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You can divorce instantly if you can establish either your spouse has behaved unreasonably, and you cannot be expected to continue living with them or that your spouse has committed adultery. Otherwise, you would require waiting one or two years before applying for divorce. If your children have been removed from their place of habitual residence (wrongful removal) you can take steps to get them back as long as the place they have been removed to is a signatory to the Convention. Likewise, if you have consented to a removal for a fixed period such as a holiday and your children are not returned ( wrongful retention) you can also take steps to have them returned. You need to act quickly and make an application through the central authority (Scottish Government) I can help you with that and to find a good lawyer in the country the children have been taken.

If it is an ordinary divorce proceeding by way of ordinary procedure i.e., if you have children or you are trying to establish grounds for divorce based on either unreasonable behaviour or adultery the process would normally take about 8-12 weeks if it is undefended. If it is defended, then the case could take as long as one year-18 months. If, however you proceed under the simplified procedure, you should be divorced within 8-12 weeks. Please note however that there is a backlog at the moment due to the global pandemic and the homeworking of court staff.

A simplified divorce in Scotland is a divorce under the simplified procedure. To divorce this way, you will require to have made sure that all property has been divided and that neither of you have any claims that you wish to make against the other. You will need to have been separated either one year and be sure that you will obtain the consent of your spouse or two years if you know they will not consent. You will also not be able to utilise simplified procedure if you have children under 16 or if your spouse has any mental health issues. Simplified divorce is exactly that. It requires completion of a form and negates the need for a writ or summons. Your spouse will be served the paperwork by the court and the court will need to be satisfied that your spouse has received the application and has consented if required.

The general rule is that assets are divided on a fair sharing basis which is generally 50% each. Firstly, you will need to ascertain which assets are included in the matrimonial pot and which are not. All assets accumulated by the efforts of one or both of the parties during the course of the marriage i.e., from the date of marriage to the date of separation are deemed to be matrimonial. It is the net assets that are divided and therefore we total the value of all assets less any debts and one half of that is a fair share of the matrimonial pot. If you are retaining an asset, for example your pension, account will be taken of that in the final division.

Divorce cases are on the rise again, up 7.5%, compared to 2017/2018. This is probably a result of the pandemic. The divorce rate in Scotland is around 33% however this does not take into account the number of co-habiting couples who also separate.