Have you been married for less than 2 years and want a divorce? In this article, we have shared the requirements that you need to know about divorcing less than 2 years into your marriage, what you need to present to the court and how family lawyers can help you.

Divorce lawyers will not only be able to advise you with regards to divorce law, they can ensure that all the steps you need to take to satisfy the court to the extent that it grants a divorce, are fulfilled properly.

When Are The 2 Years Calculated From?

Obviously, the premise of a divorce is that it ends your marriage, but there are certain technicalities that you need to be wary of. Divorce is a legal process of terminating a marriage or marital union and it usually takes place after the couple who are filing for a divorce have been married for more than two years.

The two years are going to be calculated from the date the spouses married to the date they have applied to the court for divorce. Before applying for a divorce, it is pivotal for the spouses to remain separate for at least 12 months.

Is it Possible to Apply for a Divorce Before 2 Years?

It is possible to apply for a divorce before 2 years have elapsed however, in order to do so, you have to either:

  1. Go to counselling along with a family or nominated counsellor to see whether you have a chance to reconcile with your spouse.

OR

  1. If you haven’t attended counselling, get the court’s permission to apply for a divorce.

Requirements for Counselling

To attend a session for counselling before applying for a divorce, you will have to:

  • Make an appointment with your counsellor.
  • Have your former spouse accompany you to the counselling session. Share the time and the place of the counselling appointment with your spouse beforehand. If they cannot attend, an appointment of a different time period will be made. If possible, separate appointments can be made at different venues, especially if your partner lives somewhere outside the city area, for instance.
  • Attend the counselling session. When attending the session, you can discuss reconciliation with the counsellor. Once the session is over, you’ll be given a certificate by the counsellor which is proof that that you had attended the counselling session and thought about a reconciliation.

If the attempted reconciliation was unsuccessful, then have the certificate filed along with your divorce application.

Applying Without the Need for Counselling

Applying for a divorce without counselling is possible, but you will have to explain to the court why you didn’t consider counselling. For this, you’ll need to either:

  • Explain the circumstances when applying
  • Seek the court’s permission for a divorce application by filing an affidavit

What’s an Affidavit?

An affidavit is written permission that’s prepared by a witness or a third party. It’s the only way you can present evidence to the court regarding why you didn’t attend counselling. You have to affirm or swear the affidavit before a legalised or authorised personnel, such as a divorce lawyer.

A divorce will not be granted successfully unless a certificate has been filed along with the application, which states that the parties have thought about reconciliation. This is after getting an approved family counsellor’s assistance and them signing to confirm it.