How Long Does A Divorce Take?

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When a marriage breaks down, starting the divorce process can be daunting. It can seem like there is a lot of confusing information about what needs to be done and how long it might take. Divorces vary in length, and can take as long as 18 months to two years. This blog will set out the process in some detail and explain how The Divorce Surgery can help to cut both time and costs.

There are essentially three parts to a divorce that couples need to deal with. These are:

The Divorce Application. This is the part that legally changes your status from married to divorced
Division of your finances
Arrangements for any children.

The Divorce Application

This first part of this article deals with the petition. You can start your petition either online or on paper and there is a court fee of £593. You may be able to get help with fees if you receive benefits or are on a low income.

England and Wales now has a No-Fault Divorce regime, thanks to The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which came into force on 6 April 2022.

No-Fault Divorce removes the focus on one party’s conduct as a factor which is relevant to the divorce. No-one has to prove anything – adultery, desertion or unreasonable behaviour. Nor do you have to wait 2 or 5 years to proceed.

Instead, a spouse (or both spouses acting together jointly if they agree) simply has to notify the court when the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

There is a minimum period of 20 weeks from the start of proceedings to the date when the court can make a ‘Conditional Order’ (which under the old regime was called ‘Decree Nisi’). Six weeks and one day after that, the court can conclude matters by making a ‘Final Order’ (which used to be called ‘Decree Absolute’).

There is no such thing as a ‘quickie divorce’. In principle at least, the position has always been that all uncontested divorces should take the same time to process.

So the Divorce Application takes a minimum of 6 months.

The Conditional Order

A Conditional Order is a document from the court confirming that the court does not see any reason why you cannot divorce. It will tell you the time and date you’ll be granted a Conditional Order. You will still be married after it has been granted.

After the Conditional Order is made, the court can convert any agreements you have reached as to the division of your finances into Court Orders (see further below).

The Final Order

Once any financial agreements have been made into Orders of the Court, and at least 43 days (6 weeks and 1 day) after the Conditional Order is made, you can apply for a Final Order which then ends your marriage. This has important repercussions in particular for tax and pensions, which is why it is so important to have final Court Orders in relation to your finances before this step is taken.

You should apply for a Final Order within 12 months of the Conditional Order, otherwise you will have to explain the delay to the court.

Once you get the Final Order, you are divorced, no longer married and free to marry again if you wish. You should keep the Final Order safe – you will need to show it if you remarry or to prove your marital status. If you lose your Final Order, you can apply to the court for a copy.

Arrangements For Finances And/Or Children

Whilst you are applying for divorce, you will need to think about making and formalising arrangements for your finances and children.

It is essential to make your financial arrangements legally binding before you apply for a Final Order in the divorce.

Arrangements for your children don’t have to be legally binding, as the Court takes the view in children proceedings that if parents agree what is best for their children then there is no need for a court order at all. Many couples choose to take some legal advice to understand the legal landscape and then complete a written parenting plan to record what they have agreed. You can find more information on arrangements for children in our blog post here.

Agreeing the division of finances (and sometimes also the arrangements for children) is the most lengthy and costly part of the divorce process. The divorce application, for most couples, is not the part which causes the most difficulty, and is much easier for couples to navigate now we have no-fault divorce.

If you and your spouse don’t agree on the division of your finances or arrangements for your children, it is easy to spend an enormous amount of money on solicitors and barristers on each side, arguing in court.

Is There Another Way?

However, there are other options to this longwinded, pricey and adversarial process. The Divorce Surgery offers the One Couple One Lawyer service which can be completed in just 6-8 weeks (depending on how quickly couples can collate all their financial information). The average length of time couples are with us is 4-5 months.

We advise couples together and impartially of the likely outcome of their case – both in terms of finances and/or child arrangements. This means we are going straight to the final stage. An experienced impartial barrister will act how a judge would, by looking at your case and assessing the fairest outcome. This barrister will sit down with both parties in an advice session and talk through their case. This will be followed up with a 15-20 page piece of advice that the couple can use to create their own agreement. Most couples tend to follow our advice. This cuts out the need for lengthy litigation as you know the likely end decision right from the beginning. If you reach agreement, the barrister who advised you can draw up a consent order for you.

Some couples combine our services with mediation, and some have their own solicitors in the background for a second opinion. Whatever works for you works for us.

As well as offering a speedy process, The Divorce Surgery also offers the possibility of a much cheaper divorce. Whilst the hourly rate of a solicitor builds up, at The Divorce Surgery we operate on a fixed fee basis, so you know exactly what you’re signing up for and how much it will cost before committing.

Our couples are empowered to reach a fair settlement, armed with a time and money saving awareness of a realistic outcome. We encourage couples to start as they mean to continue, negotiating fairly and sensibly from day one, and looking at their situation as a Judge would.

If you have more questions about this topic or any other legal issues arising on divorce or separation, please do get in touch as we are always happy to help. You can call us on 0203 488 4475 or email contact@thedivorcesurgery.co.uk.

Author Name: Editor

Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.