Here at Higgins Miller we help people to divorce with the minimum of conflict and stress wherever possible. We know from experience that getting dragged into a protracted court battle over details such as a financial arrangement after Christmas or how any children will be looked after merely adds to the stress and expense of a divorce. For that reason we always try to guide our clients toward engaging with their spouse and reaching an amicable agreement on the details of a divorce, and that also applies to someone waiting for a divorce after Christmas.
We know that many people opt for a divorce after Christmas because they want their children to enjoy the festive season before breaking the news to them. Just because you delay and plan to divorce after Christmas doesn’t mean that you can’t start making plans in the period before Christmas. The fact that you’ve managed to reach an agreement on a divorce after Christmas indicates that you’re on fairly good terms with your partner, and that approach can be taken into the discussions when you actually start to work on the process of a divorce after Christmas.
When we advise couples planning a divorce after Christmas we tell them to agree on as many details of their post-divorce relationship as possible. The legal side of the divorce has been hugely simplified by the introduction of no fault divorces, but the majority of the work involved in arranging a divorce after Christmas is based around non-legal matters, and can be decided by the couple in question. These include the welfare of the children involved and the financial arrangements which apply to each partner, and although questions like these can be settled in court, sitting down calmly to reach a fair and balanced agreement is much less stressful and, crucially, costs a lot less.
The first step toward reaching an amicable agreement on a divorce after Christmas is to go through mediation. Contrary to popular belief, mediation isn’t an attempt to persuade a couple to stay together, but is actually about creating a calm space in which the couple planning a divorce after Christmas can talk about the issues they need to deal with and reach an agreement.
A change of law in April 2022 made it possible for anyone having a divorce after Christmas to have a no-fault divorce, which makes the process much simpler. Rather than basing their divorce after Christmas on the idea of one partner being ‘at fault’ through something such as adultery or desertion, the no fault divorce after Christmas is based on either a mutual agreement to end the marriage or simply a statement by one partner. A mediator in a situation such as this will act as an impartial sounding board and a buffer between the parties as they discuss issues such as where the children will live and how the jointly owned assets of the marriage will be divided.
The timetable for a divorce after Christmas will run as follows:
- The couple make a joint application for divorce, or a sole application which can’t be contested
- Twenty week after the application has been made the court will make a Conditional Order if both parties wish to go ahead
- Six weeks after the Conditional Order the Court will make a Final Order, which marks the official end of the marriage
This aspect of the divorce is now extremely simple, although expert legal advice should still be sought to ensure that all forms are filled in correctly and filed with the correct court or divorce centre. Our advice will be even more helpful, however, when it comes to reaching an amicable agreement on matters such as:
- Paying household bills following the divorce after Christmas
- Deciding who will live in the family home following the divorce after Christmas and what will happen if the home needs to be sold
- Dealing with any outstanding debts
- Dividing assets such as stocks and shares, investments and savings
- Dividing items which have been purchased jointly during the marriage
- Deciding whether maintenance will be paid for any children involved in the future, and how much that maintenance will be
If you’d like to find out more about a divorce after Christmas please call us on 0161 429 7251 or email us at [email protected]. We’ve recently passed our Cyber Essential accreditation, something which demonstrates our forward-thinking attitude and determination to remain ahead of the competition. The first 20-minute appraisal is provided free of charge, and we’ll give you the first appointment for a fixed fee, so you don’t have to worry about how much our advice is going to cost. If you want to explore our wider charging system then please take a look here.
