Ang 5 years separation is one of five available grounds for divorce that you can use to show why your marriage has irretrievably broken down in England or Wales (UK).

Kung may magandang usapan or agreement na mag file ng divorce and parties are in contact and in good terms, mas mapapadali nito to end your marriage with no hostility or blaming one another.

It gives you an opportunity to obtain a quick divorce without needing to attend court or instruct expensive solicitors. This is the simplest way to reduce the cost of your divorce. Dahil kung may mga hearings pa yan, mas magiging mahal ang gastos.

Pero paano kung hindi mo alam kung saan na nakatira ang ex mo? There can be complications to using 5 years separation as your reason for divorce if you don’t have an address for your spouse or they are unlikely to cooperate.

It’s important to stress that even without the consent or agreement from your spouse, the divorce can be granted when based on 5 years separation, you may just be required to jump through another procedural hoop.

• If your ex-partner won’t cooperate – “hindi ako mag sa sign!”
• If you don’t have an address for your spouse – hindi mo alam saan na sya nakatira
• If you have an address for your husband or wife
• If you want to deal with your finances after divorce

Isang maling akala na you can just get an automatic divorce after five years of separation without your spouse being involved. Hindi ka pwedeng ma divorce without the other party being notified.

If you can’t locate your ex-partner then you must show the court that you have done your utmost to find them.

This does mean that unfortunately, there is no such thing as an automatic divorce, even if you have been separated 15+ years.

On April 6 2022, the divorce law in England and Wales is changing, giving way for a divorce without fault. This change is designed to end the blame game and allows couples to get divorced with reduced acrimony and souring of relationships.

Under the new law, separating couples will no longer have to rely on one of the ‘five facts’ to prove the ground for divorce – the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship. Instead, the new law will encourage a more constructive approach to separation, promoting reconciliation and reflection where possible but ultimately trusting the judgment of the couple involved.

1) If your ex-partner won’t cooperate

Kung ang ex mo ay ayaw maki cooperate sa divorce, then you’ll need to prove to the court that they have been served with the divorce petition.

You will need to ask the court to serve them personally or hire a private process server to serve the papers to your spouse. This sounds complicated to most people, but it’s a very straightforward step.

Once your ex-partner has been served by either of these services, you can then submit a statement of service and your decree nisi application.

This will prove to the court that your spouse has personally been served the divorce petition, which means that you can continue with your divorce proceedings.

2) If you don’t have an address for your spouse

Kelangan bigyan mo ng right ang ex mo na sumagot sa divorce petition na nai-file mo, regardless if you have been separated for 10+ years.

Kaya kelangan na maipakita mo sa korte na ginawa mo ang magagawa mo to find out where your ex lives through a range of different means, e.g. social media, family, friends and sometimes even national records.

This is where getting a divorce based on 5 years separation becomes more stressful and costly.

There are 3 valid options available for you to follow if you don’t have an address for your husband or wife;

1. Apply for a court order against a government department to give up the address of your spouse if they are believed to be in the UK.
2. Apply to dispense with service if your spouse lives abroad. You still must show that you’ve tried to locate your spouse in this situation.
3. If you know the address of a close relative or work colleague, you can ask the court for the divorce papers to be served via someone else.

DISCLAIMER: All information posted is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for a professional advise. Should you decide to act upon on the information on this website, you do so at your own risk.

Do you want to instruct me? Please send me a brief explanation of your case or send any relevant document to my email: donm@queensparksolicitors.co.uk and let me see if I can help you or not. If we know we can give you advise, we will ask you to avail our telephone consultation for only £120 for 60 minutes or £75 for 30 minutes.

We are Queen’s Park Solicitors. I am a lawyer based in London, UK. My name is Atty. Lindoven Magsino, BSc, MBA, GDL, LLM, Ph.D. (candidate). We are based at Suite 4, Stewart House, 56 Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex IG11 8RT, United Kingdom | Telephone: 02036437508 | Mobile: 07446888377 | Fax: 02033931725 | Email: donm@queensparksolicitors.co.uk | Regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) 566513. Visit us at http://www.queensparksolicitors.co.uk.