How Long Can a Spouse Drag Out a Divorce in England and Wales?

By Garry SteedmanPublished 24 September 2026Last reviewed 24 September 202614 mins read14 sections

Part of: Divorce Specialists

How long can a spouse drag out a divorce? UK law differs by nation, but in England and Wales the minimum is about 26 weeks, and an unwilling spouse usually adds weeks, or at most a few months, on top. Nobody can refuse a divorce any more. The court must treat the statement that the marriage has broken down as conclusive evidence (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s.1(3)). That leaves delay as the only lever, and our divorce specialists see spouses pull it in two places: service of the papers, and money.

If you are the one left waiting, it can feel as if your life is on hold. This guide covers England and Wales only. It sets out the fixed timetable, the stalling moves the court sees most often, and what you can ask a judge to do about each one.

Reviewed by: Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist, Kabir Family Law

How long can a spouse drag out a divorce in practice?

Start with the minimum. No divorce in England and Wales can finish in under about 26 weeks, however willing both of you are. So the honest question is not whether your spouse can delay things, but by how much. In most cases they cost you a few weeks over service. Sometimes it is two or three months, if they dispute the application or disappear. Delays that run into years almost always come from the finances, not from the divorce itself.

Dragging out a divorce means using procedure to stretch a timetable the law has already fixed. In practice that means ignoring papers, arguing about service, going quiet on a joint application, or stalling on financial disclosure. It does not mean stopping the divorce, because since 2022 nobody has that power.

Three things decide how long the delay lasts: whether your spouse responds to the papers, whether they have any real ground to dispute, and whether they are open about money. Each one has a fix. However, each fix needs an application to the court rather than another reminder by email.

What is the shortest a divorce can take?

The timetable is set by statute. Only the court can shorten it, and only in a particular case (s.1(8)). GOV.UK and the Act set out these five stages. The two waiting periods run on the calendar, whatever your spouse does.

1. The court issues the application. One of you applies, or you apply jointly. In a sole application the court sends the papers to your spouse, who then has 14 days to respond (Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 7.7).
2. Twenty weeks pass. Nobody can apply for the conditional order until 20 weeks after the proceedings start (s.1(5)). Our guide to the 20-week reflection period explains what this time is for.
3. A judge makes the conditional order. The court checks the paperwork first, then pronounces the order.
4. Six weeks and a day pass. GOV.UK says to wait at least 43 days after the conditional order before applying to make it final (s.1(4)).
5. The final order ends the marriage. Apply within 12 months of the conditional order, or you will have to explain the delay (rule 7.19). Many couples hold off until the money is settled, because pension and inheritance rights can change the moment the marriage ends.

Where can a spouse drag out the divorce?

Every move a spouse uses to drag out a divorce sits at one of six points. The table shows what each one usually costs you in time, and what you can ask the court to do about it.

What if my spouse ignores the divorce papers?

Silence is the cheapest way for a spouse to drag out a divorce. It is also the easiest to beat. Your spouse has 14 days from service to file an acknowledgement of service. Divorce papers that go unanswered stall the case until the court accepts they arrived, but they do not end it. Part 6 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 gives the court several ways round the problem.

1. Check how the papers went out. The court can serve by post or by email (rule 6.4), so find out what it sent, and where.
2. Apply for deemed service. Divorce papers can count as served if you show they reached your spouse, for example through a reply from that email address (rule 6.16).
3. Ask for service another way. With good reason, the court can allow another method or place, such as a work address or a messaging account your spouse actively uses (rule 6.19).
4. Arrange personal service. A process server can hand over the papers, although you must not do it yourself (rule 6.5). Alternatively, the D89 form asks a court bailiff to hand the papers to your spouse in person.
5. Ask the court to dispense with service. If serving by any method is impracticable, the court can let the divorce continue without it (rule 6.20). It is a last resort, and the judge will want evidence of your search.

What do these service requests cost?

A request for deemed, alternative or dispensed service is a general application within the divorce, and form D11 is the form for it. The GOV.UK family court fee list puts a general application made without notice at £62, and a bailiff request at £47. Each route needs evidence, so choose the right one first time. Handled early, silence usually delays the divorce by weeks, not months.

Can a spouse drag out the divorce at the order stages?

Only for a while. In a joint application, your spouse may simply stop replying when it is time to apply for the final order. GOV.UK confirms you can apply for the final order as a sole applicant, even if you started the divorce together. You must first give your spouse 14 days’ notice (rule 7.19(2)).

In a sole application, the person who applied may never ask for the final order. The other spouse can then apply once three months have passed after the earliest date the applicant could have applied (s.9(2)). GOV.UK puts that at 3 months, 6 weeks and 1 day after the conditional order, using an application notice and a £195 fee. The court then decides whether to make the order final.

Can a spouse stop the divorce altogether?

No. The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 removed the old defended divorce. A respondent can only dispute for a legal reason, and unhappiness about the divorce is not one of them. So a spouse can drag out a divorce with a dispute, but cannot defeat it on that basis.

GOV.UK’s example of a legal reason is a spouse who lives abroad and says the courts of England and Wales have no power over the case. Your spouse must file an answer within 21 days of the acknowledgement deadline (rule 7.7), and GOV.UK puts the fee at £240. The court must then list a case management hearing within six weeks (rule 7.14). If the dispute fails, the divorce carries on, and the court can make any costs order it thinks just (rule 28.1).

Why do the finances outlast the divorce?

The final order ends a marriage. It does not end claims about income, property or pensions, and a former spouse can bring those claims years later unless a court order dismisses them. In Wyatt v Vince [2015] UKSC 14, a claim made 19 years after the divorce was allowed to proceed. So a spouse who wants to drag out a divorce has far more room in the financial case than in the divorce itself.

The usual tactics are thin disclosure, missed deadlines and late valuations. Before the first appointment, each of you can send the other a questionnaire asking for missing information and documents (Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 9). A judge can also order disclosure, set a timetable, and make an unless order if a party still does not comply (rule 4.1). The court can draw conclusions from a party’s silence, too (Prest v Petrodel [2013] UKSC 34). Our guide to managing divorce financial disclosure explains what each of you must hand over.

People often ask which assets cannot be split. In fact, no asset is automatically off the table. Property from before the marriage, or from an inheritance or gift, is not normally shared, but it can still be used to meet needs (Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26). Our guide to financial settlement after divorce explains how the court approaches the split.

What does the delay cost you while you wait?

Waiting is not free. Pension valuations go out of date, mortgage offers lapse, and costs climb on both sides. For that reason, GOV.UK says that if you want a legally binding arrangement for money and property, you must apply for it before you apply for the final order.

If the delay leaves you short of money now, interim options exist. They include maintenance while the divorce runs (s.22), and a legal services order that funds your legal help from the wealthier spouse’s resources (s.22ZA). Once terms are agreed, a consent order turns them into a binding order.

Do arguments about the children delay the divorce?

Not directly. Arrangements for children are a separate application under the Children Act 1989, so the divorce can finish while that case runs. Before applying, you usually have to attend a mediation information and assessment meeting, unless an exemption applies (Children and Families Act 2014, s.10). Even so, a dispute over the children can stretch the whole separation and feed into the money arguments. So it helps to plan both tracks together.

Why do some spouses drag out a divorce?

Usually for one of three reasons. Some people are not ready to accept that the marriage is over. Others hope delay will wear you down, so that you settle for less. A few use delay as part of a wider pattern of control.

The reason matters, because it changes the right response. Patience and mediation can help a spouse who is struggling. Firm court deadlines suit a spouse who is playing for time. And if the delay is part of abusive or controlling behaviour, your safety comes first. Protective orders are a separate route, and you can raise them at your consultation.

What can the court do about a spouse who drags out a divorce?

More than most people expect. The court can act on its own initiative (rule 4.3), but in practice most of these steps begin when one of you asks.

• Treat the papers as served, or order service another way, so silence stops working.
• Let the case continue once you prove service, without waiting for an acknowledgement.
• Fix a timetable for financial information, with an unless order behind it.
• Draw conclusions about assets a party has hidden or refused to explain.
• In the financial case, order a party to pay costs because of how they behaved in the proceedings (rule 28.3).
• Let the other spouse apply for the final order once the three-month wait has passed.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a spouse drag out a divorce if they refuse to respond?

Usually a few weeks, and rarely more than a couple of months. Your spouse has 14 days to respond. Once you prove the papers reached them, the court can let the case continue without their acknowledgement. Meanwhile, the 20-week period keeps running, so a silent spouse often costs less time than people fear.

What evidence helps if my spouse ignores the papers?

Anything that shows the papers reached them, such as a reply from their email address, a read receipt or a message that mentions the divorce. With that, the court can treat the papers as served. Without it, you can ask for service another way, or for a court bailiff to deliver them in person.

Can my spouse stop the divorce altogether?

No. They can only dispute it for a legal reason, such as the courts of England and Wales having no power over the case. They cannot argue that the marriage is fine. The court takes the statement of irretrievable breakdown as conclusive, so the realistic effect of any dispute is delay rather than a different result.

What if my spouse will not apply for the final order?

You can apply yourself once three months have passed after the earliest date they could have applied. GOV.UK puts that at 3 months, 6 weeks and 1 day after the conditional order. The court then decides whether to make the order final.

What is the biggest mistake during a divorce?

Ending the marriage without settling the money. A final order leaves financial claims open, so a former spouse can come back years later. The next most common mistake is waiting politely while your spouse drags out the divorce, instead of asking the court for a timetable.

Who loses most in a divorce?

Often the person who waits. Delay burns savings, keeps both of you tied to a joint mortgage, and pushes up costs on both sides. Conduct only affects the split where it would be unfair to ignore it (s.25(2)(g)), so stalling seldom changes the split itself. It can, however, lead to a costs order.

Can I afford to separate from my husband?

It may be more possible than it feels. The court can order maintenance while the divorce runs. It can also make a legal services order, so the wealthier spouse pays for the other’s legal help when that help is otherwise out of reach. Both need an application and evidence of your finances, so early advice on which to use matters.

Is your spouse dragging out the divorce? Take the next step this week

Every week of waiting is a week the court could already be dealing with. Perhaps your spouse will not acknowledge the papers, has gone quiet on a joint application, or is sitting on financial information. Either way, the next move is usually an application, and the right one depends on your facts. Book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. You can also read how our divorce specialists assist and advise.

Expert Tip

Families often ask us whether a spouse who ignores the papers can stop a divorce. They cannot, but they can stretch the timetable while you wait and hope. Keep every sign that the papers arrived, such as a read receipt, a reply or a message mentioning the divorce. That evidence is what a deemed service request rests on. If two reminders have gone unanswered, ask the court rather than sending a third.

Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA)