One of the first questions people often have when considering ending their marriage is how long it will take. In England and Wales, the legal process to end your marriage takes a minimum of six months. However, dealing with other aspects of your divorce, including assets and arrangements for children, can take longer.
Knowing what to expect can make the divorce process more straightforward to face up to. Understanding the different approaches to sorting out issues can also help you find the quickest way to get divorced.
It should be noted that this blog is not intended as legal advice and is for educational purposes only. Should you wish to discuss your specific situation, our divorce and separation solicitors will happily answer any queries.
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Typical time explained
In the past, a divorce would typically take four to six months to complete. However, this changed when the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force on 6 April 2022.
Under the new rules, there are now two mandatory ‘reflection’ periods, up to 26 weeks (six months). This means a divorce will take at least six months to finalise.
Why has the average time to divorce increased?
While the new rules mean a standard divorce may take slightly longer, the new approach has significant benefits. Divorcing couples no longer need to give a reason for their marriage’s breakdown, as was required under the old rules. The old system often caused delays, as a couple would typically need to agree on the reason for the marriage ending.
In most cases, this required one spouse to ‘take the blame’ for the marriage ending, or else the couple would have to wait years before applying for a divorce without assigning fault. Therefore, removing the need to give a reason takes away the potential for these sorts of delays. Another issue under the old rules was that one spouse would need to start divorce proceedings, and the other spouse would need to agree to the divorce and the reasons given for it. The new rules remove the right for the respondent to contest the divorce in all but the most limited circumstances, eliminating another potential source of delay.
So, while the new rules may have increased the average time to divorce slightly, they also mean there is very little chance of a divorce taking significantly longer than the standard timeline. This, therefore, helps to make divorce much more straightforward, predictable, and less stressful than was often the case.
Timeline for the process
A standard timeline will look something like this:
- Completing the application: An individual or a couple submit their divorce application (typically completed online).
- Issuing the application: A court formally ‘issues’ the divorce – typically within about 10 days of the application’s submission.
- Serving notice of the divorce (sole applications only): The court must serve a copy to the spouse who did not make the application. This should normally happen within 28 days of the court issuing the divorce.
- Responding to the divorce application (sole applications only): The respondent will have 14 days to complete the ‘acknowledgement of service’ form and return this to the court. The respondent must confirm that there is no reason the divorce cannot proceed.
- First mandatory wait period: The applicant/s will need to wait at least 20 weeks from the date the court issued the divorce. This is time to reflect and ensure the applicant/s are happy to move forward with ending their marriage.
- Applying for the Conditional Order: Once the 20-week wait period has passed, an applicant can apply to the court for a Conditional Order. This court order states there is no reason the divorce cannot go ahead. Formerly, this was known as a ‘decree nisi’.
- Second Mandatory Wait Period: Once the Conditional Order is granted, there is a second reflection period of six weeks before the next stage of the process can take place.
- Applying for the Final Order: Once the second wait period is over, an applicant can apply to the court for the Final Order that legally dissolves their marriage. The Final Order was previously known as the ‘decree absolute’. When the Final Order is issued, then the marriage is legally over.
What is the fastest way to get a divorce settlement?
Dividing assets in a divorce is entirely separate from the legal process to end your marriage. It is advisable to sort out your finances before applying for the Final Order.
There are two ways of reaching a financial settlement – through voluntary agreement between the spouses or through applying to a court. It is almost always faster to reach an agreement outside of a court.
Methods to reach a voluntary settlement include negotiations between the spouses and alternative dispute resolution methods. Depending on the situation, these can take anywhere from days to a few months. It is also ordinarily advisable to apply to a court for a Consent Order to make any voluntary agreement legally binding, as well as a Clean Break Order to prevent the risk of a spouse making claims against your finances in future.
It is hard to predict how long it will take to get a decision from a court if required. This will largely depend on how quickly a hearing date is available and whether either party appeals the court’s decision.
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