You may not need the support and advice of a divorce lawyer if your situation is straightforward. The most complicated part of the divorce process is dealing with the financial matters surrounding it and also issues involving the children (i.e. where they should live and/or how often they should spend time with the other parent. We have a guide on child arrangements and what options are available to you.

So whilst you may not need a solicitor to deal with the process of obtaining a divorce, it is always advisable to seek advice to deal with the legal aspects surrounding financial matters and matters concerning any children of the family.

It is worth noting however that if the Divorce Application is not completed correctly, you may not be able to make a financial claim against your ex-partner further down the line and so if you are unsure how to complete the Divorce Application, it is always better to seek advice from a specialist Divorce lawyer.

Our team of family lawyers can help support you and advise you on the options available to complete your divorce process. We deal with the legal aspects so you can focus on the emotional and financial wellbeing of yourself and your family.

You don't have to, but it might help if you can. It’s always better if you can communicate with your ex-partner – especially if there are children involved. We appreciate that parenting through a divorce or separation is not easy. Even though you’ll no longer be married, you’ll both still want to act in the best interest for of your children, so if you can retain some resemblance of a relationship, it's it is better for everybody. It also helps to maintain some level of communication with your ex-partner when negotiating financial settlements.

However we appreciate that this isn’t always possible. If it's hard to talk to them, or your divorce is as a result of a domestic abuse case, then don't put yourself in an uncomfortable or compromising position. That’s where we can work with you to try and reduce the stress and pressures surrounding the process, protect your interests, and seek a positive and prompt solution that works for you.

Yes. Providing you have examples of unreasonable behaviour which your partner has demonstrated towards you, you can issue a divorce application at any time (providing 1 year has passed since the date of marriage), even if your partner does not wish to get divorced.

This depends on a variety of factors i.e. the length and duration of the marriage, who minor children of the family will live with, what the matrimonial pot of assets consists of, what the respective income positions of the parties look like, the age of the parties, to name but a few.

Once you have gone through the process of full and frank financial disclosure, a specialist divorce lawyer will be able to tell you what a Judge might consider to be a fair financial settlement in your case. The starting point is for there to be an equal division of all matrimonial assets which includes assets in joint names but also any assets in the sole names of each party.

There are many companies online promising to get you divorced for as little as £37.00 and promising you a fast-tracked “Quickie divorce”. As stated above, the court fee alone to lodge a Divorce Application in England and Wales is £550.00 and therefore you will most likely find that payment of £37 will not get you divorced.

Another thing to be mindful of when looking at companies on the internet promising a fast track divorce is that quite often, your court paperwork will be drafted by somebody who is not even legally trained. Given a potential consequence of issuing a badly drafted Divorce Application could mean you are unable to make any financial application against your ex-partner, it is really crucial you ensure your Divorce Applicant is prepared by a suitably qualified divorce specialist as this could save yourself a lot of stress further down the line.

On the 8 June 2020, the no fault divorce bill had its second reading in the House of Commons and was passed by MPs. The bill is now in its final stages and it is likely to be passed later this year. As things stand at the moment however, you still need to rely on one of the five facts as mentioned above. You can read more about no faults divorce in our blog here.