Divorce
Answers to the questions you should be asking
Q1. Does it make a difference whether
I am the Petitioner or Respondent?
On principal you may feel that you should
be the petitioner if you believe that your
spouse has caused the marriage to break
down. Ultimately, the end result will be
the same and upon pronouncement of
the Decree Absolute you will be divorced.
There are however benefits in proceeding
as the petitioner as you will be in control
of the timing of the process. In particular,
if you are the petitioner, your spouse
will not be able to apply for the Decree
Absolute without placing you on notice
that an application is being made, which
you can object to if you wish. This may
be important if for example your spouse
has pension rights which you stand to
benefit under whilst you remain married.
If you are the petitioner you do not have
to give notice to the respondent when
applying for the Decree Absolute.
You should think of the
divorce and financial
matters as two separate
processes, even though
they are intrinsically
linked
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Q.2 Are the costs of the Divorce
shared between myself and my
spouse?
The starting point is that you will each
be responsible for your own legal fees.
However, if you are the petitioner, your
legal fees are inevitably going to be
higher that those of your spouse, who
will be the respondent. The respondent’s
only role in the divorce is to file an
acknowledgement of service and the
work involved as petitioner is greater.
In the ‘Prayer’ of your Petitioner (the
only remaining traditional section of
your Petition) there is a section in which
you can ask the court to order that the
respondent should pay some or all of
your legal fees. You will still have to
pay your legal fees and the court fee
initially and seek reimbursement from
the respondent, unless an alternative
arrangement can be agreed in advance.
It will be down to the discretion of the
District Judge as to whether they order
that your spouse should pay some or all
of your legal fees in relation to the costs
of the divorce.
You must bear in mind that this applies
in relation to the divorce proceedings
only. There is no automatic right to seek
a contribution from your spouse towards
the costs of resolving the financial
matters arising from the breakdown of
your marriage (such as what is to happen
to the house, pensions and savings). You
should think of the divorce and financial
matters as two separate processes, even
though they are intrinsically linked.
When dealing with the finances, it is
possible for you to ask your spouse to
contribute towards your legal fees if there
is a significant disparity in your respective
incomes and an adjustment is required to
create a ‘level playing field.’ This applies
whether you are the applicant or the
respondent in the financial matters. If
this cannot be agreed, you should seek
advice from a solicitor as to whether it is
appropriate for you to apply to the court
for a Legal Services Order, which is a
Court Order requiring that your spouse
must contribute to your fees.
Q3. What happens if I am the
respondent and I do not acknowledge
service of the petition?
Your spouse, the petitioner, can arrange
to have the papers personally served
upon you to prove you have received