The reason for divorce - does it matter?

Hello again,

We had a mediation session today and whilst there was still no financial agreement as my offers (see other postings for details) remain ''unethical'' there was an interesting development.

When mediators asked what the date of separation was I suggested the date when stbx left house (May 2012) Stbx suggested July 2010.

I said ok.

I appreciate Stbx may be going down the 2 yr with consent route but whilst it is not wholly true am I at a disadvantage if I agree to it?

Would it affect finances, or anything else that might have a bearing on my future?

If it means getting a divorce quicker that''s great. However, if it means I am disadvantaged as a result then I don''t want to agree.

Your thoughts are always welcome. Thank you.

The grounds for divorce have no bearing on the finances. The grounds used are there to demonstrate to the Court and Judge that the marriage has irretrievably broken down; which is the only legal reason for granting a divorce.

Your paperwork relating to the divorce is only seen by the parties, their sols and the court staff and after a time it is destroyed anyway. The Decree Absolute won''t state the reasons/grounds used in the Petition, its a rather dry piece of paper that simply states the facts, ie the marriage has been legally ended.

Using 2 years separation as grounds is simply stating a fact, if you chose to not agree, then your x2b could well use Unreasonable Behaviour, in which allegations of your behaviour are made - far worse to read that in black and white than to read the fact of 2 years separation.

No. From what I understand, it is incredibly rare for the basis for divorce to be considered as a factor when it comes to the financial settlement. The very rare occurrences tend to be when ''unreasonable behaviour'' is cited of the nature of (a) gambling away the family money or (b) domestic violence.

(But I''m not a lawyer, I''m only speaking from what I''ve read. One of the wikipeeps will be along shortly!)

Edit. And while I was typing that, Ruby was already answering, far more comprehensively than I could have done!

I''ve said it before and here I am saying it again.

The people on this site are amazing. Don''t know where I''d be without Wikivorce.

Thank you.

There may be some implication on costs, I think UB or Adultery because they are ''fault'' based means that you as the Respondant may end up picking up the costs.
The two year seperation does not necessarily mean the point in time when one of you left. It can apply to a point in time where you stopped living a shared existance, but happened to be in the same property.

LB

It is rare to cite conduct in financial proceedings but not unheard of. Gambling addiction seems to be the most common reason to use for divorce and to cite as conduct in financial proceedings for obvious reasons.

Charles