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If you are petitioning for divorce on your own account,
fill in a petition form and take it personally to the
Family Court Registry, M2, Wanchai Law Courts, Wanchai
Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Hong Kong.
If you and your spouse have agreed to jointly apply
to the court, you should together fill in a joint application
form and submit it as above.
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Unless the court allows otherwise, you can start
a petition for divorce only if you have been married
for at least 1 year.
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You must be able to prove that you have reasons
(or "grounds") for saying that the marriage
is at an end. The term the court uses is "the
marriage has irretrievably broken down".
The court will accept one or more of the following
grounds as proof:
- that your spouse has committed adultery and that
you find it intolerable to live with him / her
- that your spouse has behaved in such a way that
you cannot be reasonably expected to live with him
/ her
- that you and your spouse have lived apart for
a continuous period of at least 1 year before filing
the petition and that he / she agrees to a divorce
- that you and your spouse have lived apart for
a continuous period of at least 2 years before filing
the petition (in such a case your spouse's consent
to a divorce is not required)
- that your spouse has deserted you for a continuous
period of at least 1 year before filing the petition
In the case of a joint application, you and your
spouse must prove to the court (a) that you have lived
apart from each other for a continuous period of at
least 1 year before making the application; or (b)
that not less than 1 year prior to the making of the
application a notice (Form 2E) signed by each of such
parties was given to the court and that the notice
was not subsequently withdrawn.
If there are children of the family who are under the age of 18, you must include in your petition your proposal as to their custody and access. If you wish to apply for ancillary relief such as maintenance, transfer of property, division of matrimonial assets, etc., you should also pray so in your petition. |
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Submitting a petition or joint application for divorce
puts legal proceedings in motion, so you will find
it helpful to seek legal advice before any submission
is made.
You will particularly need a lawyer in the following
circumstances:
- your spouse does not agree to a divorce
- neither of you can agree on the arrangements
to be made for the children or on financial matters
In seeking legal advice, you may wish to take advantage
of the Legal Aid Scheme administered by the Legal
Aid Department (Tel: 2537 7677) or alternatively
choose
your own solicitor. For details, please refer to
the
"How to apply for Legal Aid in Civil Cases"
leaflet which is available at all Courts, Legal Aid
Department office and Public Enquiry Service Centres
of District Offices. Each year, the Law Society of
Hong Kong publishes a Directory of Hong Kong Law
Firms,
which includes a list of firms handling matrimonial
cases. This directory can be consulted in Public
Enquiry
Service Centres of District Offices, public libraries
and at the office of the Law Society of Hong Kong.
Please note that while the staff of the Family Court
Registry will seek to give you every assistance relating
to divorce procedures, they are not lawyers and they
are not permitted to offer legal advice.
The Duty Lawyer Service's free Legal Advice Scheme provides members of the public
with preliminary legal advice including matrimonial
law in District Offices. |
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Family mediation is a problem-solving process designed
to help couples who are divorcing or separating reach
their own mutually acceptable agreements about ongoing
arrangements for their children and / or how to resolve
financial matters.
It is a voluntary process in which a specially trained,
impartial third person, the mediator, seeks to help
both sides to communicate effectively and to negotiate
issues in dispute, all in a completely confidential
setting. You can contact the Mediation Co-ordinator's Office for enquiries.
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Petition for divorce
To start a petition, you need to fill in:
| Form 2 |
Petition |
| Form 2B |
Statement as to the arrangements for children
(if applicable) |
Form 3
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Notice of Proceedings |
| Form 4 |
Acknowledgement of Service (case number and name
of parties only) |
Joint Application
In the case of a joint application, you need to fill
in:
| Form 2C |
Joint application |
| Form 2D |
Statement as to the arrangements for children
(if applicable) |
All forms you need are available from the Family Court
Registry and may be completed in English or Chinese.
When you have filled them in, take them to the Family
Court Registry for filing, together with your original
marriage certificate or a certified true copy. The filing
fee is $630. You will be given a case number, which
must be marked on any subsequently filed documents.
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Now that legal proceedings have started, you are known
as the "petitioner" and your spouse is known
as the "respondent". After filing your petition,
you must arrange for a sealed copy of it to be served
on every other party to the proceedings, either by hand
or by post. Note that you must not serve the petition
yourself on the respondent. Instead you must use the
services of a third person or send the petition by post.
(In the case of joint applications, there is no need
to arrange for service on the other party.)
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You should next apply to the Registrar for directions
to set down the case for trial, using an application
form obtainable from the Family Court Registry. Your
petition or application will be set down for hearing
in one of the following lists:
List |
Fee |
| Special procedure list |
$630 |
| Defended list |
$1,045 |
Where a petition is concerned, before the case can
be set down the Registrar must be satisfied that the
petition has been served on the respondent. This can
be proved either by showing that respondent has completed
and returned to the Registrar a Form 4, or by having
the person who served the documents on the respondent
file an affirmation to that effect. Joint applications
will be set down provided that the relevant documents
are in order.
The Registrar will make directions on the date, place
and time of trial and will notify you and the other
parties. |
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Special Procedure List
If you have petitioned for divorce but the respondent
does not file an answer, the petition will
be set down in the Special Procedure List. Joint applications
also come under the Special Procedure List.
After the Registrar has given directions for trial,
he will consider the evidence you have filed. If he
is satisfied that you have proved the contents of the
petition or application, he will make and file a certificate
to that effect. Both parties will receive a copy, endorsed
with the terms they have agreed.
There is no need for either party to attend the hearing.
The court will grant a decree nisi dissolving the marriage.
Defended List
Where the petition for divorce is made and the respondent
has filed an answer, the cause will be set
down in the Defended List. In such cases, the court
will either grant a decree nisi dissolving the marriage
or will dismiss the petition if insufficient evidence
is found. In the event of court granting the decree of divorce, if there are children of the family whose question of custody and access need to be dealt with by the court, or if there are applications for ancillary relief by either party, the court will adjourn these matters to Chambers with directions for social investigations report and filing of affidavit of means by the parties where appropriate. |
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Six weeks after the court has granted a decree nisi,
you can apply for your decree to be made absolute by
sending to the court a completed "Notice of Application
for Decree Nisi to be made Absolute", using Form
5 (for a petition) or Form 5A (for a joint application).
If there are children of the marriage, the court has a duty to consider the arrangements for their welfare, even if the children are over 18 but are still receiving full-time education. The decree nisi will not be made absolute until the court is satisfied with the arrangements for them.
The Registrar will issue a Certificate of Decree Absolute
to each party if he is satisfied that the statutory
requirements have been complied with.
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Either party can inspect the court records of their
case at the Registry on payment of the prescribed fee
of $18.
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Waiting Time |
i) Dissolution of marriage - from setting down
for trial to actual hearing
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- Special Procedure List
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50 days |
- Defended List (1-day hearing)
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110 days |
ii) Financial applications - from filing of
summons to hearing (1-day hearing)
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110-140 days |
- Wherever possible, the Judiciary will reply at
once to correspondence from members of the public.
In any case, we will issue an interim reply within
10 days and a full response within 30 days of receiving
such correspondence.
- We welcome all comments and suggestions for improving
our services. Please send them to the Judiciary Administrator
at the High Court, 38 Queensway, Hong Kong.
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| Monday to Friday |
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
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2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday |
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon |
| (Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays) |
- The Family Court and the Family
Court Registry will be closed when tropical cyclone
signal No. 8 or above or a black rainstorm warning
signal is issued.
- Hearings will be resumed and
the Family Court Registry will be opened as usual
in the morning if such signal is lowered or cancelled
at or before 6:00 a.m. on Monday to Friday and Saturday.
- Hearings will be resumed at
2:30 p.m. if such signal is lowered or cancelled between
6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. or at 11:00 a.m. on Monday
to Friday. The Family Court Registry will be re-opened
at the usual time in the afternoon.
- Hearings will remain adjourned
for the whole day and be resumed at 9:30 a.m. the
next day (including Saturday) which is not a public
holiday if such signal is lowered or cancelled after
11:00 a.m. on Monday to Friday or after 6:00 a.m.
on a Saturday.
- The Family Court Registry may
be re-opened in the afternoon as soon as practicable
subject to the circumstances prevailing at the time
if such signal is lowered or cancelled after 11:00
a.m. on Monday to Friday. However, they will remain
closed if such signal is lowered or cancelled 2 hours
or less before the normal closing hours on Monday
to Friday.
- The Family Court Registry will remain closed if such signal is lowered or cancelled after 6:00 a.m. on Saturday.
- Please note the announcements
on radio and television by the Judiciary about the
resumption of hearings and re-opening time of the
Family Court Registry or you may view the announcement
(upon issue) at the Government's Press Release webpage
at http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/today.htm. You
may also call the Family Registry at 2840 1218 to
make enquiries.
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