No-fault divorce has been with us for a month and Caroline Eaton has prepared a quick guide to explain the timescale for the process.
Following the recent introduction of no fault divorce, there has also been a change in the length of time it takes to get to a Final Order and for the marriage to be fully dissolved.
One of the first questions asked of a family lawyer is “how long will my divorce take?”, so here is a handy guide of the likely timescales;
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Joint application
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Sole application
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Day 1
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The parties file their application for divorce online.
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The Applicant files their application for divorce online.
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By day 28 – service
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The Court will serve both parties with a copy of the petition and an Acknowledgement of Service to complete and return.
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The Court will serve the Respondent with a copy of the petition and an Acknowledgement of Service to complete and return.
If the Applicant chooses to deal with service of the documents, this should be done within 28 days of the date of issue.
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14 days from the date of service
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The parties must file their Acknowledgement of Service forms.
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The Respondent must file their Acknowledgement of Service form.
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20 weeks from the date of issue
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The parties can apply for the first stage in the divorce, the Conditional Order.
If one of the joint Applicant’s decides not to apply, the other can as a sole Applicant and will need to give 14 days’ notice of their intention to do so.
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The Applicant can apply for the first stage in the divorce, the Conditional Order, having given notice to the Respondent 14 days before.
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6 weeks after the date of the Conditional Order
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The parties can apply for the final stage of divorce, the Final Order.
Again, if one of the joint Applicants decides not to apply, the other can as a sole Applicant and will need to give 14 days’ notice of their intention to do so.
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The Applicant can apply for the final stage in the divorce, the Final Order, having given notice to the Respondent 14 days before.
If the Applicant fails to apply for the Final Order, the Respondent can do so but must wait an additional 3 months following the 6 weeks from the date of the Conditional Order.
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So from the date of issue, the divorce process will take at least 6 months to complete. However, it is important to remember that other factors may have an impact on how long the divorce will take.
The most common factor is sorting out the family finances. Whilst dealing with the marital assets is a separate set of proceedings, it will generally run alongside the divorce. Usually the advice is not to apply for the Final Order until an agreement is reached on the finances and confirmed in a Consent Order or as ordered by the Court. If the family assets take a while to resolve this could have an impact on when the divorce comes to an end.
If you would like any further guidance or advise surrounding a divorce, contact Caroline Eaton in our Norwich office on 01603 281968 or [javascript protected email address].
The information on this site about legal matters is provided as a general guide only. Although we try to ensure that all of the information on this site is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed. The information on this site should not be relied upon or construed as constituting legal advice and Howes Percival LLP disclaims liability in relation to its use. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.
