Divorce and Separation

The Divorce, Dissolutions and Separation Act 2020 covers the new legislation which comes into effect from April 2022.

There is now only one ground for a divorce- Irretrievable Breakdown.

This is a NO FAULT divorce and you no longer have to rely on unreasonable behaviour, adultery, desertion or separation.

A Divorce Petition can be issued by one party or it can be a joint application. It is still a two-step process and the old Decree Nisi will now be known as a Conditional Order and the Decree Absolute will be known as the Final Divorce Order. A respondent can no longer defend a divorce. Under the new procedure there is a minimum of 20 weeks from the start of the proceedings to the Conditional Order and a further 6 weeks to the Final Divorce Order. This gives parties a period of reflection and the opportunity to explore mediation to help with children and financial matters.

Divorce Petitions are now done online. You can apply at : https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-divorce
The Court fee is £593 for the Petition 

Property and Finances

As part of your separation, you will need to sort out your financial arrangements. Sell or transfer a house, divide bank accounts, sort out pensions and child or spousal support. You can make an application for what is called “a financial remedy” to settle your finances on divorce or dissolution of civil partnership.
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If you and your partner are married or in a civil partnership and can't agree on how to split property and sort out your finances, you can apply to the courts (known as issuing proceedings). This is expensive and time-consuming.

Our experienced Mediator can help guide you through the non-court resolution process. We can assist with the financial disclosure so everyone is empowered to make informed decisions. They will help you explore options to see what is possible in your given circumstances. No two families are the same. We can prepare a Memorandum of understanding setting out your proposals which will form the basis of any consent order that you might wish to have drawn up. You might not get an agreement on all disputed items but by reducing the areas of disagreement, you will be saving time and money arguing.

LIVING TOGETHER

Six out of every ten couples who live together believe that they have the same protection as married couples if they split up. Unfortunately, they don't. The myth of common law marriage and the fact that many official bodies refer to people “living together as husband or wife” means that many people who live together are unaware that they do not have the same rights as a married couple when their relationships end.

If you live in a property in your partner’s name
You don’t have an automatic right to any share in the property. The law says that the property belongs to the person in whose name it is registered.
In a nutshell this means that you don’t have any say in whether or not the property is sold and, if you split up, you would not be entitled to any money from the property, nor would you be entitled to stay in the property (unless you have children, see below).
To have a claim to any part of the property, even if you contributed financially, you would have to show that you both agreed that you should have some rights to it (known legally as a common intention).  This is a complicated area of law and may often involve going to court, which can be costly. You are strongly advised to seek legal advice if you are in this position.
The strength of your case will depend on what evidence you have. But it can be very difficult, costly and time-consuming to establish such a right.

If you live in a property that is held in joint names with your partner
Unless it is clear from an agreement or in the title documents of the property, if a property is in joint names the law assumes you have equal shares. 

If you and your partner have children together
The father will only automatically have parental responsibility if he registered as the father on the birth certificate after 1 December 2003. Otherwise he needs the formal written agreement of the mother or an order from the court.

If one of you wishes to move to a different country with the children, consent of the other parent (assuming they have parental responsibility) or permission of the court will first be required. 

You may have financial claims on behalf of your children.
You and the children might be able to stay in the house whilst they are dependent, regardless of who owns the property. If there are sufficient capital resources available, the court can make orders for one parent to provide a home for the other whilst the children are growing up. The standard terms of this sort of arrangement will be that once the children have ceased to be dependent (usually once they have finished full-time education, which can include university), the capital is returned to the parent who provided it. Other lump sum payments can be awarded for specific capital needs (such as furnishing a home or buying a car). 

If your partner dies and has not made a will
You are not entitled to any part of their estate unless you jointly and equally own the property, in which case it would pass to you automatically. Otherwise your partner’s estate will go to their next of kin. This could be a spouse if they have never divorced. If your partner has children, their spouse would get the first £250,000, personal possessions and income from half the rest. The remaining half would go to their children who would then get the other half when the spouse dies. If your partner is divorced or has never been married, all their property would then go to their children or other relatives if there are no children, meaning you could lose your home.

If you own your property as “beneficial tenants in common” your partner’s share will go to his next of kin as above. You might have to sell the property to pay them their share or raise money to buy them out.
If you are left with nothing you would have to make a claim against your partner’s estate on the basis that you lived together for two years prior to the date of death or that you were wholly or partly dependent on them. This can be difficult, costly and time-consuming.
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This is why it is really important to make a will.
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