The Process If Your Ex-Partner Does Not Respond To The Court Once You Have Started Divorce Proceedings By Submitting Your Sole Divorce Application Form D8 Or You Do Not Know Where They Are
If you have started divorce proceedings by submitting the divorce application form D8 by yourself as a sole applicant, you will now be referred to as the applicant and your ex-partner will be referred to as the respondent.
Once the court receives your sole divorce application form D8, they will send your ex-partner –
- A court stamped copy of your form D8.
- A notice of divorce proceedings form D9H.
- And an acknowledgement of service form D10.
How your ex-partner receives the above documents, whether by email or post, will depend upon whether you submitted your divorce application form D8 by post or online.
Once your ex-partner receives the above correspondence from the court they must complete form D10 and return it to the court by post or online within 14 days. If your ex-partner has a solicitor, they must return form D10 within 14 days also.
In most cases, your ex-partner will reply. However, when your ex-partner doesn’t return their form D10 what do you do? This page will guide you through the process. You can take the following steps.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D8
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D10
STEP 1 – BE PATIENT FOR A WHILE AND TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR EX-PARTNER IF IT IT SAFE TO DO SO.
If you submitted your divorce application form D8 by post the court will send you a letter informing you if your ex-partner has not returned their form D10. If you submitted your divorce application form D8 online then the court will email you if your ex-partner has not returned their form D10.
If it is safe to do so, please contact your ex-partner first, ask them what is happening and try and get an indication when they will return their form D10. Please remember although your ex-partner has 14 days to reply, they may need more time to perhaps to hire a solicitor, get some advice, or find the time sit down and complete the forms.
STEP 2 – YOU CAN GIVE THE COURT AN ALTERNATIVE EMAIL OR POSTAL ADDRESS FOR YOUR EX-PARTNER (FORM D11 – FEE £167)
If your ex-partner has still not returned their form D10 it may be because they have not received the court paperwork, in other words they have not been served. In this case you can ask the court if you can give them an alternative email or postal address for your ex-partner so the court can try to serve them again.
If all you have is an alternative email address only then you will need to ask permission from the court to send the divorce paperwork via this email. The application form you will need to complete and submit to ask for this permission is called form D11. You will need to send this form by post. Please click on the link below where you can access this form and it will inform you how to complete it.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
STEP 3 – YOU CAN SERVE YOUR EX-PARTNER USING A COURT BAILIFF OR PROCESS SERVER (FORM D89 – FEE £45.00)
After a few weeks, if your ex-partner has not replied or you feel they are wasting time and using avoidance tactics, you can send (serve) your ex-partner the divorce paperwork using a court bailiff. You can do this by downloading, completing, and submitting form D89 – request for bailiff service – to the court. Please note you must write a description of your ex-partner on the form and attach a photo if possible. You must make 2 copies of your completed form D89 and post it to the court.
You can also hire a process server to serve your ex-partner but this will be at your own cost.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D89
Once your ex-partner has been given (served) the divorce paperwork, the court bailiff or process server will complete a document called a certificate of service form FP6 which you or they need to send to the court as proof your ex-partner has been served the divorce paperwork.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM FP6
STEP 4a – YOU CAN APPLY TO THE COURT FOR DEEMED SERVICE (FORM D11 – FEE £50.00)
If your ex-partner has still not returned their form D10 even after they have received them (they have been served), you can apply to the court for deemed service. This means you are asking the court to proceed with the divorce without your ex-partner’s approval. You will need to explain to the court why you are asking for this, what steps have you taken to send (serve) the divorce paperwork to your ex-partner and what proof do you have your ex-partner has been given (served) the divorce paperwork.
To apply for ‘deemed service’ you will need to use application form D11. This website has a Help Guide for form D11. Once you have read this page, you can click on the link below to access form D11 where it will go into detail how to complete it. The topics covered are –
- What is form D11 used for?
- Are there any government or our own L.I.P Help Guides or write ups to help you complete form D11?
- What is the fee to send form D11 to the court and how to pay for it?
- How to complete form D11 and where to send it.
- Where can you find form D11/download this form?
- When was form D11 first published and last updated?
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
STEP 4b – YOU CAN APPLY TO THE COURT TO DISPENSE WITH SERVICE – YOU CAN ASK FOR THIS IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR EX-PARTNER IS (FORM D13B – FEE £50.00)
If your ex-partner has not been sent or given (served) the divorce paperwork because you have not been able to or you do not know where they are, you can apply to the court to proceed with the divorce without your ex-partner being given (served) the divorce paperwork. This is called to dispense with service. You have to satisfy the court that you have made every possible effort to contact your ex-partner. Only if the court is satisfied will they go ahead with the divorce without your ex-partner receiving (being served) the divorce paperwork. The form you will need to complete and submit to do this is form D13B. Please click on the link below to access this form where you will be given details how to complete it.