Divorce brings an end to a marriage so that man and wife revert to their single status. Judicial Separation proceedings do not bring an end to a marriage. In Judicial Separation the parties are still married to each other but they can be separated by order of the law and the law can provide for the division of the family assets, with the exception of the pension as the spouse is still the spouse of the other and therefore still retains spouse benefits to the other's pension.

Nullity Decree means that a marriage is annulled and has never existed, and this puts the parties back in the same position as they were prior to the marriage.

It should be noted that the Petition is issued by the party instituting the Decree proceedings who is known as the Petitioner. The other party is known as the Respondent. Either spouse can be the Petitioner or the Respondent.

To commence proceedings for any of the above decrees we will prepare a Petition and a Statement of Arrangements in respect of the children, which is filed with the Court at the same time as the Petition. All documents will be approved by you before they are filed with the Court. It is usual for one party to agree the Statement of Arrangements with the other party and a copy of the Statement of Arrangements is sent the other side prior to filing the papers with the Court. Once the Statement of Arrangements has been returned to the Petitioner's solicitors duly signed, or if it has not been returned within a reasonable time, both the Petition and Statement of Arrangements will be lodged with the local County Court and thereafter a copy of these documents will be sent to your spouse by the Court. The Court will then notify the Petitioner's solicitors that the Petition has been issued. Normally the Respondent will be sent the Petition on the same day it was issued by the Court. The Respondent will be required to complete an Acknowledgement of Service form indicating whether he/she intends to defend the proceedings. The Acknowledgement of Service form has to be filed with the Court, who will seal the same and then send a copy to the Petitioner's solicitors so that they can then proceed with the next step in the decree proceedings. On the basis that the Petition is not defended and the Petitioner's solicitors receive the Acknowledgement of Service form, the Petitioner will be invited to arrange a further appointment so that the second stage of the decree proceedings can be prepared. If the Petition is to be defended, then the solicitors's for the Petitioner will decide whether a reply to the defended Petition should be filed and will arrange for a directions appointment before a District Judge at the County Court.

To proceed to the next step of Decree Nisi, further documents must be filed with the County Court. These consist of an Affidavit, which is a sworn statement, in support of the Petition which confirms to the Court that everything in the Petition is true and if the divorce has affected the Petitioner's health. The Petitioner will normally be required to identify the Respondent's signature on the Acknowledgment of Service form. An application for Decree Nisi must accompany the Affidavit when filed with the Court. When the Court receives these documents the same are put before a District Judge and, if he/she is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for the Petition to proceed, he/she will issue a Certificate of Satisfaction for the Decree Nisi and the Court will then notify the parties of the hearing date for Decree Nisi. This is usually fixed 2 or 3 weeks in advance. There is no need for either party to attend at the Decree Nisi appointment unless there is a dispute in relation to costs. The Decree Nisi is pronounced in open Court and a few days after the hearing both parties will receive an Order from the Court which will be forwarded to you notifying you that Decree Nisi has been pronounced.

In Divorce and Nullity proceedings, following a lapse of 6 weeks from date of Decree Nisi, the Petitioner will be in a position to apply for Decree Nisi to be made Absolute. Decree Nisi is not the final dissolution of the marriage. In Judicial Separation proceedings, at the Decree Nisi hearing, a Decree of Judicial Separation is pronounced.

It should be noted that the Petitioner is entitled to abandon the proceedings at any stage prior to Decree Absolute being pronounced. Neither party is in a position to remarry until Decree Absolute has been pronounced and it is only once Decree Absolute has been pronounced that both parties are properly divorced and free to remarry if they so wish. Decree Absolute is the final step in the Decree Proceedings. Should the Petitioner not apply for Decree Nisi to be made Absolute within the 6 weeks, then the Respondent is entitled to make an application on notice to the Court 4½ months from the date of the Decree Nisi hearing. It is likely that the Decree proceedings will take 4 to 5 months to process in the event that all parties co-operate.

The Statement of Arrangements is a document which the Petitioner completes to inform the Court of the arrangements or intended arrangements for the children of the family, ie who they live with, what sort of house they live in, whether the rent/mortgage is being paid regularly, who lives at the property, which schools the children attend, whether they are in good health, whether any maintenance is being paid, whether they see the other parent and whether Social Services are or have been involved with the children.

It should also be noted that, once Decree Absolute has been pronounced, any disposition which one spouse makes for the other under an existing Will is invalidated by the Decree Absolute and, should either party remarry after the divorce, then any existing Will will be invalidated by such remarriage.

It is advisable that Decree Nisi should not be made Absolute until any financial issues have been concluded.

Remarriage may bar either party from making an application to the Court for financial relief. If there are any financial issues to be resolved and if you are the Petitioner, the Petition usually contains a prayer for a financial order, which protects the Petitioner's rights if he/she should remarry. However, if you are the Respondent in the Decree proceedings, you need to be aware of the consequences of remarriage which, if you have not already applied for financial relief, will preclude you from making an application to the Court to resolve the financial issues. Therefore, if you have financial issues to resolve, an application to the Court for financial relief must be made before your remarriage.

Whilst considering the state of your marriage you also need to consider the following:

1. Severance of Joint Tenancy

If your property is jointly owned with your partner, the chances are that you own it as tenants in common. This means that, if one of you dies, the property passes to the survivor. This is probably what you intended when you initially purchased the property but, now you are in a matrimonial dispute, you may not intend your partner to receive your half share of the property and would wish to sever the joint tenancy in order to protect your interest as far as possible. Severing the joint tenancy does not mean that your partner is automatically excluded from making a claim in respect of your share of the property but it can help.

2. Your Will

If you are a single parent with the sole care of a child or children, it must concern you as to who would look after the children in the unfortunate event of your intimely death prior to the children attaining their majority. It may be that you have a relative or close friend who you would wish to appoint as a guardian. It may be that your former partner would be prepared to look after the children if you should predecease him/her while the children are young. Nevertheless it is always important, when parties are separating, to give instructions for a new Will to be prepared so that all eventualities are covered. If you would like to prepare a Will our Solicitors will be more than happy to assist. Please contact us on 01244 312306.

3. Change of Name

It often happens that, when parties divorce that the wife would wish to revert to her maiden name. This can be effected by a simple document and, if you would wish to make enquiries from us as regards a change of name please telephone our office on 01244 312306.