It does not matter who wishes to commence divorce proceedings as it has no impact on the financial proceedings. The only advantage of being the applicant is that you take lead in progressing the divorce application. However, the decision of commencing divorce proceedings is an emotional one. The law now gives the option to apply for a divorce either solely or jointly with your spouse.

The parties could opt to separate from one another without bringing the marriage to an end. A separation agreement can set out the financial arrangements while the parties are separated, but this is optional. It must be noted that separation agreements are not legally binding, but they can be helpful to parties as they provide clarity. There may be various reasons as to why you someone wishes to separate, but not divorce such as for religious purposes. Separation agreements can also allow ample amount of time for the parties to reflect and decide whether they wish to divorce.

The parties could also obtain a legal separation order by making a formal application for judicial separation, however these application are rarely undertaken.

Our team of family experts can advise you further on separation agreements.

From the time a divorce application is made, it will take at least 26 weeks to finalise, but we would estimate 7-9 months to allow time for administration and processing.

The no fault divorce was implemented on 6th April 2022 and replaced the old system by removing the various grounds which required parties to evidence bad conduct or separation. Under the no fault law, the parties simply need to confirm that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. No fault divorces generally cannot be contested.