Divorce rules

Divorce rules can be found in the Marital Causes Act 1973. The Act states clearly that no petition for divorce shall be presented to the court before the couple have been married for a period of one year. Having been married for one year, the petitioner (person applying for divorce) must then satisfy the court by proving that the marriage has irretrievably broken down by using one of the five facts. These are adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion, separation of two years and separation of five years. Out of these adultery and unreasonable behaviour are most common in terms of divorce rules. Further details of these grounds are listed below.

These divorce rules must be followed correctly in order for the court to end a marriage, and getting legal advice from the start is always advised.

Adultery of the other spouse

The Marital Causes Act 1973 allows for divorce by adultery when the respondent (the spouse) has committed adultery and the petitioner no longer finds it tolerable to live with the respondent. It must be stressed that this ground for divorce is only opened to the innocent party, and therefore the person who had the affair cannot apply.

Unreasonable behaviour of the other spouse

This can be used when the respondent has behaved in such a way that because of their actions the petitioner can no longer bear to live with the respondent. It is not enough that the respondent has been unreasonable, rather it must be unreasonable to the point that a reasonable person could not be expected to continue to live with the respondent.

If you would like further advice on divorce rules, then Contact Law can put you in touch with a local law firm with specialist divorce solicitors free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding local divorce solicitors please call us on0808 1497 362 or complete the web-form above.