September 04, 2026
If you are separating from a partner and need to make a legally binding agreement on financial matters or arrangements for children, the court will usually require you to pursue family mediation.
Divorce Solicitors
Our divorce and family solicitors are a top-tier team, recognised by the Legal 500 for their 'in-depth expertise in financial remedy work and a combination of professionalism and empathy'. We're experts in handling divorces, from complex financial cases to those involving children, and we work with you to secure the best possible outcome.
Our divorce solicitors will guide you through the entire process regarding divorce. Whether you need to make an application, respond to proceedings or settle disputes regarding financial assets or children, our team can support you every step of the way. We know that every divorce is different, and we can tailor our approach to make it as easy as possible for you to get the outcome you need.
Our family solicitors understand the complexities involved in a divorce and aim to make the legal process as straightforward as possible for you. This means breaking down the legal jargon into plain, easy-to-understand English and keeping you informed at every step.
Although divorces often evoke a mix of emotions, they don't have to be confrontational or fought in court. That's why we have trained collaborative solicitors, and members of Resolution in our team, as we aim to keep this process as calm and amicable as possible for everyone's sake.
Our family team represent clients across Yorkshire, from North West and South Yorkshire including York and surrounding areas, Bradford , Wakefield , Leeds , Huddersfield , Sheffield and more.
We want to make sure you get the right solicitor for you, so we offer everyone a free initial consultation to tell us about your situation. You can then decide if we would be a good fit to represent you. You can book a free thirty-minute appointment by calling 0800 138 0458 or using the form below , and our solicitors will get in touch.
For a free initial consultation, give us a call on 0800 1380 458, or get in touch via our website.
Going through a divorce can feel confusing and upsetting, but you're not alone. At Switalskis, our family lawyers understand the emotional toll this can take on you and your family, and offer confidential support at all stages.
Our divorce and family solicitors are committed to guiding you through every hurdle. We'll explain your rights and options in the divorce process, tailoring our advice to fit your unique situation. We focus on answering all of your questions and addressing your needs, making the journey less daunting.
Many of our solicitors are members of Resolution, a network of family solicitors who are committed to constructive divorces. This means you can count on us to provide top-quality, current and thoroughly professional advice. We're experienced with all the complexities of divorce, so we're fully prepared to support you so you can move forward.
From the start of the process, we'll explain your rights and options with advice tailored to fit your unique situation. We focus on answering all of your questions and addressing your needs to help you make decisions with confidence, and move towards the next chapter of your life.
Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. It's the official way to say that two people are no longer married and can go their separate ways. After a divorce, both people are free to remarry if they wish to.
The legal process to achieve this is relatively straightforward, but it can be more complex if you need to resolve issues with property, finances or child custody arrangements. It's also important to seek legal advice to make sure any financial negotiations are fair to both parties, and that any informal agreements can be legally recognised and enforced where necessary.
At Switalskis, we're committed to making each step of the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible. We're with you all the way and will make sure you're well-informed at every turn. Below are the five stages of the divorce process and estimates of how long each stage takes.
Step one:
first chat
We'll discuss why you want a divorce so we can understand what you hope to achieve. You can ask us questions, and we'll offer some initial advice to ease your mind. Even if you and your ex-partner are applying jointly, seeking independent legal advice can enable us to protect your rights during the process. We can develop a legal strategy based on whether collaborative law or alternative dispute resolution may deliver the results you are seeking.
Step two: filing an application
After we know what you want, we start the paperwork. This involves applying to the court either as a sole applicant or as joint applicants. We'll handle all the legal steps, and keep you updated on the progress.
Once the application is filed with the court, a mandatory waiting period of 20 weeks begins. If you are making a sole application, we'll also have to serve divorce papers to your former spouse and have them respond with an acknowledgement of service before the waiting period can begin.
Step three: conditional order
During the 20 week waiting period is a good opportunity to make decisions about dividing property and assets, and resolve family issues when there are children involved if you haven't already. You must decide where they will live and how much time they will spend with each parent.
When the waiting period expires, we can apply for a conditional order. This acknowledges that the court sees no reason why you cannot proceed with your divorce.
Step four: sorting things out
When the conditional order is issued, a second waiting period of six weeks and one day begins. This is a chance to apply to the court for a financial order or a child arrangements order if needed to make your arrangements legally binding.
Some couples settle these issues amicably, while others need more help, either from us or the court. Alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation are often a good approach, and allow each party to represent their interests with minimal conflict.
Step five:
final order
After waiting six weeks from the conditional order, we help you make the divorce final by applying for a final order. Once this has been granted, you're officially divorced.
While it's best to resolve any financial or child care matters before applying for your final order, these are both part of a separate legal process that may continue even after your divorce is finalised.
For a free initial consultation, give us a call on 0800 1380 458, or get in touch via our website.
These days, you can find cheap ways to get a divorce online. But it's worth knowing that such services usually just sort out the paperwork. They don't give advice, leaving you to make big decisions on your own, which can be tough.
Ending a marriage isn't straightforward, especially if children, a home, shared money, or pensions are involved. Even if both sides agree on the divorce, sorting out such additional issues is not always easy.
Our family law team have decades of experience in divorces, separations and end of relationships. They've helped resolve even the toughest divorces. They can help you think about what you'll need in the future and make sure you get a fair deal.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation before we take on any legal work, if you give us a call we will be honest with you about your circumstances and if we think you will need a solicitor. You can book a free thirty-minute consultation appointment by calling 0800 138 0458 or using the form below , and our solicitors will get in touch.
If children are involved in your divorce, figuring out their care arrangements can be stressful. Our divorce solicitors can help resolves these disputes. We'll aim to find the best solution possible. If we have to go to court, our expert team can represent you and make sure the court considers your circumstances when making a decision.
For more information, you can visit our child custody arrangements page.
Every divorce is different, so the end results can vary.
Financial arrangements can usually be made during the waiting periods. You can work them out through talks with your ex-spouse or with help from your lawyers. We suggest putting any arrangements into a legal document, approved by the court, called a consent order. If you can't agree, discuss with your lawyer about seeking further assistance from the court to reach decisions.
Every divorce is different, so the cost will depend on your situation. Getting the right advice from a divorce solicitor can save you money and stress later on, so it's important to get it right. We understand that you may be worried about money, so we offer set prices for some divorce services.
We offer a free initial meeting, where we’ll let you know the costs involved from the start. To find out how much your divorce might cost, just give us a call to set up a free consultation.
The cost of a divorce and resolving the financial and other issues arising from the separation in England and Wales depends on the circumstances of the case, but an agreement between the parties and their divorce lawyers to work collaboratively is often much more cost-effective. In a collaborative divorce, each party works with a collaborative lawyer who has committed to avoiding any court proceedings. This allows the parties to reach an agreement on the important considerations of a divorce or separation, such as childcare arrangements and financial matters, without making separate applications to the court for each issue. This can lead to a significant reduction in court costs, although you will still need to pay the standard court fee to cover the administrative processing of your application.
If you are in agreement about the terms of a divorce settlement, this can be the fastest and most cost-effective approach in most cases. Contact the collaborative family law team at Switalskis today to learn more about whether this process may be right for you and the costs involved.
In order to be eligible to end a marriage or civil partnership, you must have been married or in the partnership for at least 12 months or more. If you have not been in the marriage for that long, you may be able to apply for a judicial separation or wait the twelve months.
A divorce application marks the start of your divorce. There are two ways of applying for a divorce. You can either make a sole application (by yourself), or as joint applicants (you and your ex-partner). For more advice on the process of a divorce, speak to one of our specialist divorce solicitors.
If you submit an application, there will be very little that can stop the proceedings from continuing.
If your partner finds it hard to accept, they may be able to dispute proceedings. However, the reasonings are very limited and are generally based on whether the marriage was valid and celebrated through the correct procedure.
If at any stage you feel under threat or in danger, you should call 999.
However, our specialist family team are here to support and protect you. There are orders which can prohibit certain behaviours which can be put in place for your safeguarding. Our team of highly trained domestic violence solicitors act quickly to get you the support you need.
In England and Wales, there is no automatic distinction in what a wife or husband is entitled to in a divorce. The law treats both parties equally, regardless of gender. Entitlements are based on need, fairness and the individual circumstances of the case, rather than on traditional roles or who initiated the divorce.
The court makes a decision about a financial settlement on a case-by-case basis by assessing what each partner would need, and the resources they have, to move forward with financial stability.
Financial matters on divorce are governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, which gives the court wide discretion to decide how a divorce financial settlement should be made and the assets it should involve. The court can make orders relating to:
Typically, the court aims for a clean break, which means that all financial ties are severed once assets are divided and any lump sums are paid. However, this is not always possible, especially if one party requires ongoing support, and the court can order spousal maintenance to be paid for a set period or more rarely on a joint lives basis. This may be relevant to spouses who worked in the household during their marriage or civil partnership, but a wife is not automatically entitled to anything different than a husband in these cases, nor are there differences between the partners in a same sex marriage or civil partnership.
There is no fixed formula to how a fair settlement is calculated, as the court’s primary aim is to achieve a fair outcome based on the individual needs of the parties involved. Several important factors are considered by the court when drawing up a financial settlement:
The starting point is an equal division of marital assets (such as the family home, pensions and savings), especially for long marriages. However, needs-based outcomes may lead to an unequal split, particularly where one party requires more for housing or child care. Spousal maintenance (a series of regular payments from one spouse to the other) may be awarded where one spouse has a lower income or limited earning capacity, and the other can afford to pay. These usually specify a limited time period for the financial support, so that the payments only last until the receiving party becomes financially independent.
It is important to work with expert divorce solicitors during this process, as they can make sure that your specific needs are taken into account and help you to secure a fair settlement during the divorce process.
Since the introduction of no-fault divorces under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, there is no longer a need to prove specific grounds to secure a divorce in England and Wales. The only requirement is that the applicant states the marriage has irretrievably broken down. This statement alone is taken as conclusive evidence, and the court does not investigate the reasons behind the breakdown. Joint or sole applications can be made, and the process is intended to reduce conflict and simplify proceedings.
This is an important change, as it was previously only possible to prove that a marriage had irretrievably broken down based on one or more of five specific grounds. These grounds often led to blame-based petitions, especially when couples wanted to divorce without waiting the required separation periods, and sometimes caused increased conflict. Under the current legal framework, however, you now only need to state that the relationship has irretrievably broken down, and you can make a sole application for divorce if the other party does not agree to the arrangement.
Under the current no-fault divorce system in England and Wales, a divorce takes a minimum of six months from start to finish, assuming both parties cooperate and there are no delays. Divorces where financial settlements or child arrangements are contested may take significantly longer, although the right legal advice can help you to keep things on track. An experienced divorce lawyer can discuss your circumstances at the start of the legal process and advise you of what to expect, but there are some time limits that apply in all cases and which cannot be avoided or sped up.
Once a divorce petition is issued, a 20-week ‘cooling-off’ period begins. This is a mandatory waiting period that is designed to give both parties time to reflect or make arrangements, especially regarding children or finances. After 20 weeks, the applicant (or both applicants, in joint cases) can apply for the Conditional Order (previously called the Decree Nisi). This is a confirmation from the court that it sees no reason why the divorce cannot proceed.
After the Conditional Order is granted, there is a further mandatory waiting period of six weeks before you can apply for a Final Order (formerly called a Decree Absolute). Once the court grants this order, the marriage is legally ended. As such, the statutory minimum period for a divorce is 26 weeks.
The process can take longer for a number of reasons, ranging from the difficulties of resolving financial issues to practical, administrative errors like delays in filing documents, or one party failing to respond on time. It is good practice to delay applying for the final order until there is a financial agreement in place to avoid any potential financial hardship should one party die leading to a loss of widow’s or widower’s rights under their pension.
To start divorce proceedings in England and Wales, you must have been legally married or in a civil partnership that is recognised in the UK for at least one year and consider the relationship to have irretrievably broken down. Divorce proceedings begin when you complete a divorce application using the court portal and pay the relevant court issue fee, although it's vital to secure legal advice from family law experts before you enter into the process.
For a free initial consultation, give us a call on 0800 1380 458, or get in touch via our website.
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Divorce can be a difficult journey, but you don't have to go through it alone. At Switalskis, we offer straightforward, practical advice so you can navigate this challenging time with confidence.
Divorce involves various complicated legal steps, but we're experts at making complex matters simple to understand. Our solicitors will guide you through each stage, from initial paperwork to the final agreements to make sure that you understand what's going on at all times.
We understand that divorce is an emotional and significant life change. Not only does our team understand the law; we also know how to be good listeners. We'll focus on what you really need and tailor our service to suit you.
You can count on us for reliable advice that will stand the test of time. We're equipped to manage even the most challenging divorce situations seamlessly.
We're not just about ticking boxes and filling in forms; we advocate for you throughout the process. Our aim is to achieve a divorce settlement that sets you up well for your future. Whether this is your first time going through a divorce or you've experienced it before, we'll make sure you're legally protected.
If you're considering divorce and want expert advice tailored to your needs, chat with our team today. You can call us on 0800 138 0458 or send us a message through our website.