Divorce Solicitors in Plymouth

On 6 April, the divorce process changed to a ‘no fault’ system. Once the application is submitted, you must then wait 20 weeks before confirming you still wish to proceed with a divorce. On confirming, you will then be granted a Conditional Order. This has replaced the traditional Decree Nisi. 6 weeks after the Conditional Order, you can apply for the Final Order, which has replaced the Decree Absolute.

There is only one ‘ground’ for divorce and that is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Previously, the person who sent the papers to Court (the Petitioner but is now called the Applicant) would rely on one of 5 facts to prove to the Court that the marriage had broken down irretrievably, but this is no longer necessary. You simply have to confirm to the Court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. The Court has no right to question this.

The good news is you can now get a no fault divorce! This legislation came into force on 6 April 2022. This means couples can now get divorced without having to explain why the marriage has broken down. If one party wants a divorce, they can get one. Parties can also submit a joint application to the Court, which is not something that was possible previously.

The process will take an absolute minimum of 26 weeks. From application, you must wait 20 weeks before applying for the Conditional Order and then a further 6 weeks before the application for a Final Order can be made. However, it is likely to take longer because the Court will need to process the applications for the Conditional and Final Orders, and it is common (and sometimes important) to delay the application for a Final Order until the finances have been resolved.

The Court can reduce the 20-week period, but it is only in very extreme circumstances that this will be possible. There is no way to obtain a 'quick divorce' and companies offering anything of the sort are likely to mean they can only prepare your application quickly. The divorce process itself is a rigid structure and is in a fixed timetable, which we have no control over.

The Court fee for a divorce is currently £593. Applicants can make an Application for Help with Fees where their income and capital is assessed to determine if they can get help paying the fee.

Our fees for acting on your behalf as the Applicant are £650 plus VAT and £350 plus VAT as a respondent.

Under the previous divorce law, it was possible for the party who received the divorce application, (the Respondent) issued by their ex to defend the divorce but these cases were rare. However, under the new divorce law, defended divorces are not possible.

The Respondent can still dispute the divorce, but this is now only possible on grounds of jurisdictional issues, questions around whether there is a legal marriage, or if the respondent has already issued an application.

If you have an email address for your ex, you can now serve them with the divorce application by email, but a paper copy should also be sent to them. If you do not have this information, then efforts to locate the respondent would need to be made, such as employing a process server to try and track them down.

If you can prove to the Court that you have made all efforts to track the respondent down, you may be able to proceed with a divorce.

Previously, you would have been able to defend the divorce. However, this is no longer possible and unfortunately, if the Applicant informs the Court that your marriage has irretrievably broken down, the Court must accept that this is the case, and the divorce will be allowed to proceed.

In the long-term, it does not make a difference who divorces who. However, the Applicant does largely control the proceedings up until the point of the Conditional Order because the process relies on the applicant to make the necessary applications in a reasonable timeframe.

If the acknowledgment of service is not returned, after a period of time, the Court will contact the Applicant with their options. You must then prove that they have received a copy of the application. This would usually involve paying a process server to hand-deliver the application to the respondent. Once the Court knows for certain that the respondent has been served, you can proceed with the application regardless of whether they return the acknowledgment of service or not.

You are officially divorced once the Court grants the Final Order (previously called a Decree Absolute). Until this date, you are still legally married. Once you have the Final Order, you are free to remarry if you wish.