Divorce Lawyers: directory of firms

An application, sole or joint, starts proceedings with a statement of irretrievable breakdown. Section 1 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 then imposes a wait: a party may not confirm they want the divorce to proceed before the end of the period of 20 weeks from the start of proceedings. Only after that confirmation can the court make a conditional order, the stage previously called decree nisi.

A second wait follows. A divorce order may not be made final before the end of the period of six weeks from the making of the conditional order. The final order, formerly decree absolute, ends the marriage. You must also have been married for over a year to apply at all, and the marriage must be legally recognised in the UK.

The gap between conditional and final order is useful rather than an obstacle. It is the window in which most financial orders are approved, because certain rights, including some pension and inheritance entitlements, change the moment the marriage ends.

A financial order made by the court is what gives a settlement teeth. Where the two of you agree, it is drawn up as a consent order and submitted for a judge to approve; the judge checks it is broadly fair rather than rubber-stamping it. Where you do not agree, there is a structured court process with financial disclosure at its centre.

A clean break order dismisses future claims between the spouses, which is usually the point of doing it. Without one, a claim can surface long after the final order, including against assets acquired after the separation. Solicitors keep pressing on this because it is the single most expensive thing people skip.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service sets out the position: divorce or dissolution rests on irretrievable breakdown established by one year's separation with the other party's consent in writing, or two years' separation without consent, or by the issue of an interim gender recognition certificate. Proceedings are raised in the sheriff court or the Court of Session, and the forms, procedure and fees differ between them.

The simplified, do-it-yourself procedure is available only if all the conditions are met: the ground is separation or a gender recognition certificate, there are no children of the marriage or partnership under 16, there is nothing financial to resolve, and no other proceedings are under way that might end the marriage. Anything outside that goes through ordinary procedure, where the courts service itself recommends taking legal advice.

Pensions are the asset people most often undervalue. A transfer value is not the same as what the pension is worth to the person receiving it, and sharing one requires a specific order and often an actuarial report. Trading a pension away for the house is a decision that deserves proper figures, not a guess.

Disclosure is the other pressure point. Both sides are expected to set out what they own. Where one spouse controls a business or works abroad, the disclosure exercise becomes the case. Orders obtained on incomplete information can be challenged, so cutting corners here tends to cost more later than doing it properly the first time.