So, you’ve made the difficult decision to end your relationship and to get a divorce, but how do you start divorce proceedings and what should you do next?

As divorce experts, RJS Family Law will answer these questions and many more besides.

The ‘Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2022,’ means that potentially, the divorce process can be simpler, less protracted and easier on both parties concerned. The reason for this is that no longer do you need to cite one of the previous 5 x reasons to divorce - to include adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion or living separately (for up to 2 or 5 years).

Whilst we appreciate there may have been various wrong doings and faults – all of which helped to contribute towards your wish to divorce, the recent act removes the need to state the reasons. This enables you to ‘step away’ from the ‘blame game,’ with the express aim of creating not only a more streamlined and efficient divorce process, but also, a more amicable relationship between you and your ex going forwards. This can be particularly beneficial where ongoing contact is required for shared business interests and more importantly, shared children.

The Criteria for Divorce:

The eligibility criteria, which must now be met, is as follows:

You need to have been married for over a year.

Your marriage needs to be legally recognised within the UK.
The UK needs to be your permanent home or that of your spouse and...
Your marriage needs to have reached a point where it has permanently broken down.

If you meet the above criteria, the only ground for divorce need be the ‘permanent breakdown’

of your marriage, requiring you to make a statement of ‘irretrievable breakdown.’

The Process:

The Statement of ‘Irretrievable Breakdown’ can be a joint statement, if you have both applied for a divorce.
After sending your application and statement, the court will notify the other party and will require an

acknowledgement of service and a response. A response must be received within 8 days of receipt or

7 days if filed online.

…. And It’s Exactly the Same for Civil Partnerships!

Under the ‘Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2022,’ people in a civil partnership benefit from the same rights and rules as married couples.

The process of ending a civil partnership is known as dissolution and to apply, you must have been in a civil partnership for a year.

Just as with divorce proceedings, the dissolving of a civil partnership is completed by the court. As part of the

process, you can apply for financial provision by way of a lump sum, property transfer, maintenance and pension

sharing orders. Financial provision can also be applied in respect of any child or children.

What if Your Ex Contests the Divorce?

Rest assured; you cannot be forced to go to court if your ex contests; this is reassuring should your ex wish to prolong the process.

Your ex failing to sign can’t prevent the process; we can arrange for a ‘Process Server’ to personally serve them with papers in order to proceed - without their signed consent. Please click this link to see further information.

What Happens Thereafter:

A 20 – week period of reflection gives you chance to re-consider or the opportunity to reach a settlement on the division of finances and property.
‘Conditional Order,’ can be applied for, following the 20-week reflection period.
‘Final Order,’ can be applied for, 6 x weeks and 1 day after the ‘Conditional Order’ application.
Financial Consent (Clean Break) Order.’ PLEASE NOTE: Whilst at this stage, your divorce might be finalised, financial and children’s mattes might still be ongoing. It’s important that financial settlements are reached in order to obtain a clean break order and to fully conclude the whole divorce process.

Divorce Financial Settlements:

Sorting out all financial issues that link you and your ex, is vital for both you and your children. Rest assured that RJS Family Law will not only resolve matters as quickly and as efficiently as is possible, regardless of how cooperative your ex might be. As divorce specialists, RJS Family Law will obtain the best possible outcome for you and your situation.

High-net worth cases pose no problem to RJS Family Law. We have considerable experience in handling both high-net worth and sensitive divorce cases. We work with a pool of proven forensic accountants, IFA’s, pension specialists and property experts – operating as part of our team, with total discretion.

Divorce and Property. What Happens to the Family Home.

How Long Does the Divorce Process Take?

If there are no complications the divorce process generally takes 6-12 months to complete depending on how busy the courts are.

Using a specialist divorce service, such as that offered by RJS Family Law, will help expedite the process since all the necessary paperwork will be error free and more readily accepted by the courts.

The Next Step?

Whilst we recognise that it’s easier said than done - please try not to worry!

As already mentioned, RJS Family Law are not only specialists in divorce – achieving excellent results and many 5 x star reviews from satisfied clients.

We offer a totally unique approach that conspires to make the whole divorce process more bearable. For example, our, ‘one-to-one’ service means that you will always be dealing with the same faces throughout your matter; this achieves a greater degree of compassion and understanding that simply isn’t possible from bigger law firms. We are also available, at any time, to answer any concerns or questions without the need to book another meeting.

Starting the Process:

Get in touch to organise a FREE initial consultation with RJS Family Law. This ‘one-to-one’ meeting will enable you to ‘unload’ all your concerns and worries and for us to provide you with possible answers!

Should you wish to proceed, a face-to face meeting will be required and we will require:

Your marriage certificate.
As much information as you are able to provide on both you and your partners finances to include mortgage details, pensions, savings, investments and any debts. Don’t worry if you can’t provide everything – we can assist in obtaining such information.
A ‘Court Issue Fee’ of £593. PLEASE NOTE: It might be that you’re eligible for a fee remission; this is something that we are able to investigate on your behalf.

Client came to me as she was very unhappy with her previous solicitors. She wasn’t getting responses, she didn’t understand the process or evenwhere they were up to.
She had been married forf 25 years and jointly owned property with her husband, with equity of around £200,000.
She worked part time on minimum wage, had limited pensions and no other assets
Her husband – earned £65,000 per annum and had pension pot worth £100,000. He had no savings but had significant mortgage capacity compared to his wife - our client.
A needs case meant that the court considered how much they each needed to buy a new property to allow them to make a clean break.
We went to a dispute resolution hearing and secured her 70% of the equity and 50% of the pension.
She walked away happy that she would be able to buy herself a new home with no mortgage and would have some pension provision at retirement. Client said she felt very supported during the process.
Our client had a child aged 4. He had raised concerns about the care that the mother was capable of giving since the child’s birth. However, no one listened to him or took his concerns seriously.
A serious incident occurred involving the child and mother which meant that we had to make an emergency application - to the court to prevent child being returned to mother.
After a long period of investigations and court hearings, the court ordered child to live with our client, the father and to have supervised contact with the mother.
Our client felt that not only had I been there as a solicitor, but also, I had become a friend to him and that he would be forever grateful.
A cohabiting (unmarried) couple, had lived together for 4 years. The house was in the woman’s name.
During their relationship, the man undertook some work to the property. When they split, he tried to claim that he was entitled to a beneficial interest in the house.
They also owned two other properties in joint names and the man tried to say that the woman wasn’t entitled to a share of those houses and that she should get nothing.
Woman went to great lengths to settle this matter and offered him £40k before she was left with no alternative but to issue court proceedings.
Court decided that due to a lack of an agreement he would not receive a beneficial interest and therefore his claim failed.
In respect of the jointly owned properties, the starting position is the legal ownership and therefore both were entitled to 50% of the equity.
The court ordered the man to pay the woman £35,000 to settle plus all of her legal costs. This meant that he paid her a total of £75,000 when he could have walked away with £40k had he chosen to be sensible!

Divorce…

What you Need to Know and Much More Besides!