The starting point is that in order to divorce in England it is necessary to have been married for 1 year. It is not possible to divorce before that time period has passed.  It is, however, possible to start discussions in relation to the financial aspects of the marriage with the aim of getting these resolved or part-way resolved by the time the 1 year period has been reached.   

If you are the person petitioning for divorce (the petitioner – now known as the applicant) you must meet the necessary jurisdictional criteria. This criteria is based on a) your habitual residence (although difficult to define, this is usually where you live most of the time and where you have your ‘centre of interests’) or b) the domicile of you or your husband or wife (domicile is again difficult to define but in general terms is where you consider your permanent home to be). 

If you are the petitioner you will need your original marriage certificate or a certified copy of your marriage certificate. The marriage certificate will need to be uploaded onto the HMCTS portal (this is where the petition is completed and sent to the court– for more details on the process used to divorce please see the next article called ‘Can I start divorce proceedings myself?’).  If you cannot find a copy or you cannot obtain a copy of the marriage certificate, it is very straightforward to apply for a certified copy. All you need to do is contact the local authority where the marriage took place.  It is also possible to apply for a replacement at https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate.

There is a small fee involved (approximately £11) but the process should be relatively straightforward.  
There is a fee associated with sending a divorce petition to the court which is £593.  This payment will need to be made at the time that the divorce petition is sent and so having access to these funds at the start of the process is important.  It is possible to ask your husband or wife to contribute to the cost of the divorce however, the court will not order the respondent (the person receiving the petition ) to contribute to or pay the fee. A fee exemption can be applied for and more detail can be found at www.gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees. 

Consent of the other party is not required in order to divorce. The law has recently changed which means that there is now only one ground for divorce which is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.  This means that it is now not necessary to blame the other person for the breakdown of the marriage. 

This change has made the process more straightforward for the petitioner and reflects the way that society is changing. The hope is that if conversations do take place in relation to the divorce that these conversations can start off in a more conciliatory way without the same element of blame that was one of the elements of divorce previously.  
In the next article, I will explore whether it is possible to start divorce proceedings yourself without the need for a Solicitor.