Introduction Where you and your spouse are able to agree upon the manner in which your marriage is to be dissolved, including the proprietary, patrimonial, maintenance and other issues relating to your divorce, getting divorced can be a fairly painless, quick and cost-effective procedure for both of you, and you can jointly appoint an attorney to assist you with the formalities. Legal procedure Once you have reached a verbal agreement with your spouse, this will need to be reduced to writing and signed by both of you. Where there are minor children involved, you are also required to enter into a parenting agreement setting out the primary residence of the minor children, care and contact arrangements and maintenance for the children. It is best to have this drafted by an attorney specialising in family law matters to ensure the correct format and terminology is employed in accordance with the relevant legislation and that the parenting agreement is properly endorsed by the office of the family advocate. Once these formalities have been complied with, your attorney will draft a summons naming either you or your spouse as the plaintiff and the other party as the defendant. This is then issued out of the relevant court and served on the defendant by the Sheriff. The court rules require the lapse of a period of ten days after service before you can apply to the registrar of the court for a date on the unopposed roll. Upon application it takes approximately three to six weeks to obtain a date on the unopposed roll. Only the Plaintiff need appear in court on the day to give evidence before the judge and the actual divorce process takes only a matter of minutes.