DIVORCE PROCEDURE

The Divorce Petition and Statement of Arrangements for Children. 

The Petition is the the documents in which you request the Court to grant a Divorce setting our the grounds. A copy of this is served on the other spouse. The person who petitions for Divorce is called the Petitioner and the other spouse is the Respondent. Sometimes a third party is added who is called a Co-respondent.  

If there are children (under 16, or over 16 and still in education) then, in addition to the Petition, a Statement of Arrangements for the children needs to be completed, which gives details of the arrangements proposed by the Petitioner for the children after the divorce. 

These documents, together with the marriage certificate and a £150 fee, are sent to the Court to start the divorce process. 

 Service of the Petition
The Court will check the documentation to ensure it is completed correctly and complies with all requirements and if all is in order the Court will issue the Petition. The Petition is then served by the court by ordinary post on the Respondent, together with a Statement of Arrangements and a form for the Respondent to complete and return to the Court (called Acknowledgement of Service form). 

If you do not have an address for your spouse then it will be necessary in order for the Divorce to proceed without papers being served on your spouse to satisfy the court that all reasonable efforts have been made by you to locate your spouse. This can involve the need to place an advertisement in a newspaper. 

 Response to the Petition
When the Respondent receives the Petition he/she should return the Acknowledgement Form to the court within 7 days indicating whether or not they wish to dispute the divorce proceedings. 

Should the Respondent contest the Divorce then the Respondent must also Answer to the Petition within 28 day of receiving the Petition. A procedure from this stage will be that applicable to Defended Divorces. 

If no Acknowledgement is filed by the Respondent then it will be necessary to arrange for a Court bailiff or other agent to personally serve the Petition before the Divorce proceeds further. The Petition can be served at the home address of the Respondent or his/her work place. Personal service is required so that the Court can be sure that the Petition has come to the Respondent's notice. A sworn statement is prepared by the agent confirming that he/she personally served the Petition on the Respondent. This is required so that the Court can be sure that the divorce has come to the attention of the Respondent. Once personal service has been effected the Divorce can proceed to the next stage even if the Respondent does not reply to it. 

 Decree Nisi
The Court will send a copy of the Acknowledgement of Service filed by the Respondent to the Petitioner's solicitor. Provided this is received indicating that the Respondent is not contesting the Divorce an application can be prepared to obtain the Decree Nisi. This is in the form of an Affidavit (written statement made under oath) that the contents of the Petition are true. 

If the Court is satisfied with the documentation a notice will be sent to the Petitioner's solicitors stating a date in advance on which the Decree Nisi will be pronounced. It is not normally necessary for the parties to attend Court to hear the Decree Nisi being pronounced. However in some situations where the parties do not agree on child arrangements or on who should pay the costs of the Divorce it will be necessary for the parties to attend.