Divorce and Dissolution

You can apply for divorce in England or Wales if:

• You've been married for over a year
• Your relationship has permanently broken down
• Your marriage is recognised as legal in the UK.

To apply for a divorce, you will need your original marriage certificate and pay a court fee, currently set at £652.  If you're on a low income, you can also apply to the court for a reduction or payment of the fee through Help with Fees.

If you need advice about applying for a divorce online, we can help you as a one-off consultation or take care of it on your behalf.

After the court has issued your application, you need to wait for 20 weeks before you can apply for a conditional order.  Essentially, this allows for a cooling-off period to give you and your ex-partner time to reflect on your relationship and consider other matters, such as arrangements for children or finances, including pensions, property, savings, and income.

If you resolve issues with your ex-partner, we can help you draft an agreement stating what has been agreed.  Financial issues must be recorded in a court-approved consent order to create a legally binding and enforceable agreement.  You must have obtained your conditional order before the court can approve a financial order.

Once the conditional order has been granted, you need to wait a further six weeks and one day (43 days) to apply for a final order, which legally ends your marriage.  In practice, a straightforward divorce will take at least 6 months to the final order and often takes longer for couples who need to sort out arrangements for children and finances.