{"id":2424,"date":"2022-09-21T10:39:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T10:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/?p=2424"},"modified":"2022-09-21T10:39:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T10:39:10","slug":"how-does-the-online-divorce-process-work-write-a-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/family-matters.co.uk\/uncategorized\/how-does-the-online-divorce-process-work-write-a-will\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does The Online Divorce Process Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
On 6 April 2022, <\/span>the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 <\/span><\/a>came into force. This is\u00a0 a new era for the law on divorce and civil partnership dissolution. Write a will HERE.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Under the previous law, there was only one ground for divorce; the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. This was evidenced by one of 5 \u2018facts\u2019, either:<\/span><\/p>\n Of the five, the most common \u2018fact\u2019 was unreasonable behaviour as, often, the other facts were inapplicable. This, like adultery and the rarely-cited desertion, forced the parties to allocate blame for the breakdown. Either this or wait two or even five years to end the marriage. This would create additional and unnecessary hostility throughout the process.<\/span><\/p>\n If you do not<\/i><\/b> write a will<\/i><\/b><\/a>, then until your divorce is finalised, your spouse will inherit a substantial portion of your estate. Write a will today with our will writing service<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The campaign for no fault divorce reached a climax in July 2018 following the Supreme Court\u2019s judgement in <\/span>Owens v Owens<\/span><\/i><\/a> [2018] UKSC 41 (25 July 2018).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In this case, Mrs Owens petitioned for divorce on the basis of Mr Owens\u2019 behaviour. Mrs Owens\u2019 particulars of Mr Owens\u2019 behaviour were somewhat benign in accordance with standard practice. As a result, Mr Owens was able successfully to defend the petition. The parties therefore remained married until Mrs Owens could petition on the basis of five years\u2019 separation.<\/span><\/p>\n Lady Hale <\/span><\/a>described the case as \u201cvery troubling\u201d and the reaction was swift; the Ministry of Justice sought to reform the system through legislation, the limitations of the law having been exhibited clearly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So what has changed?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, the only ground for divorce, dissolution or judicial separation remains \u201cirretrievable breakdown\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The facts stated at the beginning of this article have now been replaced by a statement that a marriage or civil partnership has broken down irretrievably. This is sufficient and conclusive evidence of the breakdown. Applications can only be disputed on jurisdictional grounds or because the validity of the legal union is in doubt.<\/span><\/p>\n These conditions apply for divorces in England and Wales only. They vary for divorces in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you are seeking to end a civil partnership you must also apply to court.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The conditions are now:<\/b><\/p>\n The final divorce or dissolution order will still cause the former spouse or civil partner to be considered as having predeceased a testator or intestate on the date of the order <\/span>(<\/span><\/i>Wills Act 1837<\/span><\/i><\/a>, ss18A-18B).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Petitions issued before 6 April 2022 will continue under the old law.<\/span><\/p>\n If you did <\/i><\/b>write a will<\/i><\/b><\/a> in the past, it is still valid regardless of whether your divorce has been finalised. Until the <\/i><\/b>conditional divorce order and the final divorce order<\/i><\/b> has been granted, your soon-to-be-ex spouse inherits a substantial, if not all, of your estate. This is because any gifts set out in your will to them will still take effect. <\/i><\/b>Write a will<\/i><\/b><\/a> today with our will writing service<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Outdated terminology has been removed to make the process more accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n There is now a 20-week minimum period between issue and conditional order. This is in addition to the 6-week period between conditional order and final order. This mirrors the existing 6-week minimum between decree nisi and decree absolute.<\/span><\/p>\n There are, however, circumstances in which someone may wish to expedite this process. An impending bankruptcy or terminal illness may necessitate this. In exceptional or urgent circumstances, the process can be shortened by a court order under.<\/span><\/p>\n There is an option of a sole or joint application, a new approach which aims to avoid potential animosity.<\/span><\/p>\n To begin the process online you will be charged a fee which is currently \u00a3593. This is paid upon sending the application to court. You may be eligible for help if you are on a low income or in receipt of benefits. You may even be exempt from paying some or all of the fee but you will need to make an application (form EX10) to determine eligibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Applications can be made jointly or separately. Whatever the case, the court will send out:<\/span><\/p>\n Joint applicants must complete all the documents together. You will apply for each stage jointly so there needs to be a level of ongoing cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n If you are applying on your own, your partner will be sent a copy of the application and information about how to respond to it. The timescales for responding will depend on whether the papers arrived by email or post. The court will advise you of the date by which they should respond.<\/span><\/p>\n If your partner fails to respond the court will tell you what you need to do next.<\/span><\/p>\n You will be advised how to apply for a conditional order, but you will have to wait for a specific date. The court will tell you when this is. You must complete an application form online for processing. If you apply too early the application will be rejected.<\/span><\/p>\n The court will look at the application, your partner\u2019s response and the information you gave in the application. It must be satisfied that you have the grounds for a divorce. The documents must also be accurate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You will receive a notice confirming that you are entitled to a divorce and confirming the date when the conditional order will be made. You are unlikely to have to attend court on this date.You will then be sent the conditional order once it is granted together with information about the next step.<\/span><\/p>\n Once the conditional order is granted you can ask the court to make a financial settlement order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Until your divorce has been finalised, we can help you to have security and peace of mind and <\/i><\/b>write a wil<\/i><\/b><\/a>l.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n You must wait at least six weeks from the date of the conditional order before being able to apply for the final order. You are not divorced until the final order is made. Only then does your marriage formally come to an end.<\/span><\/p>\n The final order is an important legal document which you will need to keep safe. If you lose or misplace it you will be able to get a further copy from the court by paying a fee and giving the divorce case number.<\/span><\/p>\n Divorce does not bring to an end any financial claims made against each other.\u00a0 These remain ongoing and could be heard at a later date. It is recommended that you deal with your assets and achieve a settlement so that you divorce with certainty about the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Owens V Owens<\/span><\/h2>\n
The New Legislation<\/span><\/h2>\n
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New Terminology<\/span><\/h2>\n
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New Procedures<\/span><\/h2>\n
Online Divorces<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Joint Applicants<\/span><\/h3>\n
Sole Applicants<\/span><\/h3>\n
Applying For The Conditional Order<\/span><\/h2>\n
Applying For The Final Order<\/span><\/h2>\n
Write A Will<\/span><\/h2>\n