Jewish Divorce Solicitors

A Get is the document used to bring a marriage to an end under Jewish law. The relevant Beth Din or religious authority deals with that religious process. A civil divorce is a separate court process that ends a legally recognised marriage under the law of England and Wales.

Completing one process does not automatically complete the other. We can advise on the civil proceedings and how their timing may affect your position. Our guide to Jewish divorce and the Get explains the distinction in more detail.

A civil final order does not itself dissolve a marriage under Jewish law. Whether you need a Get, and which religious authority should deal with it, depends on your circumstances and religious requirements. Obtain guidance from the appropriate Beth Din or religious adviser.

We can review the civil divorce documents and advise on any outstanding legal issues, including financial claims. If your final order has already been made, tell us: legal options that depend on postponing that order will no longer be available in the same way.

We do not write or issue a Get or decide whether the religious requirements have been met. Those matters are for the relevant religious authority. Our role is to advise on your civil legal rights and the relationship between the two processes.

We can help you consider the timing of the civil divorce, review relevant documents and address financial or child-related disputes. With your authority, communication with a religious adviser may help clarify practical arrangements, while keeping the civil and religious roles distinct.

Seek advice from the relevant Beth Din about the religious process and from a family solicitor about the civil position. Section 10A of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 may allow the court to postpone making a conditional divorce order final in qualifying Jewish divorce cases until the required steps for religious dissolution have been taken.

This is a discretionary safeguard, not a power to grant or compel a Get. The court must consider whether an order is just and reasonable. Obtain advice promptly, particularly if a conditional order has been made or an application for a final order is imminent.

Do not assume there is one correct sequence for every case. The progress of the Get, your financial position and any need to seek a section 10A order should be considered before the civil order becomes final.

Where the court has made a section 10A order, the required declaration and procedural requirements must be addressed before the conditional order is made final. Our divorce solicitors can explain the civil implications and help you plan the next step alongside advice from your religious authority.

A Get addresses religious marital status; it does not automatically create an enforceable English financial settlement. A private agreement reached during religious discussions may also need separate legal advice and an appropriate court order.

The home, pensions, savings, maintenance and business interests should be considered within the civil financial process. We can advise on an appropriate financial settlement and whether court approval is needed to make agreed terms binding.

A ketubah has religious significance, but obligations in it are not automatically enforceable under English civil law. Whether a claim can be brought depends on the wording, the circumstances and the relevant legal principles.

We can review the document and explain whether it raises contractual or financial-remedy issues. If you are legally married, it may also be relevant to the wider financial case. Do not agree to surrender civil financial rights without understanding the consequences.

Religious status and civil recognition need separate consideration. An overseas Get or religious certificate does not, by itself, establish that a divorce is recognised in England and Wales. The country, procedure, legal effect and parties’ connections may be important.

We can review your marriage and divorce documents and explain the recognition questions, including whether advice from a lawyer in the overseas country is needed. Seek advice before remarriage or a financial application where the position is uncertain.

The Get does not replace the civil-law framework for children’s welfare, parental responsibility or child arrangements. You may need separate advice about where children live, the time they spend with each parent, schooling or travel.

Our family law team can help you assess the available legal routes and whether an agreement or court application is appropriate. Children’s arrangements should not be treated as a bargaining tool in discussions about a Get.

Withholding a religious divorce can form part of coercive or controlling behaviour. Threats or pressure to make financial or child-related concessions should be assessed in the context of your safety and civil legal rights.

Depending on the facts, we can advise on protective injunctions, safe arrangements for children and the interaction with divorce proceedings. A refusal does not automatically establish a criminal offence; any potential criminal-law issue needs a separate assessment. In an emergency, call 999.