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Posted on February 13, 2008 by James Walsh | Posted under Divorce
Process for Getting a Divorce in the UK
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How do You Go About Getting a Divorce in the UK? According to UK law, you do not need to hire the services of a lawyer in order to get a divorce. You can file the divorce petition on your own and send it to the court's office. However, you have to be married for at least a year to be eligible for filing a divorce petition. A petition form should be filled in extremely carefully because any error in the petition can delay your divorce case further. You will be required to fill the factual details in a petition such as your name, address, date and place of marriage, and the reason for marriage breakdown. Besides these factual details, a petition also contains claims for maintenance, pension sharing orders, and orders concerning marital assets. If you are filing for the divorce, you will be called the Petitioner whereas your spouse will be called the Respondent. You will need to specify the reason for marriage breakdown in your petition and this reason can impact your divorce case. You may feel that your marriage has become loveless but this is not an acceptable reason in the eyes of UK law. According to UK law, divorce can only be granted on one of the following grounds:
If your husband or wife has had an affair with another person, you can file for a divorce. However, you will need to prove this affair in the court. Therefore, make sure that you have the requisite evidence of proving that an affair has in fact taken place outside the marriage. In addition, make sure you file for a divorce within six months of discovering the adultery. However, if you start staying separately after the incident of adultery, this rule does not apply. Adultery should be used as a ground of divorce only if your partner has cheated on you with a member of the opposite gender. If your partner has cheated on you with a member of the same gender, you will need to choose “Unreasonable Behaviour" as the ground for divorce. Most of the divorces in the UK and Wales are granted on this ground. Unreasonable behaviour constitutes any behaviour that one person in a marriage exhibits that the other person finds intolerable. The courts tend to be more lenient towards this ground of divorce than any other because one can think of innumerable examples of unreasonable behaviour. If there has been a specific incident of unreasonable behaviour, the couple will have to file for a divorce within six months of such behaviour. UK divorce law grants divorce to a person who has been deserted by his or her partner. The desertion period has to be two years or more. While this is one of the grounds for gaining divorce, it can be a little difficult to prove. Firstly, the deserted person will have to prove that the desertion was actually continuous. Secondly, the deserted person will also have to prove that the partner who is being accused of desertion had actually intentionally deserted his or her partner. Due to this reason, seeking divorce on this ground can get somewhat tough. If you and your partner have been staying separately for two years and you both agree to divorce, you can seek divorce under this ground. Divorce is granted under these circumstances if the couples agree to divorce amicably without blaming each other for the divorce. You will need to prove that you and your partner have been living separately for two years. This is probably the toughest way to seek divorce. You and your partner need to stay separately for five years in order to file for a divorce using this reason. Once the Petitioner files the petition in the court, the court sends a copy of it to the Respondent. The Respondent will need to accept the divorce and fill in the receipt specifying the same. Following this, you will need to send a “request for directions for trial" document to the court's office. This document needs to be supported with an affidavit. The paperwork submitted by you is checked by a District Judge to establish that you have proved the grounds for divorce. The judge will send you a certificate stating that your request for divorce is accepted and that divorce will be granted. The judge will also tell you the date for pronouncing Decree Nisi. After a period of six weeks, you can apply for Decree Absolute. A Decree Absolute pronounces a legal end to a marriage. About The Author: James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you would like more information on how to get a quickie Divorce see http://www.quickie-divorce.com |
Tags: DIVORCE, DIVORCE ADVICE, DIVORCE UK, QUICK, AFFORDABLE
