The Short Epic

Reply to Suzi's comment in FFS:

Yes, I did keep a copy of the paperwork and it does show that he is the petitioner which means he's the one asking for the divorce. I checked with a solicitor on the Divorce Aid pannel who said that even with his consent, for an amicable 'irreconcilable differences' jobby we have to have been seperated for 2 years before I can petition for the divorce.

On reflection I am not that upset about it. I had the chance to speak with Sunny (the international divorce lawyer that Divorce Aid put me on to) and he said that if our marriage was never registered with the UK office of births, marriages and deaths (which it wasn't) then likely my marriage wouldn't be recognised under English law.

Also, the fact that it was the US we were married in, not anywhere even remotely European means that we couldn't register the marriage here unless we were intending to live here (which we weren't.) All of this means that if the occasion should ever arise that I wanted to marry again, the fact that I've been married before, in the US would likely not even register.

That said, I don't want to leave it at that. I want to make sure the divorce is done, I want it to be over for Charlie as much as myself because he's never going to make the break if this drags on. If he hasn't got things sorted by the end of this year I shall just break off contact with him and wait until July.

I have considered contacting Dans lawyer in Montana and getting him to push it through, but it's a fair old price to do that and it may not be recognised here anyway. I want to make sure that above all else, the dissolution of the marriage is recognised in the UK, and that may mean that I end up having to register the marriage and divorce at the same time.