New divorce laws have been in force since 6 April 2022. You can now apply for a divorce without explaining why you should be entitled to a divorce. You will still need to meet the criteria that the courts set down to determine whether you are entitled to proceed in the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
One of the main impacts on the changes is that a 20 week waiting period has been introduced before you are permitted to apply for a conditional order (formerly known as Decree Nisi). You must still wait for a period of six weeks and one day after securing your conditional order before you are able to finalise your divorce with a final order application (formerly known as Decree Absolute).
How we can help
We can advise you:
- How to proceed with the divorce, if you decide that is a course that you wish to take;
- Whether you are entitled to divorce in England and Wales;
- On how to explore with our international partners whether divorcing in a different country would provide a better outcome for you;
- On any papers you receive and advise you on how best to deal with them;
- How to secure your conditional order;
- On issues surrounding the final order, the final stage of divorce.
For more information on how to get divorced, read our guide to the divorce process here.
Please read our blog entries here about divorce.
