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The divorce process in England and Wales has, until recently, been administered exclusively via physical paperwork that needed to be sent directly to court. Now, though, it’s possible for the relevant documentation to be completed and submitted online – something which has left a few people feeling more than a little annoyed.

Traditionalists – in what is now firmly established as their default response when anyone proposes any kind of change to divorce law, the divorce process or pretty much anything divorce-related – have claimed that this will make the process of obtaining a divorce too easy. This, they claim, will bring about a tidal wave of divorces as if, we can only presume, that all married couples would divorce if it didn’t require a stamp or a trip to the nearest post-box.

The reality, of course, is that the greatest procedural barriers are still in place following this change: there is still a court fee of £550, couples must still apportion blame if they’ve been living separately for less than two years and there are still numerous forms to complete. These are just a few examples of the far larger problems faced by those looking to divorce their spouse than merely being unable to submit paperwork online.

As ever, I will make the same statement I have made previously when groups have argued that simplifying the divorce process will result in the breakdown of far more marriages: no one will decide to pursue a divorce exclusively as a result of a procedural change.

Indeed, changes to the divorce process or divorce law will never be what lead people to conclude their marriage has irretrievably broken down. They may file because changes make it more practical for them to do so, but there can be little doubt that they will have concluded that their marriages were not sustainable beforehand.

What’s more, it must be stated that whilst opponents of changes to divorce law and procedure appear to be under the impressions that legislators can make the task of ending a marriage easy, this is fallacy. Divorce is always difficult for those involved, particularly children of the marriage. When the formal process itself is unnecessarily complicated, it’s far more likely that those involved will become frustrated, thus worsening the negative effects it’ll have on not only them, but their extended family – and therefore children – also.

Once again, the criticisms levelled at changes to the divorce process serve as proof of the fact that those that detract such alterations are actually opposed to divorce itself, as their baseless reasons for opposing them prove.

Many people assume that they will be unable to get a divorce online if they and their spouse have had children together. So much so, in fact, that it’s a question our advisers are regularly asked.

All in all, it’s understandable that people have a tendency to assume that the divorce process will be complicated by the presence of children. The fact that the needs of children involved in legal proceedings of any kind will take precedent over those of anyone else involved is well documented, after all. In spite of this, though, the divorce process is, provided both spouses consent, straightforward irrespective of whether children are involved, how old they are, or even how many the couple have had together.

Several years ago, if the couple filing for divorce had children (or even if children had lived with them as part of the family during their marriage) under the age of 18, their Divorce Petition would need to be accompanied by a ‘Statement of Arrangements for Children’ form. Here, the spouse applying for the divorce was required to outline what arrangements were in place for the children. A copy of this form was then sent to the other spouse along with the Divorce Petition so that they could indicate that the arrangements outlined within it had indeed been agreed by the two parties. A judge would then review them and decide whether or not they were appropriate. If the judge was not satisfied, the divorce would not go through.

In reality, this was so rare that, even after we’d administered thousands upon thousands of divorces, we simply never encountered it. This led the government to reconsider how necessary this was and, following the necessary discussions, it was decided that this form would no longer be required when a divorce was formally requested.

Following this, a revised Divorce Petition was introduced that still required the applicant to name any children that had been born to the two parties or that had lived with them during their marriage but this and their dates of birth were all that was required. Shortly afterwards, this section was also removed and the Divorce Petition no longer makes any reference to children of the marriage whatsoever.

As a result, there is no reason why a couple that consent to a divorce cannot get a divorce online if they both consent.

If you still have questions about divorce, simply click here to get in touch with one of our advisers today.

Starting the divorce process can be a daunting prospect. The thought of formally ending your marriage is one that, as you’ll be aware of the significant changes it’s certain to bring, is more than capable of causing anxiety. Whilst these concerns are nearly always misplaced, though, this doesn’t make them any less unpleasant. Fortunately, in our experience, by improving our understanding of how the divorce process should begin, we can placate a great deal of these concerns.

With this in mind, here’s how to start the divorce process in England and Wales:

The couple discuss the divorce

Before actually beginning the process of formally requesting that the courts grant them a divorce, it’s important that couples get together and try and work out how assets should be divided, childcare arrangements and, most importantly, their grounds for divorce.

Decide on the grounds

You may have noticed that calls for no-fault divorce have been commonplace over the last few months and, after you’ve read this section of this post, we think you’ll have a much better understanding of why.

If a couple agree to a divorce and have been living separately for more than two years, then they can utilise what are currently colloquially referred to as the no-fault grounds of two or five-year separation. When these are used, the courts will need to be provided with no detailed information – all they’ll require is an approximate date of separation.

If they, instead, need to rely on the other grounds of either adultery or unreasonable behaviour, the courts will need examples and more precise dates. Crucially, one spouse will need to be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage and this often turns relatively civil spouses into hostile ones; hostility that is only exacerbated should they be unable to agree on who should accept blame for the end of their marriage and be required to wait years before obtaining their divorce.

Should such a dispute arise, it will often be because neither person feels they should accept the blame for the breakdown of the marriage but, if it is instead because they fear detrimental treatment at the hands of the court, they need not worry. The courts rarely consider adultery or unreasonable behaviour to be a valid reason to issue one spouse with a lower or greater award than the other. Most couples also arrive at an agreement on how things should be divided without needing the courts to make this decision.

Find your marriage certificate

Yes, it’s frustrating but you can’t file for a divorce without it so you’re either going to need to find or replace your marriage certificate. If you do need to do the latter, here’s a guide on what to do if you’ve lost your marriage certificate.

Get and complete a Divorce Petition

Also known as a D8, a Divorce Petition is the document you’ll need to complete and submit to the court along with your marriage certificate and you can download a copy here. Once this has been done, you’ll officially have started the divorce process.

Looking for more information on the divorce process? Click on the link to get more information and find out how to contact our advisers today.

Divorce, even when it’s uncontested, can still be extremely expensive, particularly as it often means that people will be moving from dual-income to single-income households. As a result, it’s hardly surprising that so many people are concerned about their spouse’s debts and whether or not they’ll be in any way responsible for them.

Generally, you wouldn’t need to worry about debt that your partner accrued entirely in their own name such as credit cards, personal loans etc. This would still apply if the debt was accrued for something you both benefitted from such as a holiday or home improvements unless your former partner contested this in court and provided evidence that you agreed to share the debt in question. As we’re sure you can imagine, this is likely to be problematic and is very rarely pursued as a result.

Whilst you’ll probably think that this is good news, there is a potential drawback: if you’ve ever had a joint bank account, your credit ratings are forever linked. What this means is that your credit rating will be adversely affected if your spouse fails to make payments or worse.

Now, if you’re confident that you won’t be relying on credit then this may be something that you can live with. As we’ve stated previously, though, the period that follows a divorce is often financially turbulent and the insurance of available credit can, at such times, prove to be invaluable. Should you find yourself without savings and in urgent need of money, you could well find that your only option is to take out a payday loan and to then deal with either the exorbitant payments that will follow or, worse yet, bankruptcy. It’s an extreme example, but the point remains: you may not be responsible for your former spouse’s debts following a divorce, but they can still have an adverse effect on your finances.

Painful though it may be, it can be better to negotiate an agreement that ensures both parties will be able to keep up with any repayments they are left with. It may seem unreasonable for you to find yourself paying for your former spouse’s purchases and, yes, that’s a perfectly reasonable way to feel under such circumstances but – for the reasons we’ve discussed previously – it can make fiscal sense.

Looking for more divorce advice? Click on the link to get in touch with our advisers today.

For several months, prominent figures from the worlds of law, religion, government and more have been publicly debating divorce law within the UK. Some have argued for reform, others that revising the law and allowing no-fault divorce would be harmful to society.

I, personally, have argued that it is rational to reform divorce law and the need to, at times, apportion blame should be eradicated. My arguments rely on simple logic: I have worked within the divorce-sphere for a decade and am yet to speak to someone that flippantly made the decision to divorce. With those opposed to changes to divorce law claiming that reformations would lead to an increasing divorce rate, my own experiences have shown me that this would not be the case and I can see no credible argument for not changing the law as a result.

Morally and subjectively, I have also supported these reforms because I believe that organisations have no more of a right to decide whether or not a couple can divorce than they do over whether they may marry. In short, I genuinely believe that people should be trusted to end their marriages if they believe it to be the best course of action. Today, I stumbled across an article in the Guardian describing the lengths one of China’s provinces has gone do in order to stem escalating divorce rates within their region and it galvanised my views.

In what I can only describe as the divorce process you’d presume to be akin to that utilised in one of Orwell’s more obscure pieces of science-fiction, couples that file for divorce in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu are offered the opportunity to take a test designed to determine if their marriage can still be salvaged. Granted, the test isn’t mandatory and the couple will not be prevented from getting a divorce whatever the result may be, but this is still clearly a bridge too far.

The test may be voluntary but administrator’s claims that they can identify when a couple shouldn’t be looking to end their marriages as a result of how they respond to questions is nothing short of fallacy. Human relationships are incredibly complex and, as stated previously, the people best placed to determine whether or not the marriage is salvageable or beyond repair is the couple themselves.

This event does serve as a timely reminder of why it’s so vital that no-fault divorce is introduced as soon as possible, though. Yes, those arguing it will damage familial stability are – just like those administering tests in Jiangsu – well intentioned, but preventing couples from separating by utilising metaphorical roadblocks when there’s no love left in the marriage is far more likely to have a profound and negative effect on the parties and their children than a divorce ever could.

In short, we need to either embrace that no-fault divorce is the future or accept that, should we choose to end our marriage, that we’ll be required to jump through any number of hoops in order to appease people who simply cannot understand our situations and why we wish to end our marriages.

Divorce can get very, very expensive. Negotiations over the division of assets are, after all, ultimately discussions that will determine the participant’s quality of life for at least a few years following their divorce being made final. Combine this with potential disputes over children, gargantuan solicitors’ rates, the increased financial strain that comes with living alone etc. and the cost of a divorce can quickly spiral out of control.

By following a few simple steps, though, you can significantly reduce the cost of ending your marriage:

Try and negotiate with your spouse directly

If you and your spouse can both agree on how to split your finances, residency arrangements for the children etc. you’re not going to need to pay third parties to negotiate on your behalf and will make significant savings.

Yes, such negotiation can be fraught with tension and even animosity but, if you both want to save on your divorce, you’ll certainly be able to agree a few compromises.

Whilst you may not be able to agree on everything, though, that doesn’t mean you’ll need to go straight to expensive solicitors.

Try mediation

For couples that genuinely want to try and drive down the cost of their divorce but need some help negotiating a comprehensive agreement (who gets what, where the children of the marriage will live etc.) mediation is an invaluable service.

During mediation sessions, a qualified individual will work with both spouses and help them come to an arrangement that works for both parties. Mediators are not only significantly cheaper than solicitors, but are also guaranteed to be non-confrontational meaning that they won’t rile either spouse. This means that the parties will not only save money but will find the divorce process less emotionally damaging, too.

Download your documents

More and more people are now opting to complete their own divorce paperwork and, as all of the documents you’ll need can be downloaded directly from justice.gov.uk, it’s not hard to see why.

Whilst you’ll save money if you can complete your documents correctly, though, you’ll be charged a further court fee (you’ll find more information about this charge later in this article) if you need to re-submit them because of an error so drafting your own documents can quite easily prove to be a false economy.

Consider an online divorce provider

Online divorce providers such as Quickie Divorce are significantly cheaper than solicitors and will prepare all of the divorce documentation you’ll need for you for just £67.

As the fee for re-submitting amended documents to the court is £110 and most people that prepare their own documents making a mistake, the value of these services is, we think, obvious.

Check if you’re entitled to a discounted court fee

Whilst the courts charge a fee of £550 to process all divorce applications, you may be entitled to a reduction in this fee. Alternatively, you may not need to pay it at all.

So, before you submit your divorce paperwork to the courts, check out this page to find out if you can make further savings.

‘Can I immediately remarry once my divorce has been finalised?’ is – and you may be surprised by this – a question that is put to our advisers on a pretty regular basis.

Often, spouses separate and neither has the inclination to file for divorce. They agree on how to divide their various assets, have chosen who’ll keep the matrimonial home etc. and the process of ending their marriage simply seems like an unnecessary cost.

Such arrangements often persist for several years but, when one party finds themselves in a serious romantic relationship, their desire to remarry prompts them to take action and pursue a divorce. Many even book venues, find caterers and ultimately arrange their wedding before they’ve even begun the process of ending their marriage. Hardly surprising that they want to know how soon they’ll be able to marry, then.

Circumstances like these are so common, in fact, that a myth has entered circulation because of them: in recent years (and we have – in spite of our dogged efforts – been unable to discover the origins of this belief), our advisers have reported that an alarmingly large number of people have been under the impression that they are able to remarry immediately after they have filed for a divorce. This is untrue and could potentially result in people committing the act of bigamy – a criminal offence which carries a potential custodial sentence. So, to cut a long story short, if you’re one of the people looking to get divorced so you can remarry your new partner, you’ll need to read this next part very carefully!

Any individual that has been married previously cannot marry someone else until their previous marriage is legally over. Essentially, if you want to avoid being charged with a crime, you need to wait until your divorce has been fully processed; and the word ‘fully’ is important.

Due to exaggerated media reports which imply that a divorce is finalised once a Decree Nisi has been issued (as it’s the one part of the divorce process where a judge is actually involved and their involvement is typically brief), no one could blame you for thinking that you’d be able to marry once you’d received yours, but no, you need to wait for your Decree Absolute.

Yes, it is only once a Decree Absolute has been granted that your marriage is legally over and you’re free to elope with your new partner without fear of legal reprisal. Remember, though, that you’ll need to apply for your Decree Absolute and will need to wait until at least six weeks and one day have passed from the date on which your Decree Nisi was granted before you do.

Do you have more questions about divorce? Click on the link to get in touch with our advisers today.

If you want to get a divorce but have become estranged from your spouse and no longer know where they live, you’re not alone. This is an extremely common problem and, whilst it’s possible to get a divorce without knowing where your spouse lives, it’s much, much easier to proceed when you’re in possession of this information. So, before you go down this route, try these steps first:

1. Try their old contact details

Wherever possible, it always best to approach your spouse directly. So, whilst you may no longer know where they live, it’s worth trying their old phone number or email address to see if they’re still reachable. Chances are, if you’ve been separated for long enough (which, if you no longer know where each other live, is likely) they’ll probably simply agree to the divorce and you can simply send your completed documents to the court.

2. Ask their friends or family

If you’re attempts to contact your spouse are unsuccessful but you’re still able to contact any of their family, friends or even acquaintances, it’s worth doing so to see if they can provide you with the information you need. We know that the conversation may be uncomfortable, but it’ll make the whole process significantly easier so is certainly worth a try!

3. Check the electoral register

If your spouse has ever registered to vote and they still live in the UK, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find their current address by looking at the local electoral register.

You can find out where you can view this by contacting your local Electoral Registration Office (you can find yours by clicking here) and then perusing their records.

If this doesn’t reveal your spouse’s current whereabouts, there’s one option left:

4. Consult a private investigator

Whilst this is a last resort, it’s also highly effective. It does, however, have the potential to be extremely expensive so, if you need to instruct a private investigator/detective, make sure that they’re going to keep you updated with the charges you’re accruing regularly.

You should also ensure that they’re a member of The Association of British Investigators. This isn’t going to guarantee that they find your spouse (they could have moved abroad, for example), but it does mean that you’re going to receive a certain level of service.

If you can’t find them

If you exhaust the options described above and find that you still don’t know your spouse’s whereabouts, you’ll need to complete form D13B (otherwise known as a statement to dispense with service of a divorce petition) and submit this to the court along with the usual documents needed to file for a divorce.

If you have any other questions about the divorce process in England and Wales then click here to get in touch with us today.

The mere mention of the word ‘jurisdiction’, particularly when a conversation’s context is geared towards divorce or a similar family law matter, is often enough to cause immense confusion, trepidation and concern. Considering how the vast majority of divorces that receive the press’s attention typically cross borders and are subject to lengthy proceedings as a result, this is understandable. For the vast majority of those seeking a divorce in England or Wales, though, ensuring that the court are able to consider an application for a divorce is actually pretty straightforward.

With that in mind, here are the key things you’ll need to know about jurisdiction in divorce proceedings:

It doesn’t matter where you were married

Often, people assume that the courts in England, Wales – or anywhere else, in fact – are unable to consider their applications because they were not married in that country. Actually, the country within which you were married is not relevant as far as jurisdiction is concerned.

Jurisdiction is determined by residency

Like we’ve said, it’s where you live that determines whether or not the courts have the jurisdiction required to consider your application. Furthermore, only one party needs to reside in either England or Wales.

Either the Petitioner or Respondent can reside abroad

Again, people often assume that both the Petitioner and Respondent will need to reside in England or Wales, but this is not the case.

Furthermore, once this piece of information has been disclosed, it’s then commonly assumed that it must be the Petitioner (the party that formally requests the courts grant a divorce by submitting the relevant documents to the court) that resides in either of these countries. In reality, it doesn’t matter whether it is the Petitioner or Respondent that lives in England or Wales as the court will have jurisdiction in either instance.

The court may still have jurisdiction if you both live abroad

Whilst jurisdiction is usually established via one or both parties living permanently in either England or Wales, there are circumstances under which it’s possible for the courts to have jurisdiction when both parties live abroad.

Provided one party has significant links to either country, then the courts will be able to at least consider their application for a divorce. Owning a property in either jurisdiction would, for example, mean that it was likely the courts would be able to consider that person’s application even if they were largely resident in a different country. Other common links to England or Wales include paying tax here, having family that reside here or having a businesses here.

Sadly, there is no guarantee that a court will agree they have jurisdiction if neither party reside in England or Wales permanently but we think it’s worth knowing that your application will at least be considered under certain circumstances.

Still have questions about jurisdiction in divorce proceedings? Click here to get in touch with our team of advisers today.

Everyone knows that children’s rights to have a relationship with both of their parents is enshrined in law. Indeed, the only circumstances under which a judge would deny one parent contact with their child would be because doing so was likely to adversely affect the child’s wellbeing.

Indeed, even such concerns often lead judges to instead offer applicants wishing to spend time with their children supervised contact initially, often in the hope that this will lead to unsupervised contact, overnight stays etc. For Grandparents, uncles, aunties and other relatives, though, it’s not so simple.

Should anyone other than a child’s mother or father wish to request that a court grant them a contact or residency order, then they must first request the court’s permission before their application is even considered. Most people would, I believe, agree with claims that denying a grandparent contact with their grandchild is just as heinous as preventing a mother or father from seeing their child. Additionally, I think most of us would agree that regular contact with grandparents is in a child’s best interests. Take these factors into consideration and it’s clear why a child’s right to see their grandparents, and the possibility of this being enshrined in law, is being so widely debated at the moment.

This particular issue was discussed in parliament just last week and, if reports are to be believed, a change to existing law has cross-party support. That said, no politician or political party is going to do anything other than support such a matter at these early stages when there’s little at stake. Should MPs be asked to vote on the matter, this may well change. The fact that the UK’s family courts are near breaking point is now common knowledge and opening them up to a potentially large number of additional matters is only going to make this worse.

Still, it cannot be denied that, morally speaking and provided there’s no good reason for contact not to be exercised, any new or amended law that helped estranged grandparents see their grandchildren would be an overwhelmingly good thing; particularly as the vast majority of applications would be resolved before it became necessary for a judge to rule on them.

The key question here is actually the extent to which it would be practicable to open these applications. It’s quite reasonable to say that grandparents should be allowed to make such an application but should this also apply to uncles, aunties, siblings, cousins etc.? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

There is little reason to allow people to defend divorce applications filed by their spouses, an influential foundation has claimed.

The Nuffield Foundation, a charitable trust that conduct studies and research designed to promote social well-being throughout the UK, recently conducted a study, with the help of Exeter University, designed to provide insight into why individuals choose to defend divorces and what affect this has on the UK’s courts. Sufficed to say, their findings not only suggest that defended divorces should be abolished, but also added further weight to claims that no-fault divorce should be introduced to the UK.

The study found that, rather than defending applications because they did not want their marriages to end, divorces were usually defended because the respondent simply wanted to contest the grounds and apportion blame on their spouse instead of accept it themselves. Researchers correctly pointed out that, as the courts cannot actually rule on who is at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, defended divorces are clogging up the UK’s already overstretched family courts.

The study also revealed that due to expense, emotional ramifications and discouragement from various institutions operating within the field of family law, the vast majority of people decide against defending divorce applications.

The study’s author, Professor Liz Trinder, claimed that her findings served to reinforce the widely held belief that the need to blame one spouse for the breakdown of a marriage is unhelpful and often both unfair and even harmful to the parties involved, including children.

She further argues that divorce law is now more than 50 years old and that reform is urgently needed, that our courts cannot investigate why a marriage has broken down and, furthermore, recognise that attempting to do so is simply not possible.

Ultimately both Professor Trinder and the Nuffield Foundation’s Chief Executive Tim Gardam argue that the current system encourages spouses to blame one another when this is unproductive and is a matter on which the courts simply cannot rule.

They go on to claim that there is an evident need to remove both fault-based and defended divorces from UK law in order to create a system that is more child-friendly and geared towards ‘reducing conflict and promoting resolution’.

What do you think? Should no-fault divorce be introduced? Is contesting a divorce ultimately a fruitless endeavour? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Do you have questions about divorce? Get in touch with our advisers for free advice today.

With the party that files for the divorce also usually the one that pays the court’s fee of £550, it’s not surprising that, when a married couple separates because one party committed adultery, it’s the spouse that committed the offence that looks to apply for the divorce in order to shoulder this cost. Unfortunately, this inevitably causes problems.

Unfortunately, when any of the three fault based grounds (adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion) are cited as the reason for a marriage irretrievably having broken down, the petitioner (the individuals that formally requests the divorce) must state that they find it intolerable to remain married to the respondent (the party not filing for divorce).

Because of this, it is not possible for someone to file for a divorce whilst relying on their own adultery. By doing this, the petitioner would essentially be claiming that they could no longer reasonably be expected to remain married to the respondent as a result of their own actions – something which the courts will not accept.

When couples find themselves in this situation, they’re usually left with two options: the ‘victim’ of the adultery can file for the divorce or the adulterer can file on the grounds of their spouse’s unreasonable behaviour. The former is problematic because the ‘victim’ of the adultery feels that they should not pay the court’s fees. The latter can cause problems when the ‘victim’ feels they should not be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage or because they simply have not behaved unreasonably.

Under such circumstances, the logical solution is actually pretty simple: the party that committed the adultery can pay their spouse the fees in question before they file for the divorce. Whilst this would mean that the couple could obtain a divorce on the grounds of adultery, that the appropriate party would be blamed for the breakdown of the marriage and that the person that committed the adultery would foot the bill for the court’s fees, there is still one hurdle that’d need to be cleared: a lack of trust.

Once it becomes necessary for the parties to exchange money before the process has even begun it is, in our experience at least, normal for a lack of trust to cause delays. If the parties are still on relatively good terms, this can usually be overcome with little more than simple reassurance. When the relationship has become more fraught, though, the thought of simply handing over several hundred pounds is met with trepidation and a standoff usually ensues.

One possible solution here is that the petitioner files for the divorce under the proviso that, following them having received correspondence from the court (and therefore proof that the request was filed and the fee paid), the respondent repays them. In this instance, the petitioner can seek added security by requesting that the courts order the respondent to return these fees to them by ticking the relevant box in section 11 of their Divorce Petition meaning that they can then pursue repayment through the small claims court if necessary. This arrangement should also suit the respondent as they will not be pursued by the court in any way unless the petitioner authorises the necessary proceedings.

Do you have further questions about getting a divorce on the grounds of adultery? Then get in touch with Quickie Divorce’s friendly and knowledgeable advisors today.