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ANTHONY MCNAMEE Oct 2019
"Luke Curran & Co deliver results in keeping with commercial time pressures yet still with a personal touch. Always available to deal with any query. "
Disputes within the family can be stressful and worrying. If your relationship breaks down you’ll need confidential expert advice on separation and divorce. Divorce law has two basic objectives. Firstly, it allows for the dignified dissolution of marriage. Secondly, it deals with arrangements for the future support children of the family and the distribution of capital assets and income between the parties.
We have listed five key stages in applying for a Divorce through the courts, and provided our contact details below if you’d like to seek further information from Luke Curran & Co Solicitors.
You will need to lodge the following in the Matrimonial Court office to issue the Divorce Petition:
A divorce petition is grounded on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and evidenced by any of the following:
After the papers have been processed, the Court will send a certified copy that can be served on the Respondent. What happens next depends upon whether the Respondent defends the Petition.
He/she will then have 14 days to return form M6 Acknowledge of Service to the Matrimonial Office. If your spouse doesn’t intend to contest the Divorce, you can then immediately ask the Court to rule whether the reasons stated in your petition are sufficient for the divorce to be granted, and your proposed arrangements for the financial and custodial care of your children are satisfactory.
On the other hand, if your spouse proposes to defend the Petition proceedings from this point onward can be quite technical.
Once the Court fee of £296 is paid, the case can be set down for hearing. What happens at the hearing depends on whether the Respondent consents to the Divorce. If the Respondent does not defend the Petition and consents to the Petition going ahead, you will be asked to either take a religious oath or make an affirmation (promise) and verify the information contained within your Petition.
If the court is satisfied with the evidence before it and with any arrangements made for the children of the marriage, it may grant a Decree Nisi. If the Respondent does not consent and decides to defend the petition, you may then be asked to give evidence and be cross-examined by the Respondent’s legal representative.
If the parties have not entered into a Matrimonial Agreement then the distribution of matrimonial assets can be dealt with by way of Ancillary Relief Proceedings which will be explained in a later article.
It’s important for us to highlight that you’re not divorced until your Decree Absolute is issued. The party who was granted the Decree Nisi can apply for a Decree Absolute after at least six weeks and one day have passed since the Divorce was heard. It costs £89 and the application should be made to the Court where the case was heard.
When the Decree Absolute is granted a copy will be forwarded to both parties. Both parties are free to remarry/form a new civil partnership. It’s important that the Decree Absolute made final is kept safe as you’ll need it in the future to produce to various authorities to prove your divorce was finalised.
Click on any one of the links to read further:
c) Cohabitation Agreements & Rights
d) Children Contract & Custody
You can contact us for a free no obligation consultation by calling us on 02830267134 .If you’d like to learn more on family and matrimonial law email us at law@lukecurran.co.uk or at Luke Curran & Co Solicitors, Newry.
