If you’re thinking of an online divorce petition……..

  The sealed application sent out by the court is a summary version, about two pages long – significantly shorter than its paper counterpart, which can be at least 14 pages long.  As a result, it is not immediately obvious that this two-page summary is the formal petition.

The online application is not a “no-fault divorce” process and does not guarantee a fast divorce.

The online divorce petition is not the only application people need to complete in order to dissolve their marriage; an application for Decree Nisi and an application for Decree Absolute must still be completed.

The respondent is not bound by the online system and can therefore choose to respond to the petition by post, which will take longer.

The online system does not bypass the need for the court to be satisfied that the spouse has received the divorce petition, which in some instances may still involve personally serving the respondent with a paper version of the online application.

As the online system encourages people to complete their own application, it will become more common for clients to approach lawyers having already filed a completed application.  In some instances, this may save time, but in other instances it might necessitate lawyers having to go back and correct any mistakes before progressing matters.

The online system will not resolve the financial claims between spouses that result from the divorce and will not deal with any issues concerning the children, such as who they live and spend time with.