The bringing to an end of a valid marriage between a man and a woman

This document provides general guidance regarding divorce procedure. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances. No fault divorce The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) has been described as a landmark reform of divorce law. It aims to make the divorce process less acrimonious by introducing what is commonly known as ‘no fault divorce’. This legislation, for the first time, completely removes the need to assign blame when commencing divorce proceedings. The new divorce procedure is in force for applications that are issued from 6 April 2022. Historically, in order to obtain a divorce in England and Wales it was necessary for the party applying for a divorce to establish that the marriage had broken down irretrievably and to do that they had to prove one of the ‘five facts’. Three facts were based on fault, ie adultery with a person of the opposite sex, unreasonable behaviour and desertion, and two facts were based on a period of separation (two years’ separation with consent or

This document provides general guidance regarding divorce procedure in relation to divorces commenced before 6 April 2022. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances. How do I apply for a divorce? To apply for a divorce, you must have been married for at least a year. It doesn’t matter where in the world you were married, but you can only apply for a divorce in England and Wales if either you or your spouse meet certain residence conditions or are domiciled here. You should speak to your family lawyer about this if you are in any doubt. The divorce process is generally administrative. This means that usually neither of you will need to see a judge to get a divorce as it is almost always agreed by a judge on the paperwork. The process is simple as long as your spouse does not ask the court not to grant your divorce. When this happens, it is called a defended divorce and is a different process, but defended

A divorce agreement is a negotiated settlement between spouses setting out how they will deal with finances, property, pensions, maintenance and arrangements for children when their marriage ends. In practice it records the parties’ agreed terms, usually reached through solicitors, mediation or collaborative law, and is then converted into a legally binding court order where possible. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, the agreement is typically embodied in a consent order in financial remedy proceedings. In Ireland it is commonly reflected in a divorce order or, where relevant, follows an earlier separation agreement. In Scotland, the parties usually enter into a minute of agreement, which can be registered for enforcement, alongside the divorce action. “Divorce agreement” is a descriptive term rather than a defined statutory concept, but its content must comply with applicable legislation and case law on financial provision and child welfare. Courts retain discretion to refuse to approve terms that are unfair or contrary to the best interests of children. Properly drafted, a divorce agreement provides finality, reduces litigation risk and costs, and is central to achieving a clean break where permitted.

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information following the creation of divorce centres and the centralised issue of proceedings. It explains the location of the divorce centres and when they came into operation. It also explains how this will affect financial remedy applications, Children Act 1989 applications, divorce proceedings and the issue of urgent applications and if a hearing is required where it will take place. For more information regarding changes to divorce centres and the Civil and Family Service Centre at Stoke on Trent, see Practice Note: The Courts and Tribunals Service Centre and divorce centres. Civil and Family Service Centre at Stoke on Trent The Practice Note sets out the current practice regarding the issue of divorce petitions and financial remedy applications in the 11 centralised divorce centres within England and Wales. Note however, that in May 2019 in his View from the President’s Chambers, the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane confirmed that the 11 Divorce Service Centres are being phased out during the current 12-month period to be replaced by an online system based

This flowchart sets out the steps to be taken in divorce and civil partnership dissolution proceedings issued by the court after 6 April 2022 for a divorce (application for a matrimonial order) under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or civil partnership dissolution under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004). It considers sole applications in standard, undisputed cases. Such applications are impacted by the coming into force of the Divorce, Dissolution

The initial court document by which an application is made for the divorce of spouses.

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) is in force from 6 April 2022. The amendments made by DDSA 2020 to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) in relation to proceedings for divorce do not apply in relation to proceedings that started before the commencement date of DDSA 2020, ie proceedings issued by the court on or before 5th April 2022 will not be impacted by the commencement of, and the changes made by, DDSA 2020. Family proceedings are governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955. The rules relating to divorce are in FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 7 and the supporting practice direction, FPR 2010, PD 7A. Additionally,

The query describes a scenario where the court has directed that an application be made either for deemed service or ‘alternative service’, which presumably is intended to refer to service by an alternative method or at an alternative place. A direction is required from the court for deemed service under Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) SI 2010/2955, 6.16. The heading to this rule is potentially misleading in that it refers to deemed service by post or alternative service where no acknowledgement of service has been filed. It envisages a situation where there has

The question does not indicate whether the petition was issued before 1 January 2021 or on or after that date. This will determine whether or not jurisdiction is governed by section 5(2) of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 (DMPA 1973) in its newly-amended form. It is, however, assumed from the wording of the question that the petition was based upon the domicile of both parties in England and Wales at the date of issue of the petition. Prior to 1 January 2021, this was a basis of jurisdiction under DMPA 1973, s 5(2)(a) and Article 3.1(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (commonly known as Brussels II bis or Brussels IIA). From 1 January 2021, it remains a basis of jurisdiction

This Practice Note provides a glossary of commonly used terms in relation to matrimonial and civil partnership proceedings commenced following the amendments introduced by the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020), which came into effect on 6 April 2022. DDSA 2020 changed the terminology that is used in divorce, dissolution, nullity, and separation proceedings. The change in terminology for proceedings issued on or after 6 April 2022 was designed to make it simpler and more accessible to litigants in person and to also align with the language used in civil partnership proceedings. For further guidance see: Proceedings under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. Divorce, dissolution and (judicial) separation proceedings issued by the court on or before the 5 April 2022 will continue to progress under pre-DDSA 2020 law. Those applications are not impacted by DDSA 2020. For further guidance on pre-6 April 2022 divorce content see: Divorce (pre-DDSA 2020). Application What was known as the petition before 6 April 2022 under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973)/Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) became

This document provides general guidance regarding divorce procedure. Your family lawyer will be able to provide specific advice based on your circumstances. No fault divorce The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) significantly reformed divorce law. It aims to make the divorce process less acrimonious by introducing what is commonly known as ‘no fault divorce’. This legislation, completely removed the need to assign blame when commencing divorce proceedings. Historically, in order to obtain a divorce in England and Wales it was necessary for the party applying for a divorce to establish that the marriage had broken down irretrievably and to do that they had to prove one of the ‘five facts’. Three facts were based on fault, ie adultery, unreasonable behaviour and desertion, and two facts were based on a period of separation (two years’ separation with consent or five years’ separation without consent). In many cases one of the parties was forced into making fault allegations (adultery or behaviour), not necessarily because that was the real cause of the breakdown or because they