Terry & Co.

Divorce - the 'Acknowledgement of Service'

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

The "Acknowledgment of Service" is the document which is sent by the court to the Respondent at the same time as the divorce petition and which the Respondent is requested to complete and return to the court. Most of the document is quite straightforward and causes no problems. Essentially, the Respondent is asked to answer the following questions and to sign and return the document to the court:-

  1. Have you received the divorce petition?
  2. On which date and at which address did you receive it?
  3. Are you the person named as the Respondent in the petition?
  4. Do you intend to defend the case?
  5. Do you admit the (adultery, unreasonable behaviour etc)?
  6. Even if you do not intend to defend the case do you object to paying the cost of the proceedings?
  7. Have you received a copy of the Statement of Arrangements for the children? Do you agree with the proposals?

 

How to answer these questions very frequently causes concern (just as the wording of the divorce petition does) and it is delay on the part of the Respondent in dealing with the divorce petition because of his/her doubts about the wording of the divorce petition and how to complete the Acknowledgment of Service that often causes delay to the timetable of the divorce. If these doubts are resolved quickly (or, indeed, explained even before the documents are received) it can speed matters along considerably. It is also a good thing in itself that people know exactly what is happening and why.

 

In practice only points (4) to (7) cause any difficulty and the other three are self explanatory. It may, however, perhaps be worth mentioning that the Respondent cannot stop the divorce simply by not returning the Acknowledgment of Service. If he/she does not do so within a reasonable time scale what is likely to happen is that another copy of the petition will be served personally by a court bailiff or the petitioner's solicitor or there may be alternative methods of service. If this happens it will inevitably incur extra costs which the Respondent will almost certainly be asked (or made) to pay. It is, therefore, usually a bad idea not to send the Acknowledgment of Service back to the court if the Respondent just wants to frustrate the divorce. Not returning the Acknowledgment for that reason is rarely a sensible course of action.

 

Hardly any divorces are defended for the very good reasons that (a) the presentation of a divorce petition is a fairly clear indication that the marriage has broken down and (b) because it can cost a lot of money to do so with no obvious benefit to be gained at the end of the day. When it is also explained to the client that agreeing to a divorce does not affect his/her rights in respect of the property and/or children most people see the sense of agreeing not to defend. It more convenient and cheaper in the great majority of cases although one should not agree until the subject of costs has also been dealt with.

 

Again, many people hesitate about whether they should "admit" unreasonable behaviour or adultery. The fact of the matter is that one cannot get a divorce (on these two grounds) unless the court is satisfied that the grounds exist and the easiest (and cheapest) means of proving that is an admission. If the behaviour or adultery were not admitted it would have to be proved by means of evidence and this could soon incur considerable cost - again for no especial benefit. The point to remember is that the reason for the divorce (in 95% of cases) does not affect any other issue - whether to do with children or property. So the admission can safely be made in the knowledge that neither of these other two issues is being prejudiced. In the case that there might be some anxiety about this it would be possible to limit the uses of the admission to obtaining the divorce only and making it clear that the facts would have to be proved in any other proceedings. This is sometimes advisable.

 

It is usually the case that the Respondent is ordered to pay the costs of the divorce and so it is not normally sensible to return the Acknowledgment until agreement has been reached on this (although one should be careful not to delay so long that the Petitioner is able to proceed anyway). One should also be aware that merely indicating that you intend to defend the divorce does not automatically mean that the divorce will not still proceed as undefended and that the Respondent will be ordered to pay the costs. This does trip people up and so most Respondents do need advice at this point.

 

The final worry is whether by agreeing to the "Statement of Arrangements" the Respondent is in some way giving away rights over the children. This not the case although this question does cause a great deal of anxiety. In fact, the Statement of Arrangements form is designed to show to the court that there are arranagements in place for the children. It is sufficient if those arranagements are in general terms. The form is designed for information purposes only. It is not intended to be a binding contract. Normally it is best if mother and father agree the arrangements about the children between themselves with no interference from anyone else and that is what happens in the majority of cases. If father and mother do disagree about some question relating to the children in the future either of them can bring it back to the court for decision regardless of what was in the Statement of Arrangements. Neither party (nor any child) loses any right as a result of agreeing to the Statement of Arrangements now. In fact, it can often be sensible to agree to it even though it may contain something that one is not entirely happy with because many of these things can be resolved satisfactorily over time. If they are not then both parents will always retain the right to ask the court to decide.

 

It can be seen why the questions which are raised by receiving the divorce petition and the Acknowledgment of Service often need the help of a solicitor. Although these things are simple and can be explained if one is familiar with them they are not regarded (and quite naturally) in this way by a person who is reading them for the first time. It is the receipt of these documents which often prompts people to seek legal advice about a divorce for the first time and they usually have to be explained carefully.

 

Please contact David Terry at David_Terry@dterry.demon.co.uk if you need specific advice. Many of the "technicalities" which are familiar to lawyers on the various papers relating to divorce are confusing to people who read them for the first time and the explanation is by no means always obvious. Explaining their significance usually requires legal help and reassurance.