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Getting a divorce – what has to apply to your marriage before beginning proceedings?

If the idea of divorcing your partner has been on your mind but you’ve been married for less than a year, you may be wondering if you need to wait before beginning divorce proceedings or if there are any factors that can prevent a divorce.

Before you can get a divorce in England and Wales, you must make sure your marriage meets all the requirements.

To begin divorce proceedings, the following statements must be true:

You have been married for over a year
The relationship has permanently broken down
Your marriage must be legally recognised in England and Wales

Before you begin divorce proceedings, you also need to decide if you are making a joint application or a sole one.

Joint applications vs sole application

To apply for a joint divorce, the following statements must be true:

You are both in agreement about getting a divorce.
You are not at risk of domestic abuse

Within a joint application, you will still need to confirm that you want to proceed with the divorce separately.

If you or your partner stop responding to the application, you can continue with the process as a sole applicant.

You can submit a sole application if:

Your partner does not agree that you should divorce
You do not think your partner will cooperate or respond to notifications from the court.

To avoid attending a court hearing for your divorce, you and your partner can try to reach an agreement on matters such as money, your property and your children as these factors are all things that can cause issues and slow the process down later on.

In our next blog, we will explain the divorce application process and how to apply.

For more advice on divorce, contact us today.