Divorce Application

The divorce application is the document that sets your legal separation from your spouse in motion. Getting it right matters, because errors at this stage are a common cause of delay in the overall process. Although the form itself is more straightforward than it once was, people are often unsure what information to provide, whether to apply alone or with their spouse, and what happens once it has been submitted. This article focuses on the divorce application itself, taking you through what it involves and what follows.

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What Is The Divorce Application?

The divorce application is the formal request to the court to end your marriage. It replaced the older document that people used to call the divorce petition, but the change was more than a change of name, because the application no longer requires you to give any reason for the divorce. All it needs to confirm is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

The application can be completed online or on paper, and in most straightforward cases the online route is quicker and simpler. Once it has been submitted and the court has checked it, the application is issued, which is the point from which the rest of the timetable is measured.

Applying Alone Or Together

One of the first choices to make is whether to apply on your own, as a sole applicant, or together with your spouse, as a joint application. A joint application suits couples who have made the decision together and want to proceed side by side, while a sole application is used where that is not practical or where only one of you wishes to begin the process.

The choice affects how the early stages unfold. With a sole application, your spouse is sent a copy and asked to acknowledge it. With a joint application, the two of you complete and progress the steps together. Beyond that, the process is the same, so the decision is about what fits your circumstances rather than about gaining any advantage.

What Information Does The Application Need?

The application asks for a set of basic details, and having these ready makes it far easier to complete. You will need the full names of both spouses exactly as they appear on the marriage certificate, your current addresses, and the date and place of the marriage.

You must also provide your marriage certificate, either the original or a certified copy. Where the marriage took place abroad and the certificate is not in English, a certified translation is required as well. If you have children, the application asks for some details about them, although the arrangements for them are dealt with separately and are not decided by the divorce itself. A court fee is payable when the application is submitted, and help with that fee is available to people on a low income or receiving certain benefits.

The Mistakes That Cause Delay

Most problems with a divorce application come from a small number of avoidable errors. The most frequent is a mismatch between the names on the application and those on the marriage certificate, so the certificate should be followed exactly, including any middle names and any former names. An out of date or incorrect address for your spouse is another common cause of delay, because a sole application cannot progress until the court is satisfied that your spouse has received the papers.

A missing or unsuitable marriage certificate also holds things up, as does an incomplete form. None of these is difficult to avoid, but each can add weeks to a process that should run smoothly, which is one of the reasons people choose to have the application handled for them by specialist divorce solicitors like ours.

What Happens After You Apply?

Once the application has been issued, the process moves into its fixed timetable. If you applied alone, your spouse is sent the papers and asked to acknowledge them. A compulsory period of twenty weeks then follows before you can apply for the conditional order, and a further six weeks and a day after that before the final order, which ends the marriage.

How Birch & Co Can Help With Your Divorce Application

We regularly complete and lodge divorce applications for clients, checking the details against the marriage certificate, choosing the right approach for your situation, and making sure the form is right the first time so that it is not sent back. Getting these details correct at the outset is the simplest way to avoid the delays described above.

We provide a clear, fixed price estimate before we begin, and we can deal with the application alone or handle the whole matter, including the financial side and child arrangements, depending on what you need.

Speak to Birch & Co

If you are ready to make a divorce application, or you simply want to be sure you are completing it correctly, our family law team can prepare and manage it for you.