Separation And Divorce - How A Divorce Process Works
Throughout Wales and England, the actual process for obtaining a divorce is essentially rather straight foward. Having said that, what usually complicates cases of divorce and might cause them to become complex and also time-consuming, tend to be all the issues which must be reconciled, and also the attitudes the wives and husbands have when it comes to each of these matters. For anybody who is looking at submitting a Divorce Petition, here's a quick overview of the process.
Get some advice - Although this is not an element of the formal process, it is very important that you get specialist help and advice as soon as possible. Divorce is a legal procedure, and for anyone not familiar with what's involved, it might be a hard process - regardless of how friendly it might all seem at the start. Looking at your situation with a Divorce Solicitor is the best way to figure out all of your options so you can determine what you'd like to do.
Divorce Petition - If, after speaking to your solicitor, you opt to go ahead with the divorce, you will need to complete and then submit your Divorce Petition. This outlines to the court why you think you need to be divorced, as well as what you are proposing or seeking with regards to issues like maintenance, court costs and so on.
Statement of Arrangements - If both you and your spouse have children together, you'll need to complete a Statement of Arrangements in addition to the Divorce Petition. This details the proposed arrangements for the children after the divorce, including where they are going to live and how much contact the non-custodial mom or dad would be provided with.
Acknowledgement of Service - As soon as your spouse receives the Divorce Petition and Statement of Arrangements, they have a limited time to respond to the court by using the Acknowledgement of Service form. In this they'll state if they want to contest the divorce. They'll need to complete one more form, known as an Answer, along with the Acknowledgement of Service if they are intending to contest the Divorce Petition. If this happens to be the situation with your divorce, it's best to obtain further advice from your solicitor regarding all your options for handling the situation.
Affidavit - In cases where your spouse agrees to the divorce, you'll receive a copy of their Acknowledgement of Service that you have to return, along with an Affidavit. The Affidavit is essentially where you legally state that all the details outlined in the initial petition are true.
Decree Nisi - As soon as the court has received all the forms from you, and it's happy things are as they should be, it is going to pronounce the Decree Nisi. You aren't actually divorced at this stage, it's just a legal court recognizing that the proper legal procedure has actually been followed, and also that you should be divorced.
Decree Absolute - Six weeks later, and preferably once the conditions of the separation and divorce have been agreed, you'll be able to request the Decree Absolute. When you obtain this your marriage will be dissolved and so you're officially divorced.
While the process you must go through in order to obtain a divorce might appear relatively easy, each and every divorce case is different and as a consequence offers a unique challenge, which is why it is usually recommended that you get assistance from our Family Law Solicitors Leeds office. Our Family Law Solicitors Leeds office will be able to enable you to appropriately manage your divorce process and keep any kind of emotional strain to a minimum.