Divorce & Family Law Services

Funding your Case

Grounds for Divorce

Divorce Procedure

Financial Settlements on Divorce

Children

Parental Responsibility and Unmarried Fathers

Unmarried Couples

Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Domestic Violence

Civil Partnership

Divorce Procedure

To start divorce proceedings it is necessary to complete an application form to be filed at Court. This is known as the Petition. It is a good idea to get your spouse's consent to a Petition before it is filed before the Court to avoid the expense of any later disputes in relation to the contents of the Petition. Having consent may help to keep things amicable throughout the proceedings as well as being less expensive. Our team of divorce experts may be able to agree the contents of the Petition with your spouse or their solicitor.

Once the Divorce Petition has been completed and sent to the Court:

01.

The Court serves the Petition together with an Acknowledgment of Service on the Respondent. This is the spouse who did not commence the proceedings.

02.

Within 14 days the Respondent should file the Acknowledgment of Service. The Court sends the Petitioner (the spouse who started the proceedings) a copy of the acknowledgement filed by the Respondent.

03.

Our solicitors will prepare the Petitioner's application for Decree Nisi including a statement for the Petitioner to sign confirming that the contents of the Petition are true. Both the Petitioner and Respondent are then advised of the date fixed for the Decree Nisi. The date is likely to be a few weeks after the application was lodged.