Marriage is a legally binding contract and requires a legal process to dissolve the marriage. To obtain a Divorce in the UK the divorce Law of England and Wales applies. Divorce is a Court based process but does not often require personal attendance at Court. A series of steps are followed from issuing the Divorce Petition through to applying for a Decree of Absolute which dissolves the marriage. 1. Commencing Proceedings and Issuing the Divorce Petition You must have been married for at least one year before you can issue a divorce petition. The Divorce Petition must be accompanied by the original or certified copy of the marriage certificate. It will not matter where you were married but the residence and domicile requirements to enable the UK court to deal with the divorce must be met. 2. What Grounds are there for Divorce? The only ground for a divorce is irretrievable breakdown of the marriage; this can be evidenced by one of the following facts: * Unreasonable Behaviour * Adultery * Two Years Separation with Consent * Desertion by one party of the other for more than two years * Five Years Separation 3. The Divorce Petition The Petition is a standard court document which has information about the parties' names and addresses, the basis for the divorce and information about the children. Accompanying the Petition may be a further court form which should set out the proposed arrangements for the any children of the family. Ideally, this should be seen by the other party before the Petition is issued to see if this can be agreed. The Petition will be issued by the Court and given a case number. The Court then serves these documents on the other party to the divorce by post. 4. Acknowledgment of Service The person commencing the Divorce is called the Petitioner and the other party the Respondent. The Respondent has 7 days to return the form it receives with the Divorce Petition to the Court, indicating if they intend to defend the proceedings or if they will allow them to proceed uncontested. If they are going to defend the divorce they need to file an answer within 28 days. 5. The Next Stage and Decree Nisi Once the Court forwards the Acknowledgment it is necessy to confirm to the Court the contents of the Petition or provide details of any changes, a sworn affidavit (written statement signed under oath) is needed. This is returned to the Court and a District Judge will then consider all the paperwork. If they are happy all the papers are in order and are satisfied you are entitled to the divorce sought they will issue a certificate saying so and provide a date when the first stage of the divorce — The Decree Nisi will be pronounced. There is usually no need to attend Court on the pronouncement date and most divorces are dealt with without anyone attending Court. 6. Obtaining a Decree of Absolute Six weeks and 1 day after the Decree Nisi was pronounced you can apply for the Decree of Absolute. This a standard Court Form and a fee is payable of £40. Once it is pronounced the marriage is officially dissolved and you are no longer married. Only now would you be free to re marry. 7. Cost of a Divorce and Timescale The Court fees are £300 to issue the Petition and £40 for the Decree of Absolute, your solicitors costs will be in addition. If matters become defended or the Respondent cannot be traced or if a bailiff needs to serve the papers it can be more expensive. As long as all the forms are completed correctly and everyone abides by the timescales set out above, a divorce will usually take 4-6 months from the date of issue of the Petition until pronouncement of Decree of Absolute. 8. Finances and Children The Divorce DOES NOT address financial matters. A Separate Court order is needed regarding finances and any dispute over children.