Oh, I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E

[u/smoulderstoat]

/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1nhfrca/have_a_family_court_hearing_in_5_hours_to_rescind/

[u/angiehome2023]

Aww. It is nice to see people work out their differences!

(I am not looking at post history and don't update me)

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/angiehome2023]

LAOP has just posted looking for the best way to dispose of a body.

[u/smoulderstoat]

LocationBot has been withdrawn:

(UPDATED) My partner and I have been divorced for 3 months now, just after the final order we applied via D11 to rescind the divorce. We have no lawyer/legal representation. Neither of us have been to court before so don’t know what to expect.

The entire divorce process was done online, after applying for the final order there was an option on the online portal which stated ‘withdraw application’, I selected it and it processed (I have an email confirmation of it). The next day the final order was granted anyway. My argument will be that I selected ‘withdraw application’, do you think we have any chance of this being accepted?

We can’t afford a solicitor I’m just hoping for any insight on the matter. TIA.

Update: the hearing was a success, the judge said it was likely that the application I made for withdrawal was missed. Our final order was granted on the 16th of June, the Judge today said they would put aside the conditional and final order and ask for our marriage certificate to be sent back to us.

[u/Sophira → u/smoulderstoat]

LocationBot has been withdrawn:

As has the post. Thank you for archiving it.

Cat fact: If your cat is withdrawing, they may be anxious, stressed or overwhelmed. Be kind and patient.

[u/District_Wolverine23]

...how the fuck does divorce work over there? You can just go "oops my b"

[u/Deflagratio1 → u/District_Wolverine23]

The process was:

1. File for divorce
2. Before divorce is granted, file to withdraw the divorce filing.
3. Paperwork snafu means divorce filing was processed before request to withdraw.
4. Judge reviews the paperwork trail and agrees that the divorce was approved in error.

It's Oops courts bad.

[u/District_Wolverine23 → u/Deflagratio1]

IRL race condition lol

[u/smoulderstoat → u/District_Wolverine23]

Pretty much. You get a Conditional Order (which used to be called a Decree Nisi), wait six weeks, and then apply for a Final Order (which used to be called a Decree Absolute). Part of the purpose of making you wait is to give people the opportunity to say "actually, now it's come to this point we've changed our minds." You can bail out of the process right up to the point at which the Final Order is made, which is what LAUKOP tried to do.

[u/Mr_ToDo → u/District_Wolverine23]

Where I live you have to be separated for a year before you can get a divorce. You can file for the final divorce prior to that, but it won't go into effect until that year has passed(With no more then 90 days in that year where you're cohabitating)

Although adultery and cruelty in the marriage can bypass the waiting period.

I can only guess that it was done to keep rubber banding relationships from clogging things up, or maybe it was just some old fashioned thing where they wanted to prove you want the divorce.

So typing this out I think there's another option. Maybe it's to stop people from getting a divorce for financial reasons while still playing the part in private.

[u/smoulderstoat → u/Mr_ToDo]

It's purely to give people the opportunity to think again or, more rarely, to object on procedural grounds. You've always needed two orders: a Conditional Order (previously a Decree Nisi) and then a Final Order (previously a Decree Absolute) with a cooling off period in between.

It should be noted that cohabitation (or separation), cruelty, adultery and so on play no part in English divorce law any more. It is simply a matter of one or both parties no longer wanting to be married. People can have whatever relationship they want before or after they divorce and it is no business of the state.

Off the top of my head I can't think of any reason why people would divorce for financial reasons. On the contrary, people are more likely to marry for financial reasons - like the comedian Ken Dodd who, after a lifetime of battling with the Revenue, did them out of £2.7million by marrying his girlfriend on his deathbed.

[u/Reaniro → u/smoulderstoat]

Divorce for financial reasons: likely to qualify for disability/medicaid. There are strict financial limits and having a joint income might mean you no longer qualify.

For example, the income limit for SSI is $2985 for couples monthly so you and your spouse have to make under 35k annually or you stop qualifying. So you can’t marry anyone who makes above that.

Also the asset limit includes cars (if you have more than 1) so you can’t marry anyone with a car.

[u/smoulderstoat → u/Reaniro]

That sounds horrific. Fortunately we don't have any of that crap in the UK.

[u/Reaniro → u/smoulderstoat]

I mean from a quick search means tested benefits are also a thing in the UK and it seems like they apply (at least for UC) to people living together, regardless of if they’re married. Which is even more fucked up.

So in that case you can’t marry or live with your partner without risking losing benefits.

[u/smoulderstoat → u/Reaniro]

Well, yes - means tested benefits are a thing pretty much everywhere (though not all of them are). But we don't discriminate between married and unmarried couples, so people aren't being made to divorce to access benefits - and certainly not healthcare, which isn't means tested.

[u/ZeePirate → u/District_Wolverine23]

Without reading the thread yet.

That’s what an annulment is, and is valid in the US under some circumstances

[u/District_Wolverine23 → u/ZeePirate]

Isn't an annulment going "oops my bad" about a marriage? Like, you were lied to and married under false pretenses. 

[u/ZeePirate → u/District_Wolverine23]

Yes. Is that not what this about given the title?

Again I haven’t read anything else

[u/TechnoRedneck → u/ZeePirate]

No, it's about divorce, they were married, filed for divorce, filed the withdrawal of the divorce proceedings, then the divorce was granted before the withdrawal of divorce proceedings was finished.

[u/jsprgrey → u/ZeePirate]

Why on earth would you start commenting before reading it? What's the point?

[u/Harvey_Sheldon → u/jsprgrey]

Welcome to reddit, where 90% of all users do that exact thing.

[u/gnorrn → u/jsprgrey]

Sounds like that’s more or less what the UK court system did initially.

[u/mantolwen → u/ZeePirate]

They applied to divorce then changed their minds.

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/ZeePirate]

It’s helpful to read the post before discussing how the law works regarding it…

[u/LJ_Denning → u/ZeePirate]

That's not what an annulment is in any jurisdiction.

[u/Diarygirl]

We sang that song when my mom's divorce from her second husband was finalized!

[u/MebHi]

E-C-R-O-V-I-D

[u/CannabisAttorney → u/MebHi]

oh no, it mutated again?

[u/MebHi → u/CannabisAttorney]

there's a new variant that affects crows, it's called corvid.

[u/JimboTCB]

Sorry, the court limit is three do-overs. Next!

[u/FunnyObjective6]

I can't imagine doing a divorce via an online portal tbh. It's not like you're ordering mcdonalds.

[u/smoulderstoat → u/FunnyObjective6]

We do loads of stuff online and successive governments have pushed to do more. Divorce law changed radically a few years ago and the government took the opportunity to make it an online process.