them. Your spouse will have to pay
a process server to have the papers
served upon you. It is likely that as you
have failed to acknowledge service of
the petition within the timeframes set
down by the court, that the court will
order you to be responsible for the
petitioner’s costs of the divorce including
the process servers fees along with any
additional expenses incurred.
If petition is based upon adultery,
the petitioner would have to provide
evidence of the adultery – for
example providing an admission in
correspondence. If the petitioner is
unable to provide evidence of the
adultery, they may have to seek
permission from the court to amend the
petition. In such cases, the petition is
usually amended to an unreasonable
behaviour petition.
Be aware that there is a court fee for
applying to amend a Petition and
therefore if you are the petitioner and
have no evidence of your spouses
adultery and you are concerned that t
hey may not acknowledge service,
it may be advisable to file an
unreasonable behaviour petition instead.
This can still refer to your spouse’s
adultery if you wish.
Q.4 What does it mean when the
Decree Nisi is pronounced?
The Decree Nisi is an important step
in the divorce process. It confirms
that you have sufficiently satisfied the
court that you are entitled to a divorce.
Importantly, once the Decree Nisi has
been pronounced it is possible to file a
Consent Order with the court setting out
the financial agreement reached between
yourself and your spouse for the district
judges’ approval. Once approved and
sealed by the court, the agreement will
be binding. It is not possible to secure
this binding agreement until the Decree
Nisi has been pronounced.
Even if you have a written or oral
agreement with your spouse about the
financial arrangements, this may be
persuasive but it will not be binding.
Therefore, it is risky to proceed without
the protection of a Consent Order or
Court Order, as you can still make further
claims against each other for financial
provision now, in the future or after
death.
Q5. When will I be divorced?
The divorce process usually takes
between three to six months depending
upon how quickly you proceed and how
promptly the court are able to process
the papers. You will be divorced and free
to remarry upon pronouncement of your
Decree Absolute, which is the final stage
of the divorce.
You can apply for your Decree Absolute
six weeks and one day from the date
of pronouncement of your Decree Nisi.
However, the best advice