, we view litigation as a last resort. However, we are not slow in taking court proceedings where necessary.
- The divorce process
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To start the process a Petition needs to be presented to the Court, together with a statement of arrangement for the children (if any) and a court fee (this is only possible after the first year of your marriage). The person who presents the petition is called the petitioner and they must show that their marriage to their spouse, the respondent, has irretrievably broken down. The breakdown must be for one of five reasons:
- Adultery
- Unreasonable behaviour
- Desertion for two years
- Separation for two years, which requires the consent of the respondent
- Separation for five years, which doesn't require the consent of the respondent.
The Petition is sent to the respondent, who then files an Acknowledgement of Service. A district judge will grant a Decree Nisi (an interim order). Six weeks later, the Court will grant a Decree Absolute, which represents the finalised divorce.
