The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) modernised and simplified divorce in England and Wales. Neither party has to ‘blame’ the other for the divorce by citing adultery or unreasonable behaviour. Instead, one or both parties just need to make a statement that the relationship has irretrievably broken down. The Court must accept the individual’s or couple’s statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and grant a divorce. One spouse cannot try and ‘defend’ the divorce to prevent it from happening.

Although every client is an individual with unique concerns, a typical divorce process is as follows:

• Initial meeting – Our Divorce Solicitors will meet with you and listen to your story. We will talk about whether divorce is what you really want and explain the process to you.
• Completing paperwork – To get divorced, you will need to complete a divorce application either yourself or jointly with your spouse. We will then submit this to a Divorce Centre, either online or by post, along with the Court fee. Once the petition has been acknowledged and the cooling off period of 20 weeks has passed, we can apply for a Conditional Order on your behalf. Six weeks after the Conditional Order has been granted, we can apply for a Final Order, which will end your marriage.
• Discuss the financial settlement and arrangements for your children – During the divorce process, our Divorce Law Solicitors will advise you on working out a financial settlement and arrangements for your children. Both these matters can result in disputes. If you are struggling to agree on particular points, we can advise and support you with resolving your disputes through roundtable negotiation and/or mediation. If you still cannot agree, we may have to file Court proceedings.
• Continued support – If you have children and/or ongoing financial commitments such as Spousal Maintenance, future disputes may develop, for example if one spouse wants to vary the Consent Order (the Court approved financial settlement negotiated between you both). Our commitment to client care and service means we will get to know you well and can provide practical advice as and when you need it.

Let us advise and represent you on your divorce. You can trust that we will always be on your side, protecting your best interests.

Contact us on 0333 123 1331 or fill in our contact form and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.