You should speak with your solicitor before making the application for decree absolute as this will have significant legal implications. Your marriage will be dissolved upon the granting of the decree absolute and, in turn, you and your former spouse will then be free to remarry. It is sometimes advisable to delay applying for the decree absolute until the financial arrangements have been resolved and properly recorded. Where these arrangements are agreed this normally occurs by way of the parties signing a document known as a Consent Order which can be submitted to the court for approval and sealing without the need for formal court proceedings. There are certain inheritance, pension and financial rights which the Petitioner may lose on decree absolute and this is why the application may be delayed. Where these arrangements are not agreed and have to be decided by the court the process may take several months.