Married in England, Divorce in Scotland?

Hi there.
My partner got married in England but hasn''t lived with her husband for over two years. She has wanted to divorce him for all this time but he has said he will contest the divorce. Under English law she has to wait 5 years before she can divorce him without his consent without him being able to contest it.

I live in Scotland, have done for around 10 years now, and she is coming from England to live with me in the next couple of months.

Will she be able to divorce him under Scots law once she is living here? Scots law, from what I can tell, allows for divorce after two years separation.

My thanks in advance for any help.

ZG

Hi ZG,

Rather than me write it all down, there are a number of factors involved, this link lets you download information on divorce in Scotland.

www.scotcourts.gov.uk/rules-and-practice...rship-guidance-notes

I hope that helps,

Best wishes,

NWTT.

Cheers NWTT that does help some. I guess I''ll have to head down the the CAB. One of our problems is that we haven''t got an address for her, soon to be, ex and he can be a tricky bugger to track down.

She could divorce him right away in England using unreasonable behaviour. If he objects - it can still be pushed through - and he will have to pay the costs.

For free advice on the Scottish or English divorce procedures and options call our free helpline on 01202 805020.

Once your partner has lived in Scotland for a year she can apply to divorce here without her husband''s consent after two years separation using the simplified procedure herself. The advantages are she won''t need to use unreasonable behaviour which can be contentious and inflame matters making any negotiations about any children and finances difficult, she wouldn''t need a solicitor at all for the actual divorce and if she is eligible legal aid is more generous in Scotland.

However there is only one divorce decree here and any financial claims need to be settled before applying for the divorce as claims cannot be made later, or at least it''s very difficult. It can take months or even a year or so to resolve financial issues on both sides of border. There is a different legal system here and it may affect the finances so it always a good idea to see a solicitor with knowledge and experience of the law on both sides of the border to make a comparison so there are no nasty surprises later.

In England & Wales the usual practice is to apply for the first part of the divorce, resolve the finances and then apply for the final divorce decree, the absolute, so it may take as much time in either jurisdiction.

Thanks for all your help. I''ve passed this all on to her. Hopefully by the end of next summer all this will be sorted out.

Thanks

ZG