friends divorce

[Chellie]

My friends husband walked out on her and 4 kids 2 years ago this month. She believe's under new law that her divorce can go through  once the 2 years are up.  However her solicitor is saying she needs a signature from her estranged husband first.  He hasn't been in touch since he left so that is an impossible task. Also she doesnt know where he is! Is there a way she can get the divorce finalised without the solicitors help? And without a signature from husband? Is it true that she will be legally divorced after 2 years being apart from her husband?? Does any of that make sense? Sorry I'm a bit green in this department. Hopefully someone can give some advice that i can pass on.  Her solicitor is not being very helpful. Thankyou.x

[ann_h]

2 years with consent, 5 years without consent

[zmudge]

(a) 2 Years Desertion
You will need to supply the date of when your spouse left you and show that you have not heard from your partner since that date.  You cannot start divorce proceedings until your spouse has been gone for two years.

(b) 2 Years Separation
In order to use this ground for divorce your spouse must agree to the divorce.  You will need to put the date of the separation on the divorce petition and state briefly the reason for the separation.  If you do not know the exact date of the separation you can give an approximate date as long as it can be clearly shown that two years have passed.

(c) 5 Years Separation
You do not need your spouse's consent to divorce on this ground. This ground is therefore useful if you know that you will have difficulty getting your spouses consent.  You will need to give details of the date of the separation and brief reasons on why you separated.

[Chellie]

 This Q is for a friend, not me!   thankyou for the information, I will pass it onto her. But is there not a procedure that she can go through by dealing with the divorce herself and with out having to deal with the solicitor?

What is the procedure she would have to go though zmudge for options a or b? The only way she can show that he hasnt been in touch is by the fact he hasn't paid anything towards the mortgage, or made any payments for the children! the CSA won't go after him because they says hes working abroad somewhere and they can't touch him!

[zmudge]

Was called away, hence delay in replying. There is a very useful commentary on DIY divorce at this link

http://thelawis.co.uk/divorce/

which gives much more detail than can be posted on Answerbank. If questions remain after you have had a read, please post here and I will see if I can offer a useful comment (divorce is not my specialist subject).