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Before getting click happy and pressing “submit” on your online Decree Absolute application, pause for a minute. It may be that you should not apply as soon as you are eligible – officially dissolving your marriage could have implications if you haven’t agreed your finances yet.
There are additional steps to take when applying for Decree Absolute if it has been more than 12 months since your Decree Nisi was granted.
If one or both of these applies to you, it is important to seek legal advice about what to do next.
Most importantly, you should make sure that you have a financial order in place, providing how your finances should be separated. If you haven’t discussed finances with your ex, it is important that you do so before Decree Absolute is granted, or speak to a lawyer about the best steps to take to do this – there are a variety of non-court options that are available and can work well to help with this.
Even if you have agreed what should happen, it is strongly recommended that you enter into a financial consent order. This deals with the legal claims that you have as a result of the marriage. These remain “live” even if you have Decree Absolute, but haven’t had a financial order made.
So you’ve got your financial order and your Decree Absolute is on its way. What next? You may find there’s a fair bit of life admin to get on top of, so set aside some time to sort out some of the admin, before life gets in the way again.
We’ve put together some top tips for getting your life admin in order and to help you move forward in a positive direction:
Get to grips with your finances. Consider speaking to a financial advisor to come up with a future-proof plan. Whilst you are at it, update your mortgage lender on the change of circumstances, close any joint accounts and update your bank, credit card and utility providers;
If any of these tips have raised questions for you about your situation, then please do get in touch to discuss this further.
This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at March 2021. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.
Date published
24 March 2021
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