Divorce: what is the law?

You can get divorced in England or Wales if:

• You’ve been married for over a year
• Your relationship has permanently broken down
• Your marriage is legally recognised in the UK

If you don’t want a divorce, a legal separation ends the marriage’s day-to-day obligations without ending the marriage itself. Annulment may also be an option in specific circumstances. Neither of those scenarios is covered by this course, so please seek tailored legal advice if either applies to you.

This course covers England and Wales only — there is a different divorce process in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 came into force on 6 April 2022 and changed how divorce works in England and Wales for the better.

No-fault divorce removes conduct from the process entirely. Neither of you has to prove adultery, desertion, or unreasonable behaviour, and neither of you has to wait 2 or 5 years to proceed. One spouse, or both together if you agree, simply notifies the court that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

From there, the timeline is fixed. A minimum of 20 weeks passes between starting proceedings and the court issuing a Conditional Order, what used to be called a Decree Nisi. 6 weeks and one day after that, the court issues a Final Order, previously the Decree Absolute.

Removing conduct from the process, and allowing joint applications, has made divorce considerably more amicable. There’s no such thing as a quickie divorce — every uncontested divorce follows the same timeline, regardless of what you might read elsewhere.