Divorce Petitions

Divorce Petitions

Can I stop a divorce from proceeding?

When the laws around divorce petitions changed in April 2022, the process was made slightly easier by the removal of one party needing to blame the other by telling the court all the unreasonable things they had done to bring the marriage to an end. Unreasonable behaviour petitions caused no end of friction between spouses and on occasions led to the respondent trying to defend the divorce petition on the basis that they did not agree with the unreasonable behaviour cited.

With the change in the law, respondents to divorce petitions no longer have the ability to contest a divorce. The divorce petition now simply states that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and neither party has to give the court a reason as to why. Now, if a respondent does want to contest the divorce petition, they can only do so on very limited grounds. These also apply to civil partnership dissolutions:

1. Jurisdiction – if one or both spouses live in another country, the courts in England and Wales may not be able to handle the application.
2. If the respondent can prove that the marriage or civil partnership was never valid. For example, if the marriage/civil partnership was not conducted in accordance with the laws of the country in which the ceremony took place, meaning the parties did not enter into a legally legitimate marriage/civil partnership.
3. If the marriage/civil partnership has already legally ended. For example, if the parties have already gone through divorce/dissolution proceedings in another country.

If any of the reasons above apply, the respondent can file a response to the application explaining the reason for disputing the proceedings. If only one spouse has applied for divorce as a sole applicant, the court will send the respondent a copy of the application by email, along with a follow-up letter. The email will include, the completed divorce application, the Notice of Proceedings, and the Acknowledgment of Service. The respondent then has to complete and return the Acknowledgment of Service to the court within 14 days of receipt of the application and on this acknowledgment form, can explain why they feel the divorce should not proceed.  The court will then review the Acknowledgment and make a decision.

On average, a divorce takes six-eight months. Within the process, there are also two compulsory waiting periods:

• A 20-week cooling-off period after the court has issued the application before the conditional order can be granted.
• A 6-week waiting period until you can apply to the court for a final order.

It is important to note that the process of divorce simply ends the marriage contract. Divorce does not resolve financial matters or child arrangements. These must be resolved separately.

If you are experiencing a relationship breakdown, want to know the ins and outs of the divorce process or just need help understanding what to do next, getting legal advice as early as possible can make the whole process a much smoother one.

Our experienced family law solicitors are here and ready to assist with as much or as little of the process as is required.

Contact our team today to find out more and to book an initial fixed price consultation at Kerseys Solicitors in Ipswich at [email protected] or telephone
01473 213311 or Kerseys Solicitors in Felixstowe at [email protected] on 01394 834557 or Kerseys Solicitors in Colchester at  [email protected] on 01206 584584.