Divorce, how long does it take?

[Bluebellsnowdrop]

I know it will vary quite a bit, but just wondered if people could give me a rough idea of how long a divorce takes to go through, and also a rough idea of the cost. If the house is jointly owned, do you put it up for sale during the divorce process or after the divorce is finalised?

Anyone?

If I remember correctly there is a minimum time period for the actual divorce to take, around 20 weeks after the application has been accepted. From my own experience and that of others it takes a lot longer especially the financial agreement negotiations and house selling.

We agreed the finances and the house was on the market, and we knew how the sale proceeds would be split and that’s the same for other couples I know getting divorced. If the house is sold before the finances are finalised then the money is held by the solicitors until the agreement is done on how much each of you have.

I can’t advise on cost as it’s so different for everyone, how much work is needed by solicitors will vary and how much time the financial agreement takes also varies.

A colleague of mine (recently divorced herself) when I asked how long she thought it would all take said 2 years and I was shocked as seemed so long. She was right though and others I know are taking a couple of years or so especially when there’s a house to sell and finances and children to discuss.

Thanks for your reply. That's a long time. I thought that might be the case. So when the house is sold, the money is held until everything is finalised? Obviously you'd have to move out the house when it's sold, so you'd have to find somewhere to live temporarily until you receive the money from the house.

Yes if the split of assets hasn’t been agreed and finalised then the money can’t be shared as there’s no confirmation on how much you’d each receive. My divorce was all done and the house sale went through soon afterwards, the money was distributed to each of us by the solicitors and we moved out soon after.

I’m sure it could take less time if it is straight forward and you largely agree on split of assets. Also getting pension valuations can hold things up as well as it can take many months to get a CETV figure which you need in order to see what’s in the pot of assets. I’d suggest asking your pension providers now for this info if you haven’t already as it’s really important and can hold up discussions.

Thanks. I'll look into the pensions.

If both parties are sensible, 6 months should be sufficient to complete the process.

However, if one, or both, of the parties turn it into a contest, it could drag on for several years. Mine took 2 years as ex jumped from one solicitor to another in hope they would get everything.

Good luck.

Five months for me. Could if been slightly quicker if ex hadn't dragged a bit on the financial settlement stuff, but not much. Would have been much longer if we'd had to have sold the house.

Mine was a year from start to finish with me buying XH out of the house. XH’s new partner and my new DP had similar time frames too. The divorce can be quite simple. I knew one couple who had a simple divorce and it was agreed they would split the cost of the house after the sale. Divorce came through before the house sold on the basis of that agreement. It’s much easier now if you can do the ‘no fault’.

As long as you can agree to finances you can get it down within 6 months. You file jointly online then there's a mandatory waiting period of 20 weeks, but during this time you can work out your finances between yourselves and you then need a consent order drawn up. Once the mandatory waiting period ends you can file for the provisional order, once granted you can file the consent order with the court. 6 weeks and a day after the provisional order was granted you can file for the final order (you don't have to wait for the consent order to be granted).

This can only happen is everything is agreed, if you disagree you may need mediation or solicitors to negotiate

That's a relief to hear some people's are relatively quick and straightforward. It must be a nightmare when it goes on for years.

The proceeds from the house sale can be split straight away but the pensions require the consent order to be split

Mine took the absolute minimum because we handled the finances separately because they were split before the legal divorce. I only got the consent order to deal with the pension

That's good to know. I was wondering how people managed to move to a new house if the money was tied up for ages.

Have you tried the alternative of working it through instead of going down the divorce route. Unless relationship is toxic/abusive, maybe there is a way of coming together again imho and avoiding the pain of divorce.

@LovelyKu Please stop posting on threads suggesting reconciliation when you know nothing of the situation and the OP isn’t asking for advice on that topic. You seem very keen we all consider this…many of us will have spent years doing so and have finally moved beyond this.

We are trying to work through, but what normally happens is after a while the same problems keep cropping up.