DIY Divorce

Spoony

Spoony

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Has anyone done a diy divorce, the co-op do one for £100 and I am thinking of going down this route.

We are both on talking terms and in a few weeks would have sold/split all our assets and have no kids involved.

We would have been separated for a year in may, originally i thought we would need to have been separated for 2 years but apparently from what I read I can file earlier than this and call it - Desertion, without having to place blame with either party.

Any advice??
 
There's a great website called http://www.ondivorce.co.uk/ that I highly recommend. I found loads of good advice there when I went through my divorce a few years back. (and so did my ex) I wasn't in the same position as you but I still think it would be worth your while to have a look there.

Good luck. :)
 
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Thanks for the link, I will have a look at that a bit later.
 
I went down the DIY route and it is absolutely the way to go. In total, I think it cost me £150. I got half the equity in the house and left her everything else. Done and dusted. As long as you stay on good terms and neither of you get a solicitor involved.
I will admit that we separated for 2 years but once that time period passed it was really mundane and very straight forward. You can go down to the County Court and pick up the paperwork from there. It is genuinely straightforward if there are no arguments over division of property or kids. There is no need to get ANY third party involved. Honestly, just go down to the County Court, get the paperwork and do it yourself.
 
My brother did he's diy, he said the people at the county court office were really helpfull.
I suppose it's ok so long as you are getting on, but not sure what would happen if the other party got the hump part way through doing it yourself.
 
If it is as clear cut as you say, there is absolutely no need to get a third party involved. The money the Co-Op are asking for is purely for a form filling service which you can do yourself. What they aren't saying is that this is in addition to the County Court fee which is now a smidge over £400 (but now includes your decree absolute at the end). You will have to pay that if your in full time employment. There are fee exemptions for people on low incomes or certain benefits but that system has just changed so you'd need to read the booklet available from court.

You also won't be able to file on basis of desertion. For that, your parter would have to have left and you'd have to prove to the judge that you've tried all means possible to contact her. The easiest way is, after 2 years separation and you both consent. The other ways are adultery, unreasonable behavior or 5 years separation.

The forms are available free from the county court and must be completed in triplicate, or you can fill them in online and print in triplicate. The court fee is payable when you submit the forms to the court.

They will then process them and once the respondent (your wife) has signed and returned, you will get a decree nisi date. You don't need to attend this is there are no assets to be split or kids as has been said above. Once that date has passed and the judge has pronounced the nisi, 6 weeks and 1 day after that you can apply for your decree absolute.

If you want any more advice, feel free to ask.
 
Desertion is a minimum of 2 years, and a fairly uncommon grounds to base a divorce on.

5 grounds of divorce being (only from memory):
  • Adultery
  • Unreasonable behaviour
  • Desertion (2 year)
  • Lived apart for two years (different to desertion)
  • Lived apart for five years
Fairly sure you either need to wait the two years, or cite unreasonable behaviour. Unreasonable behaviour is the method of choice for quick divorces.

Unreasonable behaviour is a fairly subjective thing. In all seriousness, be careful when using it, as it's all to frequent for arguments to flare up when discussing what behaviours contributed towards the divorce. It's amazing how quickly things can turn sour when playing the blame game.

It can be painful using unreasonable behaviour as a grounds when two individuals have simply 'drifted apart' with no bad feelings.

I have no first hand experience of it mind you, it's just what my Law textbooks are telling me.
 
Make sure you're both happy with the asset splitting.

If the assets are substantial, it can be worth having the settlement checked over by proper legal eyes. You don't want any further claims or revisits in the future by not tying up any loose ends now. The Financial Consent Order (if done properly) will prevent this.

Without an FCO, the right for your ex to claim against you does not diminish over time (post divorce).
 
Just want to thank you all for such detailed and sound advice.

Never thought about going straight to County Court and doing the paperwork that way, I think (hoping) that could be the way to go.

Looks like I misread desertion and what it can be interpreted for and I will need to sit out and wait the 2 years as I don't want to place blame as it will open a can of worms which would never be agreed to anyway.

Also I will look up FCO as this is new to me also, is this usually part of usual divorce proceedings? Can I get a FCO sorted before getting divorced as one the sale of our property is done we have no more joint assets but I am looking to invest in a new property fairly soon and I don't want her to be able to touch it.
 
Spoony said:
Also I will look up FCO as this is new to me also, is this usually part of usual divorce proceedings? Can I get a FCO sorted before getting divorced as one the sale of our property is done we have no more joint assets but I am looking to invest in a new property fairly soon and I don't want her to be able to touch it.
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Be cautious / plan for the worst case scenario. Single most important piece of advice.

Yes it's a common and sensible approach. Any solicitor led divorce will practically insist you have one. Some DIY divorcees don't bother / realise about the orders, but seeing as you're talking about assets upto and exceeding property level, it would be a very silly idea not to.

Buying another property whilst still married could leave you open for spiteful claims (should things go down that road). Whilst her cash value share may not change, it would theoretically be possible for her to cause all kinds of mischief. The chances are she won't cause any problems if your amicable, but there is no point risking it. I would not recommend purchasing a property yet.

You need to wait until roughly half way through (decree nisi stage of) your divorce before applying for an order. It doesn't take that long, but does require financial disclosure of both parties to the courts. Provided the judge thinks it's fair, you'll get it rubber stamped and sorted without having to attend court.

If it doesn't work out, other financial orders are available, the one I've suggested is the simplest, but requires mutual corporation. If she does not agree, other orders will require you to attend court. The options that involve attending court are far far costlier.

Case law is littered with instances of ex-partners winning claims on 5-10 year old divorces from their partner. They won because the defendant had failed to protect themselves by way of a proper contract.

I hope it all goes smoothly for you.
 
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