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Divorce and the process of legally ending a marriage are shrouded in myth and misgivings. It is regularly presumed, for example, that the family courts will automatically side with a child’s mother if there is a dispute over custody or that wives are treated more favourably than husbands when there is a dispute over the division of finances. One such falsehood is the belief in ‘automatic divorce’. Yes, many people presume that, once they and their spouse have been living separately for more than five years, that they are automatically divorced and that any application that is made to the court following such a period of estrangement is little more than a formality that can be dealt with in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, this is not the case: the divorce process does not deviate from standard procedures under any circumstances! What is possible when a couple have been living separately for five years or more, however, is for one spouse to divorce the other without their consent without the need to appear in court. This would involve filing a divorce petition as normal and, should the Respondent not return the necessary documentation to the court, employing a court-appointed bailiff to serve the petition on them. Should the Respondent still refuse to sign and return the document to the court or file a counter petition (which, as it would result in the Respondent needing to pay a fee to the court, is extremely rare) then a sworn statement from the appointed bailiff stating that the documents were served on the Respondent will be sufficient to allow the divorce to proceed as though the Respondent had consented to it. This, of course, is signifcantly easier - and indeed cheaper - than a contested divorce.