On 6 April 2022 the law and procedure relating to divorce fundamentally changed.
All divorces are now on the basis of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, whether this is agreed by the other party or not, and there must be a 20 week cooling off period between the presenting of the application and it then being progressed.
It is hoped and expected that this long overdue change in the law will reduce animosity between divorcing couples. It will also be possible for a joint application to be made to the court for a divorce where both parties are in agreement. The procedure involves the presentation of an application for divorce to the court. The court then issues the application and this is served on the other party who should acknowledge receipt of the application. If the divorce application is on a joint basis then both parties acknowledge receipt. A period of 20 weeks must elapse from the issuing of the application before an application can be made for a conditional order of divorce. Once this is granted by the court there must be a further period of six weeks before the application for the final divorce order can be made.
Although the minimum timescale is 26 weeks between the filing of the application and the concluding of the divorce it is likely to take longer than this due to court delays and the turning around of paperwork.
We offer a fixed fee of £300 plus VAT for dealing with divorce proceedings. A court fee of £593 is also payable to file the application although this may be waived if the applicant is on a low income.
