Divorce & Separation (The Legal Process)

A GUIDE TO ASSIST YOU

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE

You need to show the courts that the marriage has “Irretrevably broken down”, this means that one or the other of you feel you cannot continue to live within the confines of the relationship. One of you will need to apply to the courts in England or Wales for the marriage to be ended as long as you have been married for at least ONE YEAR. At least one of you must have been resident in The UK for ONE YEAR prior to making the application, we can assist you in making this application. The said application will be known as “A PETITION” and the applicant will be known as “THE PETITIONER” whilst the person being petitioned shall be known as “THE RESPONDENT”. If either of you are not resident in The UK we can put you in touch with an International Advisor, so don’t let that worry you. Remember “Our advice is not too expensive”. You will need to prove one of the following facts.  .  .

1). UNREASONABLE BEHAVIOUR:

Your partner (Husband or Wife) has behaved in a way which means that you cannot be reasonably expected to continue to live with them in a marital home and relationship. One of our team will be happy to help you prove this if the court should deem it necessary. You will need to thimk about the major forms of behaviour that has lead you to want to end your marriage, we would always encourage you away from being vindictive or emotional as this could badly delay and interrupt future negotiations. It is worth noting that singular events that took place six months or more before the petition cannot be relied upon unless there is more than one incident of a similar nature within the time frame.

2). ADULTERY:

This tends to be the ground that most often needs our assistance as proving it for the courts is not always that easy, particularly in cases where the other partner does not admit guilt. Please remember that if you continue to live with your partner for more than six months after you discover the adultery then the courts will not usually accpet these grounds, unless you can prove that it has taken excessive time to obtain sufficient proof, one of our team will assist you in which way to handle such matter. You may well be asked to supply the name of the person (s) with whom your partner is alleged to have committed the adulterous acts with, they will be known as “THE CORRESPONDENT”.

3). DESERTION:

If your partner has deserted you for a period of more than two years without contact and without your agreement. This is one of the more difficult to prove unless your partner admits to it, particularly if he or she does not consent to the divorce. We can assist here by gathering witness statements, etc. It is worth noting that the court will not generally ask for proof if your partner co-operates reasonably.

4) NO FAULT / SEPERATION APPLICATIONS:

If you have lived completely seperately for a period of “TWO YEARS” and your partner consents to the divorce this will be known as “A NO FAULT” petition. You can have had small periods when you lived together as long as it does not add up to six months in total and you have spent at least Two Years in total living seperately in total prior to the application. If you have lived seperately for more than “FIVE YEARS” your partner does not need to agree to the divorce and the court can grant it promptly. Your partner can still ask the court not to grant the final / absolute decree due to hardship such as financial difficulties.

DIFFICULTIES IN PROCEEDINGS:

If there is a child as a product of the marriage or one that has been treated as a child of the family such as a child of just one of you as a natural parent but has been living in the marital home then things can become much more difficult as the courts will want to be absolutely certain that arrangements are in place for financial provision, safety and care of the said child / children before considering a petition. Our team can offer support and advice on submitting a “STATEMENT OF ARRANGEMENTS” for the child, this will need to be filed to the courts at the same time as the petition for divorce. This applies to all children UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE or to any that are OVER 16 but remain in full time education at the time of the petition being filed.

If the court advises you that THE CORRESPONDENT wishes to defend the petition then you may well need our services and / or that of a solicitor. A document known as “AN ANSWER” must be filed before the court within 28 days. This can become an extremely emotionally and difficult time and a lot more resentment can result from this so please feel free to speak to us about various ways to avoid extra confrontation.

AN AFFIDAVIT:

This must be completed and submitted this is best done with the assistance of a family law solicitor or one of our team as things can be quite a difficult task. The affidavit must be sworn to confirm that the contents of the document are accurate and true, this can be arranged quite simply and can be done at the local court free of charge.

This is by NO MEANS a comprehensive document but should give you some idea of the procedure, one of our team will happily lead you through each step of the proceedings where evidence is necessary at a reasonable cost, depending on how much work is involved in the search for evidence.

Contact us:

E-mail:  newchapterinvestigations@hushmail.me

Call:     +44 (0)7546 899842  or  +44 (0)7843 156803