The Family Procedure Rules 2010

What the respondent and co-respondent should do on receiving the application E+W

7.12.—(1) The respondent, and any co-respondent, must file an acknowledgment of service within 7 days beginning with the date on which the application for a matrimonial or civil partnership order was served.

(2) This rule is subject to rule 6.42 (which specifies how the period for filing an acknowledgment of service is calculated where the application is served out of the jurisdiction).

(3) The acknowledgment of service must—

(a) subject to paragraph (4), be signed by the respondent or the respondent's legal representative or, as the case may be, the co respondent or the co respondent's legal representative;

(b) include the respondent's or, as the case may be, the co respondent's address for service; and

(c) where it is filed by the respondent, indicate whether or not the respondent intends to defend the case.

(4) Where paragraph (5) or (6) applies, the respondent must sign the acknowledgment of service personally.

(5) This paragraph applies where—

(a) the application for a matrimonial order alleges that the respondent has committed adultery; and

(b) the respondent admits the adultery.

(6) This paragraph applies where—

(a) the application for a matrimonial or civil partnership order alleges that the parties to the marriage or civil partnership concerned have been separated for more than 2 years; and

(b) the respondent consents to the making of the matrimonial or civil partnership order.

F1 (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) A respondent who wishes to defend the case must file and serve an answer within 21 days beginning with the date by which the acknowledgment of service is required to be filed.

(9) An answer is not required where the respondent does not object to the making of the matrimonial or civil partnership order but objects to paying the costs of the application F2 ....

(10) A respondent may file an answer even if the intention to do so was not indicated in the acknowledgment of service.

[F3 (11) Paragraph (11A) applies where—

(a) the application is for—

(i) nullity of marriage under section 12(1)(d) of the 1973 Act;

(ii) nullity of marriage under section 12A(3) of the 1973 Act in a case where section 12(1)(d) of the 1973 Act applies ; or

(iii) nullity of civil partnership under section 50(1)(b) of the 2004 Act; and

(b) the respondent files an answer containing no more than a simple denial of the facts stated in the application.]

[F3 (11A) The respondent must, if intending to rebut the matters stated in the application, give notice to the court of that intention when filing the answer.]

(12) A respondent to an application for a matrimonial or civil partnership order alleging 2 years' separation and the respondent's consent may—

(a) indicate consent to the making of the matrimonial or civil partnership order in writing at any time after service of the application, whether in the acknowledgment of service or otherwise;

(b) indicate lack of consent to the making of that order, or withdraw any such consent already given, by giving notice to the court.

(13) Where a respondent gives a notice under paragraph (12)(b) and no other relevant fact is alleged, the proceedings must be stayed^(GL), and notice of the stay^(GL) given to the parties by the court officer.

(14) In this rule, a “relevant fact” is—

(a) in matrimonial proceedings, one of the facts mentioned in section (1)(2) of the 1973 Act; and

(b) in civil partnership proceedings, one of the facts mentioned in section 44(5) of the 2004 Act.

[F4 (15) In paragraphs (3)(c), (8), (9) and (10), any reference to a respondent is to be read as including a reference to a co-respondent where the context so requires.]

(The form of the answer is referred to in Practice Direction 5A.)

[F5 (In relation to paragraph (11)(a)(ii), section 9(6) of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 provides that where a civil partnership is converted into a marriage, the civil partnership ends on the conversion, and the resulting marriage is to be treated as having subsisted since the date the civil partnership was formed.)]

Textual Amendments

F1 Rule 7.12(7) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of The Family Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2014 (S.I. 2014/843), rules 1, 7(a)

F2 Words in rule 7.12(9) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of The Family Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2014 (S.I. 2014/843), rules 1, 7(b)

F3 Rule 7.12(11)(11A) substituted for rule 7.12(11) (1.7.2015) by The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2015 (S.I. 2015/913), rules 1, 6(a) (with rule 14)

F4 Rule 7.12(15) inserted (6.4.2012) by The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2012 (S.I. 2012/679), rules 1, 9 (with rule 30)

F5 Words in rule 7.12 inserted (1.7.2015) by The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2015 (S.I. 2015/913), rules 1, 6(b) (with rule 14)