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To speak to a Divorce solicitor for expert advice you can trust, please call Goodman Ray Solicitors on 020 7608 1227 or contact us online and we will call you.
Our award-winning divorce lawyers at Goodman Ray understand the emotional impact of a relationship breaking down. Whether you are experiencing the dissolve of a marriage, civil partnership or co-habitation arrangement, we are on hand to provide honest, knowledgeable and expert advice.
The Goodman Ray divorce lawyers hold a wealth of knowledge and years of experience. We pride ourselves on being approachable and friendly and have built an unwavering reputation that is built on trust, honesty and knowledge. We have experience working with people who have limited resources to those who hold substantial assets, investments, shares, trusts and private companies.
Our divorce specialists will sympathetically guide you through the separation process whilst drawing on their years of experience in order to provide you with advice on which court has jurisdiction, timescales and costings. We put our clients first and understand that every divorce has its own challenges. Our prescriptive service ensures that our expert advice aligns with your individual needs. We are huge advocates of the mediation process and where possible, aim to avoid lengthy court proceedings that are not only costly, but cause great stress and upset. You can trust our well-informed divorce lawyers to be mindful of your resources and reach a settlement that meets the needs of you and your family.
We recommend that once you have decided to formally separate, you take the steps to obtain a divorce as early as possible. This ensures that we can implement the appropriate action as quickly as possible and limit any unforeseen happenings. The time frame for finalising a divorce is dependent on several factors. Our divorce solicitors will advise on the best ways to approach your situation and aid in resolving financial matters and protecting assets.
We apply the utmost discretion to all our cases and always adopt a pragmatic approach. Many of our clients recommend us to others as they can trust our honest and professional judgement.
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We appreciate that taking the first steps to divorce can be daunting, especially when you are met with legal jargon and new terminology. We are here to eliminate any confusion and to explain any part of the process that you may not understand.
Make sure every box is completed or your petition might be returned by the Court. It is easier to correct a mistake now than when the documents have been issued. If in doubt, take legal advice.
If you were married in another country do not forget to state the country on the divorce petition even if this is not obvious from the marriage certificate, and enclose a certified translation of the foreign marriage certificate.
If you are relying on the fact of your spouse’s unreasonable behaviour in your divorce petition consider carefully the particulars of his/her behaviour that you want to list, and the impact that stating these could have on your on-going relationship. Only a handful of examples are needed, a good guide is to focus on the ‘First, Worst and Last’ incidents of unreasonable behaviour.
This is very important if you intend to make future financial claims, or if you intend to claim the costs of the divorce from your spouse.
When you send your divorce petition to the Court make sure that you have included enough copies and the Court fee. Normally you need to send three. Remember to also send your original marriage certificate – you will not get this back, it will be replaced by the Decree Absolute at the final stage of the divorce.
When you receive notice that your divorce petition has been issued and a copy sent to your spouse, diarise 14 days after the date it was posted. This is the date by which your spouse should return the Acknowledgement of Service form. If he/she hasn’t you may need to consider alternative methods of service.
As soon as you receive the Acknowledgement of Service form, and provided your spouse does not intend to defend the proceedings, you can apply for your Decree Nisi. You will need to clearly exhibit to this application a copy of the Acknowledgement of Service form, usually by marking it with an “Exhibit A”.
Once your Decree Nisi has been pronounced you can apply for the Decree Absolute 6 weeks and 1 day later, this is the document which finally dissolves your marriage. It is advisable to diarise this date so that you do
not forget. If you do not apply for the Decree Absolute and three months lapse your spouse can make the application.
Obtaining the decree absolute changes the financial relationship you have with your spouse, and may negatively impact on your financial circumstances if you do not resolve division of your matrimonial assets first. You should therefore take legal advice on whether you need to deal with financial matters before getting your decree absolute.
If there is a possibility that your spouse is going to issue in another country, then you may need to act fast. The first country where proceedings are commenced will often deal with financial matters, so it is important that you can address this. We can advise you on this, or recommend solicitors abroad if necessary.
Get in touch with our team for expert legal advice and assistance you can trust.
Give us a call or request a call back.
mail@goodmanray.com
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