What is a respondent in divorce?

A respondent is the person who receives the application for a divorce initiated by their spouse. The term also applies to the dissolution of civil partnerships.

Once the respondent receives the divorce papers, they have 14 days to respond to them from receipt. A respondent cannot contest a divorce or dissolution simply because they do not agree. There are only a few very limited grounds on which a divorce application can potentially be challenged such as the marriage not being valid, or already having ended.