Before you apply for a divorce
To bring a marriage to an end, you will need to get divorced.
This guide helps you to get ready to make an application for divorce. There are a few things to do first.
If you are in a civil partnership rather than a marriage, this is called ‘dissolution’ rather than divorce. The government has a separate guide for you, but the process works the same way.
Overview of the divorce process
This is the process for a divorce in England or Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
You can get a divorce if you say that the marriage has broken down and cannot be saved. This is called ‘irretrievable breakdown’.
You don’t need to go to court. It is all done online or through the post. Usually the court will manage the divorce online but you can use paper forms if you prefer.
If you say your marriage has broken down, the court believes you. You don’t need to justify or explain this. There’s no opportunity to say bad things about each other. You just need to tick a box to say that the marriage has broken down.
It is almost impossible for your ex to stop the divorce. They cannot stop it because they want to stay married but only if your application is fraudulent.
You can apply by yourself for a divorce, or you and your ex can jointly apply for a divorce.
The process takes a minimum of six months. In reality it’s a bit longer than that waiting for the court to deal with the paperwork.
Some people start their divorce and pause it to finish sorting out splitting their assets first. This is why some people have longer divorces.
You can hide your address from your ex on the application.
The court tells you what to do as you go along, and when to do it.
The government’s ‘Get a divorce’ website is super helpful and clear.
Getting a divorce does not resolve financial matters. You will still need to reach an agreement about how you split money and property on divorce. Getting a divorce does not end your financial claims (although getting remarried can do so). You can read more about finances on divorce here.
This video from Caitlin Jenkins at Mills & Reeve LLP solicitors has a really clear explanation of the divorce process. Thanks to Caitlin and Mills & Reeve for letting us use this video.
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Special situations
Some people might want to annul their marriage, especially if their religion is against divorce or if their wedding ceremony didn’t follow the rules properly. This is called nullity. Seek legal advice if you are in this position.
There is also something called judicial separation. This is different to just splitting up and is mainly used by people of strong religious faith who don’t believe in divorce. Seek legal advice if you are in this situation. Don’t apply for a judicial separation unless you are really clear what it means.
Things to do before you apply for a divorce
You should now:
Have confirmed you can apply
know whether you are applying jointly or by yourself
know whether you need to pay the fee, and if you don’t, have already got your HWF code
have your marriage certificate and any translation
have any documents showing a change of name for you or your ex
Once you have all this, it’s time to actually apply.
Further help
All this can be confusing. Remember that this website just provides information and it cannot cover everything you might need to know, and it is not a replacement for legal advice.
For advice about your own situation, find a lawyer by looking at our page on Finding Legal Advice.
Here are Advice Now guides on Divorce and Separation and International Divorce.
Developing this page
This site is a work in progress. If you have a request for something for us to write about to add to this page, email us at law.clinic@uea.ac.uk. However, remember that we cannot give legal advice about your situation so we will only deal with general requests to write more information on specific points.