What Are the 5 Grounds for Divorce?

Not every marriage can be a happy and everlasting one and many a time people decide to part ways and not stick it out to the end of the road. Even though there has been a general reduction in the number of divorce in the UK, this doesn’t mean that they are not happening. With the public news being inundated with news regarding celebrity, separation, settlements, feuds leading to lawyering up with a divorce solicitor  London etc. now and then, the entire stigma that was once attached to divorce as a process, is now looked upon as an opportunity for beginning afresh in some ways.

Having said this, however, it can be quite a confusing process and the need to have a divorce solicitor in London to guide you through is something that you might really need, for correct guidance. Taking a look at rules and regulations which have to be allowed in order apply for a divorce or annulment in UK courts, will make you realize that there are 5 grounds that have been listed which can be considered to be valid as a cause for wanting a divorce and those grounds are:

  1. Adultery: If either of the partners or both of them have had a sexual dalliance outside the marriage then the adultery clause can be invoked. The catch here is that the grounds can only be considered, if the petition is filed within six months of the discovery. The acceptable reason here is that due to their infidelity the spouse is finding it impossible to continue with their relationship further. Another thing that needs to be noted here as your divorce solicitor in London will tell you, is that only if the sexual dalliance engaged in, is with a member of the opposite sex, it’s labelled as adultery in the eyes of the law. In case your partner engaged in a sexual act with a member of the same sex a petition for divorce on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour would be more amenable.
  1. Unreasonable Behaviour: In most divorce petitions today, unreasonable behaviour is a common choice as it can encompass virtually any behaviour which is making it extremely difficult for you to be able to live any longer with your spouse. This means it would hold unruly behaviour like alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence mental harassment, insults, adultery, etc. accountable equally in the eyes of the law. Thus, these grounds are preferred by almost every other divorce solicitor in London.
  1. Desertion: In cases where a spouse has abandoned their significant other without any reason, you can state that to be a valid reason for a divorce petition— the mandatory clause here remains that, your spouse should have been missing for over 2 years in the span of last thirty months. If such is the case, you may not even need their consent or presence for you to be granted a divorce.
  1. Staying Apart for Over 2 Years: Another cause for petition that can be looked into would be if you and your partner have not stayed together for a period of over two years before the divorce petition on an immediate basis. Just like the grounds for desertion you can have co-habitated for a time period up to six months in the period. However, the difference here is that your spouse needs to sign over the filing too.
  1. Staying Apart for Over 5 Years: Similar to the separation of 2 years in terms of grounds your divorce solicitor in London will tell you, that this option does not require any consent signing off of any kind by your partner. If you can prove that the two of you have not stayed under the same roof for a period longer than five years, the court will usually grant you the divorce.

Getting a divorce can be a tricky matter and is also a private one, for amicable settlements you probably will not need to deal with too much legal hassle, but in a contentious one, apart for a divorce solicitor you might have to also field other experts like probate lawyer Whitfield County GA and sometime when going through assets when housing and property is involved, you might also have to go over details with a remortgage solicitor in London. Whatever you need might be and no matter the terms that you want to set out on for your divorce our lawyers are here to help you make a smooth transition.