Often the party applying for the Divorce wishes for their divorce to be complete as soon as possible. However there are a number of reasons that a person would be well-advised to consider delaying their Decree Absolute application, as the timing of making this application can be important for financial purposes.

If the financial matters of your divorce have not yet concluded, you might want to consider waiting to apply for Decree Absolute until they have completed. This is because once you are officially divorced, there may not be an incentive for the other party to then continue the financial negotiations with any haste.

The timing of the decree absolute is also key regarding the death of the other party. If they were to pass away before the financial proceedings had concluded you might be left in the position that you are officially divorced, but have not achieved your financial settlement, however you are no longer the other person’s widow to inherit their assets.

This could lead to complications and result in litigation under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

You should always seek legal advice prior to making your Decree Absolute application to be fully informed of the implications. 

Contact us 

Our expert Family Lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and serve clients across the West Midlands and Black Country including Stourbridge, Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Birmingham and beyond.  If you complete our online enquiry form, a member of our team will contact you for an initial discussion.

Alternatively, you can call 01902 328 355 and speak to Aimee Stokes, who is a family law solicitor based in our Wolverhampton office.