Divorce
DIVORCE SOLICITORS IN READING & HENLEY
You have to have been married for one year before you can apply for a divorce to dissolves a marriage. It generally makes no difference in relation to wider issues of financial matters or arrangements for children, who is divorcing whom, or on what basis. Our divorce solicitors in Reading and Henley have the expertise to guide and advise you through the process.
No Fault Divorce
Historically, when seeking a divorce, you had to satisfy a Court that your marriage had irretrievably broken down by relying on one of the five “facts” as grounds for divorce e.g., adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, two/five years separation. However, ‘No fault divorce’, officially named the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force on 6th April 2022, at the same time changing the laws governing the dissolution of a civil partnership.
Divorcing couples can now simply agree to a divorce, without assigning blame or fault. Indeed, it is now not possible to apportion blame for the marriage breaking down. Parties can choose between them whether to make a Sole Application for divorce or a Joint Application, in which both parties agree to divorce each other.
It is hoped that by introducing no fault divorce, the divorce process will become more straightforward. The legislation also removes the possibility of contesting a divorce or the parties arguing over who should pay the costs of the proceedings.
The government has introduced online divorce to streamline the process of people obtaining a divorce themselves, without the need to instruct solicitors. If you are thinking of doing this, we recommend that you still come and speak to a solicitor in relation to financial matters before applying for the Final Divorce Order. This is because, upon pronouncement of the Final Divorce Order, you may lose out on state benefits, pension benefits, and any matrimonial restriction on the family home will cease. Similarly, if you win the lottery, have a windfall or receive an inheritance, your ex-partner may make try to make a claim over this.
What is the Divorce Process?
Financial matters
Remember that if you go through the process of ‘divorce’, and nothing more, then whilst you will be divorced, you could be left exposed for the future. If you do not resolve financial matters during the divorce process, by way of a legally binding Court order, then your claims against each other remain open for income, capital and pensions and either of you may apply to the Court in the future for a financial order. You can find out more about financial settlements here.
It is important to formally tie up financial matters between you, and have an agreement enshrined in a Consent Order as if either of you has a change in circumstances, you may find that the other feels differently about how the finances have been divided at the time of the divorce. In the absence of an Order, unless and until a party remarries, their financial claims against their ex-spouse arising from the marriage remain live, and they could bring a claim for financial relief and claim some of your wealth in future, even many years after you were divorced.
