Separation & Divorce

In Scotland, it is possible to raise a divorce action if the marriage has broken down irretrievably, or if an Interim Gender Recognition Certificate has been issued. The irretrievable breakdown of a marriage can be demonstrated in one of four ways:

1. If your spouse has committed adultery
2. If your spouse has behaved unreasonably
3. If you and your spouse have lived apart for more than one year, and both of you agree to the divorce
4. If you and your spouse have lived apart for two years

When you get divorced, you lose any financial claim you may have against your spouse, so it is very important that financial matters are dealt with before divorce proceedings are raised. This can be done by way of a written agreement, which is a legally binding contract.

For a Scottish Court to be able to consider your divorce, you or your spouse need to have lived in Scotland for the last 12 months.

If there are no children of the marriage under the age of 16, and there are no financial matters to be dealt with, you can raise what is known as a “simplified divorce”.

If there are children under 16, the Court will need to know the arrangements for the care and upbringing of the children. Sworn statements will need to be lodged with the Court as part of the divorce procedure.

We are able to offer legal aid for certain types of divorce.

Please contact our Court team for further details of how we can help.

For further advice and information on the constructive resolution of family disputes, also see the website of the Family Law Association.