Supporting you through your divorce
At Raphael Law we have the expertise required to help you secure short term and long term financial security for you and your children. When you have decided that your marriage is over or whether you are still considering your options, the team at Raphael law will ensure that you feel heard and supported throughout the process and we pride our values on making the process as stress-free as we can.
We are committed to fight your corner tenaciously when it is required protecting your family and marital assets whilst at the same time providing sensitive support to help you cope with the emotional upheaval of divorce.
Divorce is a challenging area of the law that requires expert solicitors able to give you valuable advice and strategy. Throughout the process, our team will aim to secure an agreement between you and your ex-spouse that is favourable to you and one that the court will approve. This settlement must be legally watertight to ensure that your former spouse cannot come after you for more money in years to come.
We will represent you in court if matters are more contested and require court intervention.
We will help you to get divorced as quickly, cost effectively and as painlessly as possible – enabling you to get your life back on track and move on.
Brilliant service. Raphael Law handled my divorce with nothing but professionalism and assurance . I would definitely recommend them, they deal with matters swiftly and keep you informed every step of the process.
If you want RESULTS this is the FIRM
I cannot begin to express the dedication, commitment, knowledge and determination I have witnessed from Nadia when dealing with my brother's divorce and child custody case. Just incredible. Outstanding. Brilliant. Remarkable, the list goes on.
Aiish
Fantastic service and support.
Nadia and her team have been a great help to me through my divorce and settlement. It is a
stressful thing to go through but the team at Raphael Law are everything you could ask for
and more. Grateful for the top expertise and help I received from them. Would highly
recommend Nadia and her team and will always use her again if needed in the future.
N.W.
No Fault Divorce Divorce law reform
As of April 2022, either the husband or the wife may apply for a divorce where their marriage is “irretrievably broken down”. The application for divorce may also be made jointly.
Parties can now rely on a no-fault divorce, allowing a divorce to take place without the need for either party apportioning blame. This takes away the option for a spouse to contest a divorce just because they don’t believe the marriage is over.
The procedure
In order to proceed with a divorce, you must meet the following criteria:
- You and your spouse must have been married for over one year, and
- You meet one of the following jurisdiction requirements:
- both parties to the marriage are habitually resident in England and Wales
- both parties to the marriage were last habitually resident in England and Wales and one of them continues to reside there
- the respondent is habitually resident in England and Wales
- the applicant is habitually resident in England and Wales and has resided there for at least one year immediately before the application was made
- both parties to the marriage are domiciled in England and Wales; or
- either of the parties to the marriage is domiciled in England and Wales
It does not matter if the marriage took place abroad. However, if the marriage involves a tie to another country, there is a possibility that divorce proceedings could be issued in that country. This will be discussed during our initial consultation to ensure that the proceedings are issued in the country that is best suited to you.
The Application
The application must be accompanied by a statement by the applicant/applicants that confirms that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. You are no longer required to prove ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of the marriage (the previous list of reasons), the court must now take the statement as conclusive evidence of the breakdown. In a sole application, it is necessary to show that the other party has received the application for divorce, but you are now allowed to serve the other party by their usual email address.
Confirmation and 20 Week Waiting Period
Once the application has been submitted to the court, and the court is satisfied that service has taken place, then confirmation must be given that the applicant or applicants wish to proceed with the divorce. Similarly, If only one party has made the application, then it is only this party that is required to provide their confirmation to the court.
Where an application is made jointly, then both parties would normally confirm to the court that they wish for the application to continue. If one party has changed their mind, then the application can still proceed by way of a sole application.
In addition, this confirmation cannot be given until the end of the period of 20 weeks (five months) from the start of proceedings, ie. 20 weeks from the date the application was made. This is to allow for a ‘period of reflection’ so that couples can be confident in their decision to proceed with the divorce.
In exceptional cases this waiting period may be reduced.
What is the Conditional Order?
This was formerly known as the ‘Decree Nisi’ – it is now called a Conditional Order. This is a crucial stage. A conditional order does not mean that you and your spouse are divorced at this stage, but it confirms that the court can make an order in respect of the financial aspects of the divorce and it is one step closer to the dissolving of the marriage.
A court may not make a Conditional Order unless both the 20 week waiting period has passed (or it has been shortened by the court) and one or both parties have confirmed that they wish to continue with the divorce. You and your spouse will not have to attend court to hear the court pronounce your Conditional Order. This is a paper exercise only.
It is the Final Order – formerly known as the ‘Decree Absolute’ – confirms that you and your spouse’s divorce has been finalised and brings the marriage to an end.
If you are the applicant or joint applicants you can apply for the Final Order 6 weeks and 1 day after the Conditional Order is pronounced in court.
It is common practice in England and Wales to delay applying for the Final Order until the financial aspects of the marriage have been dealt with either by consent or by order of the court. This is because once you and your spouse are no longer married you would lose certain rights such as an entitlement to a widow’s pension and inheritance should your spouse die before the Financial Order is made.
Once the Financial Order has been made by the court or by agreement, it is important to apply for the Final Order of Divorce soon after – without it, the Financial Order made by the court is not enforceable until the marriage is brought to an end by the Final Order of Divorce being granted.
How much will my divorce cost?
Divorce costs vary from case to case simply because cases can differ in complexity. From your very first consultation with us, we will talk to you about your individual situation and provide you with transparency of all stages of our fixed fee pricing structure.
The usual rule of thumb is that both parties pay their own costs of divorce, although you may agree to share these costs between you. In some cases, there can be an application made to the court for an order that the other party pays the costs of the divorce where one party is holding all or most of the marital wealth.
How long will it take to divorce?
The simple answer is that ‘it depends’. There is no such thing as a “quickie” divorce.
The reality is that each divorce is different and those divorces with financial matters to resolve require dedicated work in order to achieve the best possible outcome for you.
The length of a divorce very much depends on the issues in dispute, but you can have peace of mind that we at Raphael law will be on hand to offer you support and to guide you through the process. We will do everything we can to preserve as much of your marital wealth as possible.
