There is only one actual ground for divorce in St Helens

Although a divorce is a matter between two people, the truth is that many others are also affected when the word divorce rears its ugly head. I have a cousin who is going through a divorce in St Helens at the moment and the whole family is suffering. Although there are no children involved in this case, the other adults are also affected such the parents and siblings who are taking sides.

As any family law solicitors St Helens will be able to tell you, divorce in St Helens or anywhere, is about blame and the way that each party wants to be able to win. The sad fact is that there is no winner; both parties lose something which was once precious to them. At the end of the day nobody goes into a marriage with the intention of getting a divorce and so when it does happen many things are affected. The process is quite simple but the first step is to decide on the grounds for divorce.

The ground for divorce

There is only actually one 'ground' for divorce under English law. That is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

There are however 'facts' that may constitute this ground. They are:

Adultery

• Often now considered the 'nice' divorce.
• Respondents admitting to adultery will not be penalised financially or otherwise.
• Cannot be used as a ground for divorce if the couple keeps living together for more than six months after discovering the adulterous act, unless the adulterous relationship is continuing or there are other acts of adultery after you discover the first such act.

Unreasonable behaviour 

• The petition must contain a series of allegations proving that the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with him/her.
• The allegations may be of a serious nature (e.g. Abuse or excessive drinking) but may also be mild such as having no common interests or pursuing a separate social life; the courts won't insist on severe allegations as they adopt a realistic attitude: if one party feels so strongly that a behaviour is "unreasonable" as to issue a divorce petition, it is clear that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and it would be futile to try to prevent the divorce.

Two years separation (if both parties consent)

• Both parties must consent
• The parties must have lived separate lives for at least two years prior to the presentation of the petition
• This can occur if the parties live in the same household, but the petitioner would need to make clear in the petition such matters as they ate separately, etc.

Two years desertion

Five years separation (if only one party consents)

Family law in St Helens is mostly dealing with cases of divorce, custody and other matters which relate to family issues. This means that solicitors in St Helens need to be able to detach themselves from their cases as there is a lot of emotion and heartbreak involved with divorce and custody cases.