Defending Your Case in the Divorce Court

Getting a divorce today can be as simple as filling in a form and submitting this to your local County Court. If there are no circumstances such as children or substantial financial assets to consider, your divorce is likely to be granted. You won’t even have to appear in court, unless you live in Northern Ireland as all divorce case appear before a judge.

Your divorce petition can, however, be contested by your partner. What this means in practice is that your partner either refuses outright to grant you a divorce, or more likely is that they object to some of the conditions of your divorce. Some of the conditions that are often contested include:

• Where children will live after the divorce
• The level of maintenance that will be paid
• How assets will be disposed of and the proceeds distributed
• How debts will be dealt with

Before you go to Court

Contested divorces can become bitter and expensive, as often solicitors will be bought in by both parties to fight for the rights of their clients in the divorce settlement. Before you reach this point it can be useful to attempt to mediate the differences between you and your partner before going to court.

If mediation is unsuccessful then your only course of action is to go to court and defend your application for divorce. Now is the time to think clearly about why you have applied for a divorce. Try and write down your reasons. This is a good way of understanding why you want to get divorced, but it can also have a financial benefit as well. Your solicitor will have to less work for you, which will reduce their fees considerably.

Often, a contested divorce will centre on some financial matters. As you are going to court to defend your divorce application you need as much documentary evidence as you can produce. Gather together your bank and mortgage statements and any correspondence that is relevant to your case. If the judge asks for this information you will have it readily to hand that further enhances your case when you are in court.

Your Day in Court

The County Court where you divorce hearing will take place would much rather you came to a settlement outside of court. But if you cannot do this, you have to put your case before a judge. If you do need to go to court to contest a divorce it’s important that you have legal representation. Don’t try and represent yourself, as contested divorces can become complex legal cases that you won’t be qualified to make decisions about. Leave this to the professionals.

Often, a divorce will be contested, as one party doesn’t agree with what the divorce is based on. If you are divorcing your partner because of unreasonable behaviour for instance, they may contest your definition of what this means. Behaviour that is tolerated in one marriage may not be in another. Be prepared to state clearly and with any evidence you have gathered why you want to divorce your spouse. The court often has to make an objective decision in contested divorce cases. The more detailed information you can make available to the judge the better as they can then make an informed decision that will hopefully support your case for divorce.