The Petition

All divorce Petitions follow a standard format, containing information about the marriage, children, grounds for divorce and financial claims being made. In behaviour cases, there must also be a separate sheet setting out details of the allegations of behaviour, which can be a sensitive document to prepare, and which we shall go through carefully with you.

Defending a Divorce

Truly defended divorces are extremely rare, and Legal Aid is almost never granted to defend a divorce, on the grounds that 'it takes both parties to make a marriage work'. There is no facility for simply 'having your say' and usually when the Respondent defends by filing an "Answer" and/or "Cross-Petition" (for which there is a strict timetable) the issues are resolved by negotiation. The Court encourages this by fixing a Mediation Appointment with the District Judge for the parties and their lawyers to attend and sort it out.

Decree Nisi

This is the first of two Divorce Decrees, and the divorce is not finalised until it is made Absolute six weeks later. Once the Decree Nisi has been pronounced, the Petitioner is committed and cannot withdraw unless the Respondent agrees.

Children

Where there are children of the family (either of the marriage or step-children) under age, the Judge must declare himself satisfied with the arrangements for them before the Decree can be made Absolute, and the final Decree may therefore be delayed until he is.

So, when considering the divorce at Stage 6, the Judge must also consider the information supplied about children. If the Respondent's Acknowledgement of Service reveals there is a dispute over any aspect, or if the Judge feels more information is needed (especially where all parties are still living in the matrimonial home) he may ask for details or fix an appointment for the parties and their solicitors to attend to discuss the arrangements.

Trial Separation Explained

A trial separation may allow the spouse who wants the divorce to experience some of the feelings of being separated without making a final decision to divorce. The main advantage of a trial separation, is that it's easily reversible. You can try it for a while, go through counseling, and then reconcile, or you can try it for a while and then proceed with divorce.

If you and your spouse separate, you can do it one of two ways: an informal separation or a formal legal separation. An informal separation is basically whatever the two of you agree for it to be. Typically, one of you would stay where the two of you were living before, and the other would move into some other quarters. You typically wouldn't make any formal property division, but you would agree (again informally) on some kind of working arrangement about possession of things like cars, the bank accounts, the credit cards, and the stereo.

A formal legal separation is more permanent, more complicated, and more expensive. It's also much less common. It's nearly as expensive as a divorce (sometimes more so, because it's less common, so you have to pay your lawyer to scratch his or her head and figure out how to do everything). And often people who get a formal legal separation wind up having to go through all the pain, time, and expense again later to get an actual divorce.