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Can you DIY a Divorce?

The answer is, “Yes”. If you want to conduct your own divorce it is perfectly easy to contact your local County Court and obtain the necessary forms.

To some extent it is very like servicing your own car or doing your own plumbing. It can be done but it does take the time to learn how to do it and if the job is done badly then there will be no-one to blame but yourself.

Before deciding to conduct your own DIY divorce you must be aware that if you get it wrong then this could result in you having to pay additional costs and suffer significant delays.

Common mistakes?

1. It is very difficult to be dispassionate when you are acting for yourself

It is difficult to stand back from the case and look at it objectively. People have a very natural tendency to see things from their own perspective and to feel that may have been “wronged” and that the courts will recognise this in any settlement. They will not.

2. The petition is incorrectly drawn

The contents of the divorce petition must follow the format as set out by statute. If you do not do so it will be rejected by the court. If your petition is rejected and returned to you then you may have to pay a further court issue fee and start the process again.

3. Financial matters or children

Any disagreement concerning children will be dealt with separately under the Children Act. Financial matters do not have to be resolved before a divorce is finalised but it may severely damage your financial rights if it is. We can offer advice on both children and financial matters.

4. The divorce is defended

Defended divorce is rare, very expensive and time consuming .We can negotiate the terms of the divorce petition on your behalf before it is submitted to the court, so that there is less chance of it being defended.

5. The acknowledgement contains mistakes

Sometimes the acknowledgement form is incorrectly filled in, which will stall the proceedings. If you encounter this problem the Court will not be able to give you legal advice and this will result in delays.

6. No acknowledgement

If you have the correct address but your spouse has failed to return the acknowledgement form to the court or your spouse has moved and you do not have his or her address, the divorce cannot proceed. We can help resolve this problem by either tracing your spouse or having the papers served by the Court bailiff.