Unlike the popular image of lawyers, we are not divorce brokers. We will ask you if your marriage can be saved and make sure that a decision to divorce has been carefully considered by you.

You can only present a petition for divorce if you have been married for at least one year and are of the opinion that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. In order to prove an irretrievable breakdown you have to rely on one or more of five facts, as follows:-

• That the other party has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with them.
• The other party has behaved unreasonably and you should not be expected to live with them.
• That the other party has deserted you for a period of two years.
• That you have lived separate for at least two years and the other party consents to a divorce.
• That you have lived separate for at least five years. (In this case the other party does not need to consent.)

The divorce process (provided there are no procedural difficulties) takes between 26 and 30 weeks. In the vast majority of cases there is no need for either party to attend court in relation to divorce. Often, obtaining a decree of divorce is the most straightforward aspect of marriage breakdown. It is in relation to children and finances that the potential for dispute can arise.

Civil Partnership Dissolution is similar in many respects to divorce in that in order to obtain a dissolution, a civil partner must satisfy the Court that the civil partnership has broken down irretrievably. The facts that have to be relied apon to prove this breakdown are:-

• That the other party has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with them
• That you have lived apart for at least two years and the other party consents to a dissolution.
• That you have lived apart for five years. (In this case no consent is necessary from the other party).
• That the other party has deserted you for a period of two years.