Finding a lost divorce nisi

[Stompythedinosaur]

Hey, I'm attempting to help a family member navigate a situation and wonder if anyone can point me in the right direction.

If someone completed a decree nisi for their divorce about five years ago, never did the decree absolute, and has lost all related paperwork, is there a way we can find the divorce nisi? We know the court it was issued at and I found a form for asking for a search for a decree absolute but can't find anything similar for a nisi.

Does anyone know?

Contact the court. They can supply the necessary paperwork for a fee.

@Arlanymor thank you! I'm not really clear about how I would contact the court. I have found a form D440 for requesting a decree absolute, but not sure about the decree nisi. How do I contact the court?

Complicatedly, the decree nisi was issued at a court that has since closed. I think the records must be somewhere though?

Really grateful for any advice!

So if the court doesn’t exist, its files would have been transferred somewhere else. Have you tried looking at gov.uk - they have a ‘find a court or tribunal’ function and if you enter as much information as you know they might be able to point you in the right direction. The link is here: https://www.gov.uk/find-court-tribunal

Also does your friend recall the solicitor who handled their case? They might be able to help - depending on time elapsed and there may be a fee - but worth a try.

It’s lovely that you are being such a good friend to your family member. 💕

@Arlanymor thank you! I'm trying to avoid a solicitor if I can as my family member has both some mental health and financial troubles.

Thanks for your advice, I've now found the court that the records have gone to.

Sorry to hear that about your family member, even more important that they have someone to advocate for them in that case.

Oh good! That’s a positive step forward, really hope that the court can put you on the right track to get the paperwork that you need. Reminds me I probably ought to get a copy of my decree absolute one day - nearly did once when I considered remarrying but never since then, I guess it would save me time to do it now while it’s still in the not-too-distant past (18 years!!)

Fingers crossed it is smooth sailing for you from here onwards!