The phrase ‘cost of living crisis’ is usually used to refer to the price of particular essential items or the level of inflation as a whole. Here at Higgins Miller, we understand that the level of income enjoyed by a person can have a huge impact on every aspect of their life, up to and including the question of whether they can afford to get divorced. The cost of divorce is usually referred to in emotional terms, but as experts in family law we know that the actual cost of divorce – in pounds and pence – can sometimes have a huge impact on the approach taken by couples.
As well as divorce, we deal with issues such as adoption, domestic abuse and wills and probate. What family law cases of this kind have in common is that people get involved in them because they have very little choice. Tackling legal issues is often very daunting for people not used to doing so, and family law cases are particularly difficult because of the emotional impact involved. We help clients to deal with all of these aspects of their particular case, and that includes helping them to understand the cost of divorce.
Worries about the cost of divorce are such that they could stop some people going through with a divorce altogether, or at best make them delay things until their circumstances change. The advent of ‘no fault’ divorces in 2022 – which meant an end to couples having to come up with ‘grounds for divorce’ – was designed, at least in part, to lower the cost of divorce. It was meant to do so by making it possible for couples to agree to divorce rather than having to contest the case, while also making it impossible for one party to refuse to accept divorce, forcing the other party to take them to court. In simple terms the cost of divorce can be reduced massively by managing to keep cases out of the courts, but even if this does happen there is still a cost of divorce to be considered by anyone who feels that the time has come to formally end their relationship.
According to figures published by the MoneyHelper service, the average cost of divorce in England and Wales is £14,500. This is clearly a lot of money, and the calculation includes lifestyle costs post-divorce as well as direct expenses such as legal fees. Here at Higgins Miller we don’t think our clients should be prevented from accessing legal services due to their income, and so we offer advice which is designed to make the divorce process run as smoothly as possible and also to bring the cost of divorce down.
The factor which has the most bearing on whether the cost of divorce spirals or not is whether the divorce in question is contested by one party. The cost of a divorce in general is split between those fixed costs such as court fees charged by the government, and the variable impact of the amount of legal advice you need to take. In an uncontested divorce the legal advice needed should be fairly minimal, particularly if the parties can reach an amicable agreement on how their finances will be dealt with. Despite this, it is still always worth seeking legal advice such as that offered by the experts at Higgins Miller, no matter how smooth and amicable a divorce appears to be. The decisions you take when formally ending a relationship – such as which party will continue to live in the family home and how any outstanding joint debts will be dealt with – could have a huge impact in the future, particularly if mistakes are made. The cost of divorce if you sign up to an agreement which isn’t completely fair to you could be something which you end up paying for many years to come.
The fixed costs of a divorce include the following:
- The divorce application fee is £593
- Any amendment to the application costs £95
- A consent order costs £53. This is a document which sets out the agreement you have come to in terms of dividing assets such as pensions and property.
- A financial order costs £275. This is a document which sets out the financial agreement you have reached with the other party and makes that agreement legally binding.
- A child arrangement order costs £232. This is a legal document setting out your agreement on issues such as where any children will live, how often and when they will see the other parent etc.
Although we always advise our clients to work in a constructive manner to keep the cost of divorce – speaking emotionally as well as financially – as low as possible, it is still often useful to have agreements on issues such as finances and childcare established in legal terms by the orders described above. Even if the divorce is fairly amicable at the time of the split, things can change in the future, particularly if one or both parties opt to remarry and/or start a new family. Taking out orders and working with a solicitor may add to the cost of divorce slightly at the time, but it will greatly increase the legal protection offered, and stop the risk of the cost of divorce increasing in the future if one party shifts away from a long term agreement.
In simple terms, the best way to keep the cost of divorce down is for the two parties to agree on as much as possible in terms of their future financial and child care arrangements. We work with clients to reach agreements of this kind and to avoid often large extra costs of fighting a case out in court wherever possible. We don’t think it is fair on anyone involved for couples to be trapped in a failing marriage because of worries about the cost of divorce, and so we do everything we can to keep that cost – now and in the future – as low as possible.
If you’d like to find out more about the cost of divorce please call us on 0161 429 7251 or email us at [email protected]. We’ve recently passed our Cyber Essential accreditation, something which demonstrates our forward-thinking attitude and determination to remain ahead of the competition. The first 20-minute appraisal is provided free of charge, and we’ll give you the first appointment for a fixed fee, so you don’t have to worry about how much our advice is going to cost. If you want to explore our wider charging system then please take a look here.
