Leamington Spa 01926 422 101     Coventry 02476 229 582

Divorce international service

You can obtain a divorce through the English and Welsh Courts if one of you does not currently live in England and Wales and you do not have to return here to do so.

You do not have to hold an English and Welsh marriage certificate, as long as the certificate you do have can be accompanied by a certified translation into English.

To divorce in England and Wales, you have to prove that you are subject to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts. To do this, you have to show that you or your spouse are habitually resident in England and Wales, or that one or both of you are domiciled there, depending on the country concerned.

Habitual residence and domicile are two legally complex concepts set out in an EU Regulation known as Brussels ll. Correctly establishing jurisdiction is essential to commencing divorce proceedings in England and Wales.

Please note that these laws apply to England and Wales only. Scotland has its own judiciary and is governed by separate legislation.

We can handle those divorces totally online with no need to attend court. As solicitors, we can deal with the courts on your behalf. We have substantial experience in this area of law and we do not penalise those living abroad by charging extra to process the work.

The divorce procedure is explained in detail in our firm’s divorce procedure leaflet.

What the service includes:

  • Preparing your divorce papers (divorce petition/statement of arrangements for children) (if applicable).
  • Lodging your divorce papers with the court for issue.
  • Lodging your divorce papers with the court for issue.
  • Preparing your application for decree absolute
  • Liaising with you, the court and your spouse or his/her solicitors throughout your divorce,
  • Providing you with expert assistance and advice until you are divorced.
  • Email/telephone support to progress your matter

What the service does not include:

  • Representation and advice in defended divorce proceedings. If your divorce becomes contested, then we will provide you with a separate estimate of fees for the anticipated work to be carried out.
  • Advice on financial matters, such as a clean break etc. There would be a separate charge for this calculated on our normal hourly rate.
  • Advice on financial matters, such as a clean break etc. There would be a separate charge for this calculated on our normal hourly rate.
  • Court attendances/hearings – if you ask the court to make an order that your spouse pays for the costs of your divorce and this is disputed, there may be a court hearing for the judge to decide whether a costs order should be made. We will give you an estimate of fees if you wish to be represented at a court hearing.
  • Court fees (currently £385 which will be payable prior to being incurred) and £7 oath fee which will be payable when you swear your affidavit and exhibit in support of your application for decree nisi. This can however normally be done free of charge at any court office.
  • Process server service/ Bailiff Service of the Divorce papers upon your spouse, application for deemed service, dispense of service or substituted service. It may be necessary to have the papers served personally upon your spouse in the country where he or she is if he or she fails to return his or her acknowledgement of service to the court once he or she has received the divorce papers from the court or to make a separate application to the court.

How much will it cost?

Our costs

We will charge you a fee of £750 + VAT (£900 in total) for the above service which you can pay by cash, cheque, transfer or debit/credit card. Please however note that there will be a 2% surcharge for credit card payments. If you wish to make a card payment, then this can be done when we first contact you. Alternatively, we can email you our bank details upon request to enable you to make a transfer.

Disbursements

The fixed fee does not cover disbursements which you will have to pay. These are as currently follows:

  • £340 mandatory court fee when you file your divorce petition and, if you have children, your statement of arrangements for children, with the court.
  • Oath fee/notary fee when you swear your affidavit of evidence. In the UK, it would normally be £7 for an oath but this may be free of charge at court. A notary fee is in the region of £40 but may be different outside the UK.
  • Translation fees in the event that your marriage certificate is in foreign language. The court will require not only the original marriage certificate but also a certified translation
  • £45.00 court fee when you apply for your decree absolute – this will finalise your divorce

We will give you an estimate of fees for anything you require, which is not included in this service.

If you decide not to proceed but work has already been incurred, then we will charge you at our normal hourly rates up the maximum value of your purchase and refund any balance due to you.

Next Step

Once you have ordered, we will contact you to complete your purchase.  Once your purchase is completed, we will email you the relevant documentation to enable you to:

  1. Download, complete and return our Divorce Questionnaire
  2. Complete our Evidence of Identity Form which is at the back of the Divorce Questionnaire and return the required documentation along with our divorce questionnaire.
  3. We will require you to provide us with your original marriage certificate to draft the divorce papers and issue your divorce as the court will not accept a copy.
  4. We will progress your divorce on your behalf until conclusion and advise you throughout.

For further information, please contact one of our family solicitors, Severine Vincent or Kate Booth on 01926 422 101 or visit our Contact page. Alternatively, you can send Severine or Kate a message direct using departments contact form.

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