FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

We are not a law firm nor are we regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).  The solicitors that we employ are not required to have professional indemnity insurance that meets the SRA's minimum terms and conditions.  They are, however, authorised and regulated by the SRA in their personal capacity.

The simple answer is ‘no.’  The actual process is the same although Express Divorce use the HMCTS online portal to issue divorce applications so there is less physical paperwork.

The entire online divorce process still takes between 30 and 35 weeks

Once the consent order is approved by a judge and sealed by the court, it is legally binding and cannot normally be altered without the consent of both parties. However, there are some instances where both parties agree to change in the consent order and resubmit the order to the court for approval.

An example of this is if both parties agree to reaplcing ongoing payments with a lump sum.

Yes, provided you have not resumed your relationship.  Sometimes people live within the same house but have divided the property into 2 separate households and do not share washing, cooking, or other domestic chores.  In this case, we often need additional details of how you are ‘living apart’ within the same house.  We have known occasions where a judge has requested a simple sketched map of who lives where in the house and how it has been divided up!

We do not accept cash although we can accept cheques made payable to ‘ExD Legal Services.’  Please note that, should you pay by cheque, Express Divorce will not carry out any work on your behalf until 24 hours after the money has cleared.

No.  Since 6 April 2022, any application for divorce is based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.  You can no longer divorce based on the fact of adultery, unreasonable behaviour or a period of separation.

All of us provide similar services, however, Express Divorce use experienced lawyers to supervise all divorces.  In the case of our premium services, the entire divorce documentation is drafted by a senior matrimonial solicitor who subsequently oversees the process through court.

In addition, our actual managed services are significantly less expensive than Divorce Online’s services.  Both Divorce Online and Quickie Divorce do outsource to solicitors, however, we are committed to keeping all divorces in-house to reduce delay and/or potential loss of documents.

Express Divorce are also entirely transparent about costs.  We started our online divorce service as an antidote to the rising legal fees charged by solicitors.  Our competitors’ websites are not particularly clear about the court fees and when you will need to pay them.  On the other hand, we are entirely upfront about these additional fees as we do not want to give any of our customers a nasty surprise after they have purchased one of services.

The process is broadly similar whether you apply online or use a traditional paper application.

There are 3 main stages:

The Application

The Applicant completes either an online or paper application.  The court issues the application by sending a copy to the Respondent together with an acknowledgement of service.  The Respondent must acknowledge receipt of the application confirming they are happy for the divorce to proceed.

Application for the Conditional Order

20 weeks after the application is issued, the Applicant can apply for the conditional order.

Application for the Final Order

The Applicant must wait a minimum of 6 weeks and 1 clear day after the date of the conditional order before they can apply for the final order.

The application is a simple one page form in the case of a paper application and several short questions if you are using an online application.

On average, it takes between 7 and 8 months to get divorced.

Once the court have issued the divorce application, you must wait a minimum of 20 weeks before you can apply for the conditional order.  After the court grant the conditional order, you must wait a further 6 weeks and 1 day before you can apply for the final order of divorce.

Yes, provided your spouse is habitually resident or domiciled in England and Wales.