Fixed Fee Divorce

You need to be married for at least one year before you can get divorced. If you do not want to wait a year, you may be able to get an annulment or a legal separation.

For most straightforward divorces, the process takes around 4-6 months.

Currently in England and Wales, you must rely on one or more of the five reasons, e.g. adultery or unreasonable behaviour, to be able to get a divorce. However, for many couples, the need to divorce isn’t caused by an explosive event or the poor conduct of one party. Over time, many couples simply drift apart and the decision to divorce is entirely amicable.

If both you and your spouse agree to the divorce, there is little chance that the court will find an issue with the reason you choose to rely on. Therefore, many couples rely on unreasonable behaviour or wait until they have been separated for two years.

However, under the terms of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill currently making its way through Parliament, ‘no fault’ divorce would be introduced in the UK. Should the Bill become law, couples will no longer need to give a reason for their divorce, making the process much simpler with less potential for conflict.

To find out more about these changes and what they mean for divorce, please read our helpful no fault divorce blog.

Unreasonable behaviour is the most common reason for divorce and to use it, you need to provide written examples on the divorce petition. Your reasons can range from mild â€â€Åâ€Å“ e.g. long working hours, financial dependency, lack of emotional support â€â€Åâ€Å“ to the more serious â€â€Åâ€Å“ e.g. domestic abuse, alcoholism, gambling or excessive debt. You cannot rely on your own behaviour.

If your spouse agrees to the divorce, the court will not inspect the reasons too closely or require that you provide further evidence. However, it is essential that the reasons are honest. If your spouse objects to the petition, you may be required to go to court and a judge will decide whether the reasons are sufficient enough to allow the divorce (although this is rare).

Adultery often means different things for different people. What counts as adultery for you may not count as adultery for someone else. But how does the law define it for the purposes of getting divorced?

To be able to rely on adultery for divorce, your spouse must have had sexual intercourse with a person of the opposite sex. Other forms of romantic engagement, such as kissing, do not amount to adultery. It is also not sufficient if your spouse has sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex.

The adulterous acts must also have taken place during the marriage. For example, if your spouse was unfaithful before you got married but you only found out about it after the wedding, it is not adultery.

If you think that your spouse’s actions fulfil the requirements above, you have six months to issue a divorce petition based on adultery. If you wait longer than six months, you will be seen as having ‘condoned’ it.

Because of the high hurdles associated with relying on adultery, many individuals instead choose to claim unreasonable behaviour instead.

Many couples choose to wait two years to get a divorce so that they can rely on the ‘separation with consent’ reason rather than relying on ‘unreasonable behaviour’ or ‘adultery’. However, not everyone has the option to live apart while they wait to become eligible. Are these couples prevented from getting a divorce due to separation with consent?

Not necessarily. A couple can be considered separated even if they live in the same property. However, you must lead entirely separate lives. For example, if you share meals, do chores for each other, share a bedroom, or take turns doing joint food shopping, the court is more likely to conclude that you are still living together as husband and wife.

One option may be to get a legal Separation Agreement to completely divide your finances and childcare responsibilities while you wait to get divorced. This will help you lead independent lives and make it clear that you intend to separate. If you would like advice about this, please get in touch and we will be happy to assist.

The divorce petition will not affect the outcome of your divorce other than in extreme circumstances:

For divorce financial settlements â€â€Åâ€Åâ€Å“ ‘the conduct of either party’ may be a factor taken into consideration when deciding the fair division of assets. However, it will only affect the outcome if it absolutely cannot be ignored. For example, one party’s extreme spending has deprived the other of assets.

Where children are involved â€â€Åâ€Åâ€Å“ you may be concerned that your spouse will use the divorce petition to prevent you from seeing your children. However, in the vast majority of cases, the family courts will consider it to be in the best interests of your children to have contact with both their parents. There are only a few exceptions to this, such as in cases of serious domestic violence.