The person who has filed the divorce application is called the Applicant. The Applicant has submitted a divorce application to the court and once it has been issued, it will be given a unique case reference.
The court will then send a copy of the divorce application to the other party to the marriage (the Respondent). This will let the Respondent know that a divorce application has been made and will provide them with the unique case reference. As well as the divorce application, the Respondent will receive an Acknowledgement of Service.
The Respondent must complete the Acknowledgement of Service and return it to the court within 14 days of receiving it. If the Respondent does not return the form within the time period, the Applicant can still proceed with the divorce if it is held that the Respondent did receive the forms but is just choosing to ignore them. Within the Acknowledgment of Service, the Respondent is must say whether they agree with the divorce or whether they dispute the divorce.
Since 2022, it is no longer possible to defend a divorce, a party can only dispute the divorce. This means that they will be required to complete an ‘answer form’ to explain why they disagree with the divorce. There must be a genuine legal reason to dispute the divorce; it cannot be disputed simply because they do not want a divorce.
Once the Acknowledge of Service has been completed (or the dispute is not a genuine reason), the Applicant can proceed with the divorce and will wait 20 weeks after the issuing of the application, before they can apply for the conditional order. Once they have received the conditional order, the parties must wait 6 weeks and 1 day (43 days) before they can apply for the final order. If the Applicant does not apply for the final order, the Respondent is able to apply for it; however, they must wait an extra 3 months on top of the standard 43 days. Only when the final order is granted, is the divorce finalised.
If you are considering submitting a divorce application or you are the Respondent to a divorce, talk to a member of our Family Law team on 02920 470909.