Responding to petition - idiots guide?

Hi all.

Received Petition recently and after a brief skim read and gritting my teeth with the over exaggerated UB claims I havnt had a chance to fully digest the contents. However, I know it needs completed and belive its not too hard a job and can be done without the need for a solicitor which I can ill afford currently.

I''ve had a look on the site and on the gov site but so far I''ve been unable to locate anything. Does anyone know if such a thing exists? Or is it more beneficial to go through and then ask any particular questions in here?

One thing I do wonder is if at this stage moves can be made towards a Clean Break. We''ve been apart nearly a year now and I give her CSA above the recommended level for our child. And will of course continue too, however after previously splitting finances, selling the FMH and agreeing informally to a clean break, she has intimated she''s now after more.

Thanks all.

I wish they would reduce the period for divorce by consent to one year, but that''s by the by.

My suggestion is that you might consider responding on the lines that you do not accept that the allegations are necessarily true, but you will reserve the right to contest the allegations if they are raised in subsequent proceedings ( eg in relation to contact with children ) and/or that your ex has also been guilty of unreasonable behaviour. I''d suggest that you propose that the costs of the Petition should be shared equally.

LMM

Wikivorce''s own guide to completing the D10 can be found here - www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Guides-Divorce...vorce-documents.html

The divorce only legally dissolves the marriage, it doesn''t resolve the finances at all; that will need to be done by coming to agreement between yourselves, either with or without the use of a mediation service (if you can''t agree, then a court will have to decide for you) - more information on financial settlements can be found here - www.wikivorce.com/divorce/financial-settlements.html

Thanks to the pair of you.

Rubytuesday that form just appears to be a D10, not really providing any advice on how to respond. Am I looking at the right thing?

The link I gave (the first one) is to a guide on completing the D10.

In case you are unable to see the text, I''ve posted it below.


Instructions for the Respondent

The Respondent must acknowledge receipt of the Petition by completing and sending (to the court and the petitioner) the Acknowledgement of Service form they have been sent.
The main decisions at this point are:

1) Do you accept that the divorce should go ahead? Or do you wish to defend (prevent) the divorce?

It is unusual to defend the divorce as once one party has reached the point of petitioning there is little the other party can do to prevent the inevitable breakdown of the marriage.

2) Do you accept the grounds (reasons given) for the divorce?

It is not uncommon for the respondent to object to the grounds given on the Petition. However unless you have a very strong objection then in practical terms it is usual to not take the grounds to personally and to leave them as stated and get on with the process.

3) Are you prepared to accept and pay for the costs of the divorce?

The general principles as to the costs of an undefended divorce are as follows –

It is common for the Petitioner to include a claim for costs in the divorce petition. Sometimes the claim is expressed to be effective only if the petition is defended.

The respondent must use the Acknowledgement of Service to indicate whether a claim is accepted or disputed or limited to a specific amount.

If the respondent rejects the claim for costs the petitioner must state in the affidavit in support of petition whether or not the claim is pursued.

If the petitioner progresses the claim the judge will usually invite the respondent to attend the pronouncement of Decree Nisi to argue the point. If this is a significant issue the hearing may be adjourned to be dealt with when there is more time available.

The costs in issue in the divorce proceedings are just the costs in relation to the divorce itself and not any correspondence concerning financial issues or children issues. It is unusual for the costs of an undefended divorce to exceed £800 and is often less.

Once you have decided on each of the above three items, then you complete and return (to the court) the Acknowledgement of Service.

Forms (these will be sent to the respondent by the court)

write-form.jpg Form
D8
The application for divorce (also known as the Divorce Petition).
write-form.jpg D10 The completed and signed Acknowledgement of Service form. This is not available to download as you should use the one sent by the court.



Frequently Asked Questions:


Should I defend the petition?

The main reason to defend the petition is if you do not wish the divorce to go ahead, or if you strongly object to the reasons (grounds) given by your partner.

I am not happy to accept the ‘unreasonable behaviour’ grounds, What do I do?

If you accept that divorce is inevitable, there is little point in fighting the divorce Petition, even if you disagree with some of the ‘unreasonable behaviour’ cited. Courts will these days accept grounds which are less confrontational (such as workaholic, or lack of attention) so there really is no need to list exaggerated/extreme behaviour. You could negotiate with your ex for her to amend the petition to list behaviour examples that you find “acceptable”.

My new partner has been listed as co-respondent, what does this mean?

In adultery cases the petitioner can either say the adultery occurred with an un-named person or they can name the person as a co-respondent. (This is less common these days as it causes friction and serves little practical purpose). It doesn’t have a great impact on the process or the finances. The court is really only concerned with the parties to the marriage.