Divorce proceedings can be started by either spouse once they have married for at least 12 months. A divorce petition cannot be issued within the first year of the marriage unless there are exceptional circumstances.

To start divorce proceedings, the petitioner must show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. This can be shown by relying on one of five facts:

1) Adultery of the Respondent;

2) Unreasonable behaviour of the Respondent;

3) Desertion;

4) Two years separation with the Respondent’s consent; or

5) Five years separation without consent.

To start divorce proceedings, the Petitioner would need to draft a divorce petition based upon one of the above five facts. This is then sent to the Court alongside the Court fee for issuing. This can either be sent to the court online or in hardcopy.  You will need your original marriage certificate.

In the near future, it will be possible to begin divorce proceedings using a “no fault” ground. However, at the time of writing, you must begin divorce proceedings using one of the five available facts.

If you are considering starting divorce proceedings and would like further information in respect of the procedure or the initial steps that need to be taken George Green’s specialist Divorce Solicitors would be more than happy to assist.

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.