Getting a divorce in the UK

Is it possiable for an American woman married in the USA to get a divorce in the UK or would she need to keep going back for court?

Not positive here, but Im pretty sure she'd have to come back to the states to finalize a divorce.

edited after sleep to say...goes to show me how tired I was, I didnt even read your post right!   

She would have to be living in the UK to file for divorce here.  Once the papers were filed she would not necesarily need to keep coming here, depending on how complicated the divorce was and whether she would need to appear in court, but she would certainly need to retain a solicitor here to deal with it for her.

If the divorce weren't contested and there's an agreement to custody/division of assets, she'd probably never have to go to court in the US. Best to consult with a solicitor here though first. They might tell you that the courts here might not want to deal with it if the would be ex is is not resident here as well.

It will probably cost more to do it here too if you compare fees with the exchange rates. Uncontested here will run in the range of £800+, while in the states it might be $800+.

my divorce in the USA cost me $75.00, I filed myself, took 3 months. I got sole custody by default and we didn't have anything to split.

DH did his here and it took almost a year and cost over £2000.00

I did my divorce here myself, there were no assets & no kids - it took about 4-5 months and all I paid was a filing fee and another fee at the end, I forget how much it came to but I'm sure it wasn't more than about £100 at the most, definitely nowhere near £2000.

well it might have helped the price along since his exwitch was trying to force me back to the USA trying to keep the completion date passed my visa expiration........


hehehe the IOM government here let me stay past my visa expirey date...FOILED!


every letter every phone call cost about £25 each time..that was back in '99

In doing a tiny bit of research, I found the following:  The law does not permit divorces in the first year of marriage on newcomer link: http://www.divorce.co.uk/frame.htm [nonactive] .  And also:  Over 70% of divorces are granted on either adultery or unreasonable behaviour. This is probably because most people want to get on with the divorce rather than wait for the two year period to expire.

So...is this website suggesting that one spouse fib a bit to get out of the two year period?  Even if one of us did that, it looks like divorce in the first year isn't allowed anyway..??

Oh...if you didn't read my original post, it's here:  newcomer link: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=23947.0 [nonactive]

Does anyone have any links they might be able to give me in filing for divorce?  I didn't know that you could do it yourself.  I'm assuming that by doing it yourself you are bypassing the need for a solicitor?

yes well David ex was able to file on grounds of adultery with a "uhmm" unamed person that shall rename nameless!

Most people do, er manipulate the facts somewhat if they don't want to wait the 2 years.   I wouldn't recommend you DIY unless you are doing the 2 years separation divorce which is very straightforward. 

I am sorry to hear your situation. It is a mind numbing experience. I can't offer any advice but wish you a smooth transition. Well I just saw Britwife's post and I would agree don't DIY.

And also:  Over 70% of divorces are granted on either adultery or unreasonable behaviour. This is probably because most people want to get on with the divorce rather than wait for the two year period to expire.

So...is this website suggesting that one spouse fib a bit to get out of the two year period?  Even if one of us did that, it looks like divorce in the first year isn't allowed anyway..??

I reckon that 70% is probably correct as there are few marriage breakdowns that are amiable.