Dissolving a marriage

The formal dissolution of a marriage, otherwise known as a divorce, is the legal process in which a marriage is formally ended under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

• In order to be eligible for a divorce in England and Wales, the parties must have been married for a period of at least one year.
• The document that has to be completed and filed with the court to begin the process is a Divorce Petition. Either party to the marriage may petition for divorce on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
• In order to establish that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, the Divorce Petition will need to rely on one of the following facts:
  • Adultery;
  • Unreasonable behaviour;
  • Desertion for a period of two years or more;
  • Two years’ separation, with both parties consent;
  • Five years’ separation, without consent.

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