Divorce Lawyers London & Cambridge

Divorce

Civil Partnership Dissolution

Finances on Divorce

High Net Worth Divorce

Before you consider the grounds on which you are going to use for your divorce, you need to first make sure that your relationship meets all of the legal requirements.
To get divorced in England & Wales, you must have been married for at least 12 months and your relationship has irretrievably broken down. You can only pursue a divorce if your marriage is legally recognised in the UK and the UK is the permanent home of one of the parties.

The divorce process

Once you have established that you want to bring your marriage to an end, the next question is often how to actually go about getting a divorce? The divorce procedure can be broken down into five main stages:

If you are the applying party (the Petitioner), you must firstly complete the Divorce Petition.

The court will then send a copy of the Divorce Petition to your spouse (the Respondent). They must acknowledge this within seven days.

Once the Petition has been acknowledged, you can apply for the Decree Nisi (first decree). This states that the court does not see any reason why the divorce cannot proceed.

The Decree Absolute (final decree) can be applied for six weeks and a day after receiving your Decree Nisi.

Once the Decree Absolute is granted, this is the last stage of the divorce process of divorce and marks the end of the marriage in legal terms.

Bringing a civil partnership to an end can be a stressful and emotional time, but we are here to help. At Appleman Legal, our specialist family lawyers can guide and advise you to ensure the best outcome in your circumstances.

How long does the dissolution process take?

The length of time the dissolution process takes will depend on whether the parties agree, how complicated the issues are and whether any disagreements can be resolved by mediation or requires court intervention.

It is always advisable to try and use mediation to resolve any issues rather than going through the courts since this will generally be faster, cheaper and a lot less stressful and will allow you to retain control of the process.

Similar to a divorce, ending a civil partnership can be complex, but we are here to help you throughout the entire process.

Every financial settlement will depend on the assets and liabilities of both parties (such as property, bank accounts, pensions, and any debts). Various factors will determine the terms of a financial settlement, including:

The finances of both parties, including what financial contribution they made to the marriage

Any non-financial contributions to the marriage, for example raising the family or running the household

The earnings of the parties including any potential differences in the future

What happens if we cannot reach an agreement?

If you cannot reach an agreement, non-litigious methods, such as negotiation or mediation, are usually recommended where possible. These methods tend to be faster, less confrontational, and not as stressful for those involved.
At Appleman Legal, our divorce specialists can advise on all matters relating to financial settlement. We can review your circumstances to make sure you reach a fair settlement to allow you to move on with your life.

Due to the very nature of these divorces and the fact that large wealth is involved, we recognise that these cases can be particularly acrimonious and need to be handled very sensitively. There are various issues that may need to be considered and our high net worth divorce lawyers can advise you in relation to any issue you might face, including:

High net worth individuals will often have assets that are held in complicated structures (for example in trusts) that will cause additional legal difficulties.

Valuations of assets is a lot more complicated in these cases, particularly if there are assets held overseas.

Determining which assets were acquired pre- and post-marriage is also more likely to arise and cause issues in these types of divorce.

If the marriage has an international element, it may be that there is a choice of where the divorce should be filed. Countries have different rules in relation to divorce which is why it is recommended to get legal advice as soon as possible, especially if your spouse has already started proceedings.

Contact our Divorce Lawyers London

Dealing with all aspects of a divorce can seem overwhelming, but our specialist lawyers can advise you through the whole process and make sure you understand what is happening at every stage. We can help.

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