| When you got married you signed a marriage certificate. To get divorced you need to sign some paperwork to obtain a divorce certificate (known as a Decree Absolute).
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You need to reach an agreement on how your assets will be divided, how much maintenance (if any) will be paid, and for how long. This agreement is called a Consent Order. |
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If you have children then you need to agree which parent your children will live with, where they will go to school and agree contact arrangements for the non-resident parent.
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You first decide which of you will start the divorce process - this person is known as the petitioner.
You also need to decide on the 'grounds' for the divorce (which can be adultery, separation or unreasonable behaviour).
If you both agree to go ahead with the divorce and you agree on what 'grounds' to use then you can save time and money because your divorce is uncontested.
If you cannot agree then your divorce is contested.
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The ideal situation is that you are able to agree on the finances without the intervention of solicitors or the courts.
If you cannot agree then your options are to:
a) use a mediation service, which would typically cost around £500
b) use solicitors to negotiate a deal, this will often end up in court and cost many thousands of pounds
Make a real effort to reach agreement yourselves to avoid spending a fortune on expensive solicitors.
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Couples getting divorced are often understandably angry with each other.
Fortunately most parents manage to put aside their differences and put the children's interest first when it comes to child residency and contact arrangements.
If you can manage to agree on the practical arrangements between yourselves then there is no need to involve solicitors or the courts.
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If your divorce is uncontested:
Obtaining an uncontested divorce involves completing some legal
paperwork and organising the processing of the divorce through a court.
It is possible to DIY your divorce but the legal forms
and process is somewhat difficult/confusing. It's a bit like doing your
own home plumbing or electric wiring, it is certainly possible - but
there is no-one to blame if you mess it up. Also you don't save that
much by DIY'ing the divorce as you still have to pay the full court
fees.
You can get a managed divorce service from various
online websites, from your local high street solicitor, or from Wikivorce.
Related services:
Our Solicitor Managed Divorce service now costs just £179
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If you can reach agreement:
Once you have reached a verbal agreement then the next step is to choose a solicitor to draft and submit a Consent Order for court approval.
This not a job you should consider doing yourself.
A key benefit of a Consent Order is that you and your spouse decide what the agreement will be (rather than a judge) and the solicitor works on your instructions to draft a legally binding order.
Once drafted the Consent Order must be signed before it is sent to the court where a judge will review and approve it.
This service is available from Wikivorce at low cost.
Related services:
Our Solicitor Managed Consent Order is only £139
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Agree contact arrangements:
There is no need to buy any service or complete any forms whatsoever. You simply need to talk to each other and reach a verbal agreement.
There is no right or wrong amount of contact. Some parents have shared residency and have the children for equal numbers of nights.
Where one parent works full-time and the other doesn't then it is common for the non-resident parent to have the children one night midweek and every other weekend.
But basically it is whatever works for you as a family. try to compromise and put the children's interest first.
Related services:
None required
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If your divorce is contested:
If your spouse is not in agreement to go through with a divorce then it
is still possible to get divorced but it takes longer and costs more.
We may still be able to help, but not at our standard fixed prices.
Call us on the advice line number below to discuss the best way forward.
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If you aren't able to reach agreement on finances:
We can help you to decide on the best way forward, whether that is mediation, using a solicitor or representing yourself.
Feel free to call
us now the number below to speak to one of our expert advisors.
If we feel you could benefit from free legal advice then we can arrange a
FREE telephone appointment with a solicitor.
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If you are fighting over child residency or contact:
For example: maybe you have no contact at all, or you are unhappy with the contact arrangements, or you or your spouse is planning on moving the children overseas.
In these situations you really need legal advice.
You can call us on the number below to arrange a FREE telephone meeting with a family solicitor.
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- Buyer's Guide To Divorce 
