Delay to Final Order

Hello David,
I am applicant in my divorce and it seems now unlikely that we will be able to negotiate a financial settlement before before the 12 months to apply for final order are up. I know the court will ask for a statement, however, a child was born to the marriage after conditional order was made. Is this likely to cause issues? We have not reconciled and are living apart. Should I apply for final order before the 12 months expire?

Thanks

If you apply after 12 months all that happens is that a court asks for certain additional information such as whether you have reconciled, resumed living together etc. The most common reason given for not applying within 12 months is that financial issues have not yet been settled so this 12 months business is not quite as important as you might think. Obviously if you are going to miss this 12 month window it is sensible to progress the resolution of financial matters as soon as you reasonably can otherwise you may find yourself stll married perhaps years from now.

Thank you so much for the fast reply, David. Could the birth of our child delay the final order? I understand there is an obvious impact on financial settlement but could the court also delay final order? I read the court will ask if a child was born after conditional order which is the case here. Do I need to write to the court on the birth of the child before the 12 months is up?

>>Do I need to write to the court on the birth of the child before the 12 months is up?

No. Although once the 12 months are up a court will want to know about the birth of another child before granting decree absolute. In many cases such a child will be irrelevant because the child is often by a new partner. If the child is not by a new partner then a new child between the divorcing couple raises the obvious question of whether they have reconciled. If the child is by the divorcing couple then some sort of explanation will be required to counter the obvious possibility that they have reconciled (if indeed they have not reconciled and resumed living together).

Hi Nick,

I'm in a similar position, although the delay is a bit longer than the 12 month you've experienced.

How did your delay get dealt with the courts. Did you use the reason of sorting finances out?

The most common reason for not applying for decree absolute within 12 months is because it took longer to get the finances formally sttled. Where that applies it is a perfectly good explanation for the delay and one which the courts are very used to.