Unfortunately, no matter how much you want one, there’s no such thing as quick divorce in England and Wales.
You can achieve a ‘quicker’ divorce but that depends on the cooperation, attitude and responsiveness of you and your former partner and also on the complexity of your divorce case.
The usual time frame for a divorce where both people agreed on everything takes around six months to complete. This starts from when the divorce petition is issued to getting the Decree Absolute.
But even if you and your partner comply, agree and respond to everything quickly, delays at your local Divorce Centre or at Court can still make the whole divorce process take longer.
There are certain parts of the divorce process that cannot be skipped. They are:
We're rated‘Excellent’Even though all the steps above will end your marriage, they do not cut the financial ties you still have with your ex-partner. In all divorce cases, we advise that you deal with the financial matters relating to your divorce ‘before’ the Decree Absolute is made. If you don’t, this can have a negative impact.
Because we advise you to sort your finances out, you may need to delay the application for your Decree Absolute until your matrimonial finances are agreed. This can result in an extended delay to finalising your divorce. This is because the finances are often one of the most combative parts and can take a long time to agree.
For more information see Divorce Financial Orders and Financial Settlements.
If you can’t agree amicably, you will need to make an application to the Court so the Court can decide for you how to split your finances. This will definitely result in long delays whilst you wait for a Court date and attend mediation if you haven’t already.
You can see there are many factors that impact how quickly you can get a divorce. It’s impossible for everyone to get a quick divorce, but if you and your former partner are in agreement about your financial situation and you both provide full financial disclose information and documents as quickly as possible, you can definitely speed up the process.
In most cases you can apply for divorce in the UK if you got married abroad. You can get a divorce in England or Wales if both you and your former partner are habitually resident or domiciled in the UK. This means if England or Wales is your main home, where your life is based in the main, if it is where you intend to return to, or if it is your permanent home.
If you and your former partner can’t reach an agreement it will be up to the Court to decide if you need spousal maintenance so that you can meet your needs, or if you and your partner could both benefit from a clean break.
Many parents who separate or get divorced can agree on the terms of the child arrangements or even a Shared Parenting Plan. However, in some cases, the parents’ separation leads to serious conflict about the child’s arrangements.
No matter how quickly you get through the divorce process with your former partner, you still have no control over the Courts and how long it takes them to process your divorce. Many of the regional Divorce Centres will have a large number of cases to work through and this can mean that it takes longer for them to process your documents.
One thing to reflect on is that the Court is now allowing for Divorce Petitions to be made online. This process still needs some improvements as it’s not working as well as it could be, but it is hoped that it will speed up the process and make it a more manageable.
Only time will tell.
If you need help and legal advice on getting a divorce, please do call and speak to one of our specialist Divorce Solicitors who are happy to help you.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0808 239 3465
