If you have spent any part of the mandatory minimum 12 months period between separation and your application for divorce living in the same residence as your spouse, the court will ask you for an affidavit explaining why and how you were legally separated during that time.

An affidavit is a sworn or affirmed statement of evidence to the court. It should be in your own words. But there are important legal technicalities involved in the form of the document itself, and in describing a legally valid separation. If you don’t succeed in establishing those circumstances to the satisfaction of the court, the separation date that you propose may not be accepted (and especially if it is disputed by your former partner).

If you are making a sole application for divorce, the court will want to see an affidavit from you AND a second affidavit from one other adult person who has knowledge about the change in relationship. If you are making a joint application, both members of the couple must submit their own affidavit.

We listen to your story about the family separation, and the way your joint life changed after separation, despite that you have continued to live together. Then we draft a technically and legally compliant separation-under-one-roof affidavit that effectively conveys your circumstances to the court. We are happy to do this also for the second person’s affidavit also, but as some clients prefer to prepare the second themselves using the model we draft, the basis for this service at ordering is for ‘one affidavit’ only.

• Understanding about the relevant law about divorce and separation.
• One completed draft separation-under-one-roof affidavit suitable for filing in court with the Application for Divorce, ready for you to execute and file.
• Potentially less delay at court for technical deficits in your documentation.
• Greater likelihood of acceptance by the court of the date you propose for separation, and therefore of delay in granting your divorce.