Divorce Lawyers (Hertfordshire, London) : Betteridges

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At Betteridges we pride ourselves on offering a highly personal service, offering the expertise of a city firm with the approachability you will only find with a local firm.

Our strong team will ensure that you are offered an individual service specially tailored to your needs.

Wherever you are in the UK - or even the world – we can handle your divorce case. Consultations can be conducted over the phone at your convenience.

Divorce Lawyers (Hertfordshire, London)

It is an unfortunate fact of life that not all marriages are successful.

When a relationship breaks down it is not unusual for one or both parties to want to end the marriage or be formally separated. Fair division of family assets, including the matrimonial home must be worked out. Using specialist divorce lawyers is essential in ensuring an appropriate solution is found.

Divorce proceedings are started by one spouse filing a divorce petition at Court. The spouse seeking a divorce is called the Petitioner and the other spouse is called the Respondent. Currently the law only provides one basis for divorce namely “that the marriage has broken down irretrievably”. There is no such thing as “irreconcilable differences” in English law. Our divorce solicitors can explain the difference.

To prove irretrievable breakdown the Petitioner must establish of one or more of the following “facts”:-

that the Respondent has committed adultery and the Petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent (adultery);
that the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent (unreasonable behaviour);
that the Respondent has deserted the Petitioner for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition (desertion);
that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the Respondent consents to a decree being granted (2 years separation by consent);
that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 5 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition (5 years separation).

The vast majority of divorces are based on unreasonable behaviour. This is because the other three options require periods of separation of at least two years and most couples do not wish to wait. The vast majority of divorces are undefended. This is because who divorces whom and the “fact” by which irretrievable breakdown is proved have little bearing on how the other issues arising on a divorce (over finances and children) are resolved.

An undefended divorce takes approximately 5-6 months from the date of filing of the petition to the pronouncement of decree nisi. The Petitioner then has to wait a minimum of 6 weeks before he or she can apply for the decree absolute. It is the decree absolute which formally ends the marriage. The procedure in an undefended divorce does not require the couple to attend court in person, unless there is an issue over divorce costs. It is this procedure that is sometimes referred to as obtaining a “quickie” divorce.

In many cases, there is no legal or procedural reason why the decree absolute cannot be obtained on the first available opportunity. However, in some cases, as a practical step, the obtaining of decree absolute is deferred until the couple have resolved the financial issues particularly pension. Our divorce lawyers will advise on this in particular circumstances.