Hi all.
I started the divorce process back in 2019. I made one tiny mistake on the form and here I am 5 years later, no further forward 😖 I do NOT want to screw up again so am asking your help to sanity check my actions. Below is a copy of the original divorce form I filled out. Infuriatingly, I only received the letter of rejection this year due to the court sending it to the wrong address (I kept writing to them asking why my case wasn't progressing and eventually they sent me a copy of the rejection letter). So that's where we are.
I used the 5 year separation rule as the grounds for divorce. I wrote on the form (highlighted) that the date I decided the marriage was at an end was 15/10/2014. The mistake I made was to send this form in one month before 5 years of separation had elapsed. So my application was rejected and the clerk wrote back:
If the date given at question 5 of the form D80 was a mistake the Petitioner should amend it. If the decision was indeed made on the date originally stated the divorce cannot proceed on this basis. The Petitioner should make any amendments in red and re-sign and re-date page 3 of form D80, also in red. Form D84 should also be re-signed and re-dated in red.
The Petitioner should deal with the above matters and renew the request for directions for trial.
Even though I am instructed to amend the date at question 5, that date now DOES represent a separation of over years. My gut is telling me to leave that date unchanged and simply re-sign and resend the form with the explanation I've given above. Does this seem like the right course of action to you?