Some twisted fairytales highlight the fact that Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella all married Prince Charming. While the third time around may have been the charm for the hapless in love Prince, what happens in the real world when you would like to remarry but you're still legally bound to your ex?

Separation presents the opportunity for a fresh start and to move on with life and for some people, part of this process may include establishing a life with a new partner. A tricky situation can arise however if you're separated but not yet divorced and hoping to remarry.

You are legally allowed to remarry one month and one day after an Order for Divorce has been granted. The Certificate of Divorce must be presented to the celebrant before a wedding can take place. So there may be difficulties if you set a date for the wedding, particularly if it is close to the divorce hearing date.

Setbacks can occur when the court needs more information from the parties before the divorce is granted or when one of the parties opposes the divorce, resulting in the divorce not being granted at the first hearing.

The decision to remarry doesn't only involve procedural considerations. It may also be based on a person being emotionally and financially capable of remarrying. Divorces can be messy, tumultuous and highly emotional, especially for a party who remains attached to the other and doesn't want the divorce to go ahead. Being emotionally free from a previous marriage is important for to allow a person to invest more in a new relationship.

In short, the best approach is to wait for your divorce to come through, before you set the date for your wedding. After all, Prince Charming would have found it pretty difficult to skip off into the sunset with Sleeping Beauty, and then Cinderella, if he had still been wed to Snow White.

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