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In English/Welsh law, if matters are disputed, your spouse/civil partner will need to complete the Acknowledgment of Service form to indicate that they intend to defend the proceedings, and also file an answer to your application, setting out why they object to the divorce/dissolution. There are limited options under the ‘no fault’ process.

Contested divorce or dissolution proceedings can be lengthy, costly and time-consuming when the likelihood is that both parties have decided that their relationship cannot continue. As such, they tend to be few and far between.

If an order for costs is sought, the applicant will need to make an application to the court. It is in the court's discretion whether to make an order.

Costs orders are unusual given the ‘no fault’ process.

It will take a minimum period of 26 weeks to complete English/Welsh divorce or dissolution proceedings from when they are issued at court, although your solicitor may advise you to delay applying for the final order (which finally terminates your marriage or civil partnership) until financial matters have been resolved.

You would need to check details of your ceremony to ascertain whether it complied with civil law regulating marriages in the country in which you were married. If it did not, you will not be legally married and as such, do not have the status of a spouse. Neither will you need to get divorced in civil law (but there might be a religious process you wish to go through).

Even if you are not married, there may be legal remedies available to you – as a cohabitant or as a parent.

This answer applies to a divorce or dissolution progressing in England and Wales.

You should endeavour to negotiate your financial settlement at the same time as discussing the divorce or dissolution itself. A financial order is a separate document to those documents arising from the divorce or dissolution (e.g. your conditional order or final order) and it records your financial settlement/deals with all other financial obligations that might have arisen between you and your spouse/civil partner of your marriage/civil partnership. Even if you think that there is nothing to sort out financially, you should still take expert legal advice as an order is always strongly recommended. Unless and until a financial order is made, all potential financial claims remain open. See our dedicated page on divorce finance.

If you have agreed financial terms, they should be recorded in a draft court order. You cannot file a draft order with the court, requesting approval by the District Judge, until you have passed the date of your conditional order.

There are special rules applicable to Scottish financial settlements, and expert advice should be sought.

Not necessarily, as issues in relation to your children may arise at any stage during their minority. However, it is clearly prudent to start discussing plans for the children at an early stage when you start to consider separating/divorce or dissolution.

Please see our child law page for more information.

If a divorce or dissolution proceeds in England or Wales, in order to file an application, the court require your original marriage certificate or a certified copy which can be obtained from the General Register Office.

It may need to be posted to the court, or alternatively scanned in, but do make sure you have the original or a certified copy to hand in case it is needed at any stage of the proceedings.

There is also a court fee payable to the court when an application is filed. 

An application form must be completed, stating that your marriage or civil partnership has irretrievably broken down.

The final order is the final stage of the English/Welsh divorce proceedings and this can be applied for six weeks and one day after the final order.

If your spouse or civil partner has filed the application (and so is the applicant) but they have not applied for final order, then after a further three months you are able to make an application for the final order.

The court will grant the application unless there is good reason not to do so. Examples of which may be that financial issues have not been resolved.

It may be in your interests to delay an application for final order, especially if there are outstanding financial issues to be resolved. Once the final order has been granted, the marriage or civil partnership is at an end and both parties are free to remarry or enter into another civil partnership, if they wish.

It depends. Whether you can get a divorce (called jurisdiction for a divorce) differs with each legal jurisdiction, which have their own laws and criteria that need to be met. Jurisdiction is often regulated by the parties’ domicile or place of residence at the time of a divorce, and timeframes might apply. As such, where you actually got married (or entered into a civil partnership) might have no relevance at all.

However, the ceremony you celebrated, and whether it complied with marriage laws in the jurisdiction where you married (or entered into a civil partnership), is very relevant. See our answer above regarding religious marriages.

You can only get a divorce or dissolution in a legal jurisdiction in which you meet the criteria for issuing proceedings. As explained in our earlier answer, this is often regulated by the parties' domicile or place of residence at the time of a divorce or dissolution.

In some cases, one or more legal jurisdiction might be available to you. In that situation, you would need to take legal advice in each jurisdiction to work out which jurisdiction might be preferable for you to issue proceedings in. In particular, the outcome of a financial settlement for you might be very different in one place than another, and expert advice is needed in all possible jurisdictions.

There are specific legislative rules in place governing where a divorce or dissolution can be raised within the United Kingdom, based primarily on where the parties have last been habitually resident when they separated. The jurisdiction of the court is therefore not based on the country in which the marriage or civil partnership ceremony took place.

For many couples who have moved around the UK during their marriage, this can mean that sometimes Scotland might have jurisdiction to hear the case while sometimes it may be England and Wales. As there can be substantial differences to the financial outcome for both parties, early advice should be sought if a person is contemplating divorce or dissolution in either country. We have experts who can advise on divorce or dissolution in England, Wales, and Scotland.

Yes. Timing can be critical, as in some jurisdictions the application issued 'first in time' can secure a divorce or dissolution in a particular jurisdiction.

Other cases are determined on the basis of which jurisdiction is more 'convenient' for the divorce/dissolution , for example, where the assets are primarily located (known as forum conveniens). Detailed advice is required as these cases can be very complex.

You must take urgent legal advice in that jurisdiction and also any other jurisdiction which may host divorce proceedings. The outcome of a financial settlement for you might be very different in one place than another, and expert advice is needed in all possible jurisdictions.

In some jurisdictions the petition issued ‘first in time’ can secure a divorce or dissolution in a particular jurisdiction. Other cases are determined on the basis of which jurisdiction is more ‘convenient’ for the proceedings, for example, where the assets are primarily located (known as forum conveniens). Detailed advice is required as these cases can be very complex.