Divorce for UB and timescales

Hello everyone, hoping someone can advise on timescales for me..?

We have agreed to divorce (so far, so amicably) hopefully on grounds of UB.

The question I have is about timescales:

We agreed to separate in July 2008, where i moved into a separate room in the same house - but we continued to share meals etc.

I moved out to a rented house in December 2008, and we sold the matrimonial home in July 2009, and concluded a complete and mutually agreed financial separation at that point.

I have continued to pay maintenance for the two kids since then.

Rather than have to wait for 2 years from December 2009, we both want to divorce now.

Is that a problem - as we have been living totally separate lives for more a year, can i still use UB grounds ?

You can use UB but the reasons you use must relate to the six months before you moved out of the marital home but not the time from moving out and filing the Petition.

Thats interesting as I am in a similar position, however separated more recently.
So Dukey - are you saying you can use UB as grounds for the Petition if you are separated (in the FMH or separate homes) as long as it refers to the period of time when you lived together as a married couple?
Supercali xx

The reasons you use to show the marriage has broken down are written in section 13 and called the particulars, if these reasons relate to events longer than six months ago from when the Petition is sent to court the judge will reject the petition on the basis that if you have lived with the behaviour that long it is not sufficient to show the breakdown of the marriage.

If you are now living separately you use reasons or acts of unreasonable behaviour that occurred in the six months leading to separation to show the breakdown of the marriage.