How to get a quick divorce! Divorce in weeks! Quickie divorce! Online divorce for only £39.00! Who needs legal advice when it's that simple, or is it?
Sorry to bust the myth
Don't be deceived; there is no such thing as a quick divorce, even in the most straightforward of cases where both parties have agreed to have an amicable divorce. To start with, you are not divorced until the courts say so, and the courts are far too busy dealing with thousands of divorce applications from all over the country (including backlogs) that it would be impossible to grant you a divorce in weeks, even if they tried. According to the Office of National Statistics, there were over 90,000 divorces in England and Wales in 2018, not counting applications being processed.
Secondly, after you have received your decree nisi, you must wait six weeks before you can apply for your decree absolute. The decree nisi is the first court document you get that tells you that you are entitled to a divorce, and the decree absolute is the second and final court document you get that grants your final divorce.
Some divorce services providers will advertise that you can get an online divorce for only £39.00, but what they don't advertise is that there is a compulsory court fee of £550.00, unless you qualify for a fee waiver or a reduction. In any event, making an online divorce application doesn’t make the process any quicker.
So, how long does a divorce take?
It depends on a number of factors. For instance, how busy the courts are, the number of court staff available and how many bank holidays there are in the time you have applied, and so on. Other key factors that can delay your divorce are whether you have submitted your original marriage certificate or whether you have properly completed the divorce application form, if you are applying yourself. The courts will not hesitate to return your application if the form is not properly completed or you have not submitted your original marriage certificate, not a copy or a translation. This doesn't mean that you can't get a divorce without an original marriage certificate or without one at all, it just means that you will need to make a separate application, which could further delay the process.
For an amicable divorce, it can take up to six months or longer. That said, we have dealt with some cases where an amicable divorce has taken up to 12 months to conclude, purely on the basis that the court was just too busy. For a divorce where you don't know where your ex-partner lives or they can't be bothered to sign the divorce papers, the divorce can take up to 12 months or longer; and for a defended divorce, it can take well over 12 months to conclude. That's just the reality.
How we can help
Unfortunately, we can't help you get a quick divorce, but we can deliver a fantastic and transparent service. We can help you get a divorce regardless of the complexity, including where there are children and assets involved. We offer two types of divorce services. Our traditional service, where our highly experienced divorce and financial remedy solicitors handle the entire divorce process for you and directly deal with the court.
Alternatively, we offer a much cheaper DIY Divorce service where our highly experienced divorce and financial remedy solicitors will prepare your divorce application, advise you and support you from start to finish, but you will correspond with the court yourself. This service is suitable for a straightforward or amicable divorce.
For more information, please contact us.