IN Northern Ireland there are about 2,500 divorces a year. These are brought on different grounds, but what are the grounds for divorce in this jurisdiction?
There are five grounds for divorce: Desertion; adultery; unreasonable behaviour; the parties have been separated for two years and each of them consent to a divorce; or the parties have been separated for five years and the petitioner (the moving party in the case) does not require the consent of the other party.
Divorce relates to the legal marital status of a couple and only a judge can dissolve a marriage by divorce. The petitioning party (or petitioner) is the party presenting the divorce petition, who gives evidence before the County Court or the
High Court, to achieve a divorce. The petitioner must satisfy one of the five grounds set out above.
The division of the matrimonial assets (the parties’ finances) may be dealt with by the lawyers for the parties without recourse to the court or, if the parties are unable to resolve their finances, ancillary relief proceedings may be issued and a Judge will decide the division of the assets and/or liabilities.
In my experience a petitioner may be emotionally and mentally affected by the divorce process and, as a practitioner, one must always remember that this is as big a deal for the that person as it was when they got married, with the added stress of the loss of relationship.
It has to be remembered that the Judge is not simply there to rubber stamp the paperwork; the Judge must be satisfied on the basis of the legal documents there is a ground for divorce and the petitioner satisfies that ground; and, if there are children of the marriage, the arrangements for the children are satisfactory.
It is my job as a lawyer in bringing the petitioner on a journey, from the day I take instructions to the day I send my client a copy of the decree absolute issued by the court to signify the end of the marriage, to never forget that I am dealing with a person who at one time was so in love with the person they are now divorcing that the impact is immense and often quite devastating.
There are a number of stressors which need to be taken into account and these may include the stress of emotional detachment; the prospect of how divorce may affect one financially; and, the loss of no longer seeing one’s children on a daily basis as they may go between households of the divorcing couple.
Therefore, one must tread carefully and sensitively.
I find that if a collaborative approach is taken between the parties this is hugely beneficial in reducing the negative effect of divorce on the parties and the children of the family.
Divorce is not the forum for getting “one over” the other party.
The impact of a contentious divorce is long-lasting, not just as a consequence of the financial loss, but also as a result of the stress of ongoing litigation at a time when it the parties need to be able to rebuild their lives to suit their changed circumstances.
:: Enda Lavery (enda.lavery@mtb-law.co.uk) is a family and matrimonial solicitor at McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors (mtb-law.co.uk)
