To commence divorce proceedings, you must fill in a divorce petition form before sending it to the court by post or online. This is just the first stage in the divorce process – which, when complete, will see you sent the ‘decree absolute’ legal document officially ending your marriage.
If the divorce application is not challenged, you can expect your divorce to be finalised about six months after the divorce petition was filed. However, if your divorce application is challenged, the divorce proceedings can take 12-18 months to be wrapped up.
Other factors, such as court availability, can also affect the timescales of divorce proceedings.