There was a case heard in the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year which provides a useful reminder not to send divorce petitions to court within the first year of marriage. This is strictly prohibited by law.
In this case, four petitions had been sent to the court within the first year of the respective marriages. If a Decree Absolute is granted on the basis of such a petition, then the divorce is null and void and you are therefore still considered to be married.
You can see that this can have disastrous ramifications in terms of any subsequent marriage and the enforceability of any financial consent order. Apparently, in two of the cases, neither the solicitors for the petitioner, court staff, nor the judges had noticed this error and the judge was highly critical of what he termed, the slapdash way the court had dealt with these cases.
Many people are now issuing divorce petitions online so it is hopeful that this will limit the scope for human error, but if you are preparing your own petition and sending it by post, you need to be extremely careful not fall into this trap, which as I say, can have very serious long-term ramifications.
If you do need any help or advice about marriage breakdown or any other family issue, please do not hesitate to contact Partner, Gemma Gillespie on tel: 01892 515022 or gjg@cooperburnett.com
This blog is not intended as legal advice that can be relied upon and CooperBurnett does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of its contents.
