1. 1. You will need to complete  a divorce petition form, detailing  your reasons for applying for a divorce.
   2. You will need to get a ‘decree nisi’. You can obtain one of these fairly quickly, if your spouse is in agreement with your reasons for divorce but, if they dispute them, you will have to attend  a court hearing.
   3. Once you have your decree nisi, you can apply for a ‘decree absolute’ – this is the final stage in completing a divorce in the UK. You can apply for this six weeks after you have received your decree nisi.

The time it takes to get a divorce varies, depending on the circumstances of the divorce and how long it takes for the Courts to process your paperwork. A divorce could be granted in as little as 6 months, but in many divorce cases takes around 12 months.

When a spouse refuses to sign divorce papers, the spouse (Applicant) seeking a divorce will need to apply for a contested divorce. To file a contested divorce, the party who wishes to obtain the divorce must file a petition in the family court in their jurisdiction. Once the divorce becomes contested, a hearing must take place in order to establish the reasons for contesting the divorce, and for the court to resolve those reasons.