Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division

English law

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July 13, 2026

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The Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division was a historical division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. It was established as part of the reforms brought about by the Judicature Acts of 1873–75. This division handled specific types of legal cases: probate (wills and estates), divorce (matrimonial matters), and admiralty (maritime law, including cases related to ships and the sea).12

In 1881, the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division was merged with the Queen's Bench Division. Later, under the Courts Act of 1971, the Family Division was created to handle matrimonial cases and issues concerning children, while admiralty matters became part of the Queen's Bench Division's specialized courts, such as the Admiralty Court.12

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…of the 1870s, the new Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division was established in the High Court. It took over from the ecclesiastical courts the narrow jurisdiction left to them, that of scrutinizing instruments purporting to be testaments; but simultaneously its jurisdiction was extended to wills—i.e., instruments purporting to dispose of…
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…of the 1870s, the new Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division was established in the High Court. It took over from the ecclesiastical courts the narrow jurisdiction left to them, that of scrutinizing instruments purporting to be testaments; but simultaneously its jurisdiction was extended to wills—i.e., instruments purporting to dispose of…
Read More