Divorce Petition Issued Over 10 Years Ago

[Lindiloo]

I commenced divorce proceedings back in 2006 and my husband never responded. Everything became very complicated and difficult and the divorce was left in limbo. In 2010 I asked the solicitor if it was possible to carry on with the original divorce petition and after contacting the court she confirmed it was possible. Still I was unable to communicate with my ex and so I didn’t take the matter any further. I have just paid a new solicitor £200 for a consultation in which my question was can I carry on with the original petition. All I have received from this solicitor is an estimate of fees going forward and no answer as to whether I can carry on or whether I have to pay to cancel the original petition and recommence the divorce from scratch. Can anyone tell me whether there is any case law relating to this issue. Obviously I would like to carry on from where the case was left and my husband is now in agreement.

*The original solicitor also requested a £200 consultation fee even though they still had my file, but I’m not disputing this I’m just pointing out it was a new solicitor.

[ULA]

Can you confirm whether you actually served the divorce petition on your husband in 2006?

[Lindiloo]

He never responded when it was originally sent to him and It was left at the point where the next stage would be to instruct a bailiff to serve the petition.

[Lindiloo]

Any comments/advice would be appreciated

[atticus]

I think your answer to ULA 's question is that the petition was not in fact served.

This article may help you: https://www.farrer.co.uk/news-and-in...0this%20period.

Although petitions issued under the ‘old law’ had no time limit for service, with the introduction of no fault divorce came a new requirement to serve the application for divorce within 28 days of issue (although it is possible to apply to the court for an extension of this period) (see Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), rr 6.6A and 6.6B).

You may do better to start again with a new application for divorce under the Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which came into force last year. There is a relatively simple procedure for agreed divorces. You can apply online - https://www.gov.uk/divorce/file-for-divorce

[Lindiloo]

Since my original post, I sent an application to the court (D11) for Deemed Service with various forms of evidence. This was rejected with a note from the judge stating 'Without a copy of the original divorce petition and proof of service the court cannot grant Decree Nisi......etc' (for the princely sum of £184!!.... not the £58 I expected to pay).
I contacted the court to discuss the matter further and was told that due to the age of the case, the file and all related correspondence had been destroyed. They suggested that I may be able to withdraw the original petition. Could anyone help with the wording I should use as I need to give notice in writing to the court that I wish to withdraw the original application for divorce. The basis for withdrawal is in their response. They won't accept that the petition was served and the court has destroyed the file and all relevant documents. I need to word this in a way that would be acceptable otherwise I'll no doubt have to pay another £184 for another D11.

[Lindiloo]

As a side note/question - Is it not court procedure to pull files before the request is presented to the judge? Am I wrong in thinking I should never have been charged for the D11 if the court had destroyed my application? I was under the impression that there was no time limit to divorce proceedings. Should I have at least had the opportunity to present a copy of the original petition? Any help would be appreciated.