Divorce and Family Issues

Armstrong & Co have considerable experience of dealing with all aspects of family law and will handle your case with sensitivity. The breakdown of a family relationship is a difficult time for all those involved.  We help with the difficult issues that arise from family breakdown, both financial and child related. We always consider the needs of the whole family, particularly the children.

Wherever possible we aim to avoid court proceedings, through mediation.  Where this is not possible, we will represent your interests in court with highly experienced Counsel. Many couples decide that they want to create an agreement early on in their relationship to set out how their assets should be dealt with in the case of a relationship breakdown. We can help you to make such an agreement and in doing so potentially avoid substantial legal fees in the future. 

Our Areas Of Expertise Include:

  • Divorce

  • Financial applications

  • Children disputes including contact, residence, parental responsibility and applications to remove a child from the jurisdiction.

  • Cohabitation disputes

  • Pre and post nuptial agreements

  • Cohabitation agreements and Deeds of Trust

  • Separation agreements

  • Injunctions

    Our Services Include:

  • Meeting with you and completing an application for the issue of a divorce petition

  • Receiving an acknowledgement of service from your spouse

  • Applying to the court for the issue of a ‘Decree Nisi’ Conditional Order

  • Applying to the court for the issue of a ‘Decree Absolute’ Final Order concluding the divorce.

Financial Remedy Proceedings

If negotiations fail between parties or if there are special circumstances, there may be no alternative but to make an application to the Court for financial provision.

Divorce

Key Stages

1 – The Petition

  • The applying party, known as the Applicant, will need to send to the court a Divorce Petition based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The Response the court will send a copy to your spouse, who known as the Respondent, alongside an Acknowledgement of Service form which they should complete and send back to the court to allow the divorce to proceed.

2 – Acknowledgement

  • Your spouse will need to respond to the court to confirm receipt of the Petition

3 - Applying for a Conditional Order

  • Once the Petition has been appropriately acknowledged, the Applicant will need to apply for a Conditional Order, which is the first decree in divorce proceedings. The Conditional Order cannot be applied for until 20 weeks have passed from the date that the Petition was issued by the Court. This is done by submitting an application form alongside a statement in support which confirms that the contents of the application are true. Upon these being lodged with the court, and the court considering the documentation and being satisfied that the Applicant is entitled to a divorce, the Court will issue a Certificate of Entitlement to a Conditional Order which will list the date for the pronouncement of the Conditional Order.

4 – Conditional Order

  • Both parties will receive a Court Order stating that the Conditional Order has been pronounced. The divorce is not complete until the Final Order is pronounced, and this can only be applied for after at least 6 weeks have passed since the pronouncement of the Conditional Order. After the prescribed time, the Applicant is entitled to lodge a Notice of Application for Conditional Order to be made Final.

5 – Pronouncement of Final Order

  • The final step in the divorce is the pronouncement of the Final Order which will be made on the court receiving the Notice of Application for Conditional Order to be made Final.  The first date that the Applicant can make such application is 6 weeks after the pronouncement of the Conditional Order. Once the Final Order has been granted, you will be legally divorced.

This is a brief summary of what each of the stages entails.

1 – Issuing the Application

Proceedings are commenced by filing a Notice with the Court called “Form A”. A fee is payable – £275. The Court issues a Court Appointment – known as the First Appointment.. This appointment must be between 12 to 16 weeks from the time of submitting your application. Each party must then no later than 35 days before the date of that hearing file with the Court a completed and sworn Form E (Financial Statement) and must serve a copy of it on the other party. No later than 14 days before the First Appointment there are further documents which must be filed with the court and served on the other party

By the First Appointment both parties should know about each other’s finances and the matters about which they agree and disagree.

2 – First Appointment

Both parties must attend. The appointment is before a District Judge. The hearing is held in private, the only persons present being the Judge, the parties and their legal representatives. The object of the hearing is to consider what facts are agreed and not agreed between the parties. The District Judge will give further directions on how the case is to proceed.

3 – Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (FDR)

The objective is for the Court and the parties to try and reach an agreement. The Judge is able to give an indication of how they would divide the matrimonial assets and encourage parties to reach an agreement. Therefore the Court needs to be notified of all offers, proposals and responses that either party has made to the other to settle the matter. The Judge can discuss these proposals openly with you. At the FDR the District Judge may make a Consent Order if parties reach a settlement and/or give further directions if parties have not settled and further information or clarification is required. They will fix a final hearing if there is no settlement.

4 – Final Hearing

Both parties must attend and give oral evidence if required. They may also be subject to cross-examination by the other party’s legal representative. The District Judge will consider all the documentation provided during the proceedings, any further information supplied, the evidence given at the hearing and any submissions from each party’s legal representatives before coming to a decision. The District Judge will then make a final order.

Time Scales:

  • After the divorce petition is issued, your spouse will receive a copy of the petition along with an acknowledgment of service form. They must complete and return this form to the court within 14 days of receiving the notice of the proceedings.

  • Then, we must wait a mandatory period of 20 weeks before we can apply for the conditional order (also commonly known as the Decree Nisi.) The court will then pronounce the conditional order at a hearing which you will not need to attend.

  • 6 weeks after the conditional order has been pronounced, we can apply for the final order. This is the document which legally dissolves and ends your marriage.

  • Overall, we estimate that the entire process will last for around 6 to 7 months but this can vary from case to case.

Whatever your circumstances, our team always aim for the best possible outcome, supporting and guiding you along the way.

 T: 020 8699 3477

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