Divorces are final on the date that the Judge grants the decree of divorce which will be included in the Final Divorce Order. Although the Final Divorce Order will need to be typed up, signed and stamped before it can be provided to you, which can take several weeks, you are divorced from the day that the Judge heard the matter and granted the decree of divorce in Court. Even if there is an appeal by the other party, appeals are limited to dealing with the issues in dispute in the divorce that we decided by the Judge and not the decree of divorce itself. The Court itself will inform the Department of Home Affairs to alter their records to reflect the divorce, but administrative errors can still occur. Third parties may still require the Final Divorce Order as proof of the divorce, but you can ask your divorce lawyer to draft a letter confirming that you are divorced and you can provide the third parties with a copy of any Settlement Agreement while you wait for the Final Divorce Order.