I want a divorce – where do I start?

How to Start a Divorce

While there might be advantages to starting your own divorce online such as lower costs, we would still advise that parties don’t just go on the gov.uk website and click ‘Apply Now’ without doing some homework.

Common Pitfalls When Applying for Divorce

One of the biggest issues surrounding starting a divorce online is not ticking the correct boxes regarding financial provision, which can leave people in all sorts of difficulties in the event of a remarriage. But, by far the biggest concern is individuals who finalise their divorces without a financial order in place.

With the online system, the parties receive emails from the court (which was never previously the case) prompting them to take the divorce to the next stage.  They tend to make these applications because the court says they can. But, just because you can apply to end the marriage, it does not mean you should!

Why You Should Wait Before Finalising a Divorce

People might wonder why their respective solicitors are advising both of them to remain married while the financial matters are resolved. Remaining married, particularly in the event of an unexpected death during the process, can provide certain financial protections for the parties.  Whereas, being divorced means that valuable pension rights could be lost forever if there is a death before a financial order is made.

Once the final order (previously known as Decree Absolute) has been made, it cannot be unmade except in cases of procedural irregularity, which are rare. Understandably, parties wish to untangle themselves at the earliest opportunity for various reasons; from wanting to disassociate themselves from someone who is running up debts (and perhaps negatively affecting their credit rating), to just wanting closure and not to be married anymore.

We can advise on the individual circumstances of the case, making sure that our clients are aware of the advantages and disadvantages before making an informed decision about whether to apply for their final order.

Agreeing Finances and Getting Advice Before a Court Order

Instructing a solicitor can feel like a big step, but it is always best to know what you might be entitled to, or what you might be giving up. It is also easier to negotiate when you have this knowledge behind you. There is a plethora of websites that purport to help, but taking advice from anyone who is unqualified is a big risk and following this ‘advice’ can do more harm than good.  For example, complex assets such as pensions must be properly considered.  If you plan to offset them against other assets such as the family home, detailed advice is required as it is not as simple as looking at face values because they are very different types of assets, which are seldom directly comparable.

Many people manage to agree all of their financial matters amicably and it is still vitally important to record the settlement in a binding court order, to prevent either party from coming back and making further claims in the future.  Lots of clients are able to agree fair settlements without ever seeing the inside of a court room and we can draft consent orders to give everyone certainty that the matter is over and done with for good.

Parties might feel that they have reached a fair deal between them, but we do often find that direct agreements can leave lots of loose ends.  Parties can, and do, leave out assets or liabilities altogether, with no way of revisiting them.

If individuals take advice and are still very keen to continue with the deal they have reached directly, they can of course do that and solicitors will support them in applying for a court order and dealing with any queries the District Judge might have, or even attending court, where the court decides a hearing is required. This is because the court makes the final decision of whether or not an order can be approved.

Similarly, if individuals are keen to start the divorce and control it themselves, they are always free to do so, but we would still recommend taking advice before applying for the next stage of the divorce process.  This is to ensure that they are aware of the legal implications, before taking procedural steps that could be irreversible.

Do you need help?

If you are needing support with a separation, our trusted expert Family department can help.

Get in touch today for an initial conversation to discuss your options.

HCB Widdows Mason | Family Law Department

02920 291 704

WiddowsMason@hcbgroup.com