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How divorce works

To get a divorce, you’ll need to go through a number of steps.

These stages can take about four months if you and your spouse agree on:

• the reasons you want to divorce
• how you’ll look after children
• how you’ll split up money, property and possessions

If you and your spouse don’t agree on these issues the divorce can take much longer.

The stages of a divorce

The formal divorce process has four steps.

1. Deciding the reasons for divorce

To divorce, you’ll need to prove to the court the reasons why you want your marriage to end. These are known as ‘facts’ and ‘grounds’ for divorce.

It will speed things up if your spouse agrees with the reasons that you want to use. See ‘Understand grounds for divorce’ for more information.

• Understanding grounds for divorce

2. File a divorce petition

One of you will need to apply to court for a divorce. You do this by filling in and sending a ‘divorce petition’ to a court. See ‘How to file for divorce’ for more information.

• How to file for divorce

3. Applying for a ‘decree nisi’

If you’ve sent your divorce petition to court and your spouse has told the court they agree, you can move to the next stage.

This is applying for a ‘decree nisi’ – a document that says the court sees no reason why you can’t divorce. See ‘Getting a decree nisi’ for more information.

• Getting a decree nisi

4. Getting a decree absolute

The ‘decree absolute’ is the document that legally ends your marriage.

If you started the divorce, you can apply for a ‘decree absolute’ six weeks after the court issues the decree nisi.

If your spouse started the divorce you can apply for a ‘decree absolute’ after an additional three months. So you would have to wait three months and six days after the decree nisi was issued before you could apply.

Once you have the decree absolute, you are officially divorced. See ‘Getting a decree absolute and completing your divorce’ for more information.

• Completing your divorce and getting a 'decree absolute'

Things that may slow down your divorce

If the court thinks that your plans for looking after children aren’t satisfactory, it can refuse to grant a divorce. If this happens, you’ll need to work out new plans and start the process again.

If you disagree over how you’ll split money, property and possessions, this won’t necessarily stop the divorce.

If you can’t reach an agreement on money, property and possessions, you may have to get the court to decide. A 'financial order' (sometimes known as an ‘ancillary relief order’) is a formal arrangement made in court. It's a separate process to the divorce and, in many cases, the formal divorce will be finalised before you complete the financial order process.

Find out more about financial orders from the link below.

• What a financial order is

Getting a divorce in England and Wales if you were married abroad

You can usually get divorced in England and Wales if you got married in another country if:

• the marriage is legally recognised in England and Wales (usually if the marriage was legal in the country where you got married)
• you have a permanent home in England and Wales (even if you spend some time living or working abroad)

If you meet both these conditions, you can usually apply to courts in England and Wales for a divorce. You should seek legal advice if you are unsure you meet these conditions.

If you want to get divorced outside of England and Wales you will need to contact the appropriate authorities in that country.

• How to file for divorce

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