Private and Fixed Fees solicitor costs
For those clients who are not eligible for Legal Aid we have developed a competitive fixed fee scheme. Fixed fees allow you to instruct a solicitor to do a piece of work for you in the certain knowledge of how much it will cost you. Where appropriate your solicitor could conduct your whole case under one or a series of fixed prices.
Alternatively, you might prefer to deal with aspects of your case yourself and instruct your solicitor under a fixed fee agreement to deal with other parts such as a court hearing.
Discuss Fixed Fees Solicitor costs at Higgins Miller
Contact us for a free, no obligation, private over the phone consultation.
0161 429 7251
Call NowFixed fees are not appropriate for every client or case for which we continue to offer competitive hourly rates.
We have set out below details of our fixed charges. All prices include VAT but there may be additional court fees etc. If you are on low income the court may reduce or cancel their court fee. All fees for meetings are payable at the time of the meeting and for other work in advance.
Meeting With Us
| Initial appraisal (up to 20 minutes), either in person or over the telephone | FREE |
| We can assess if you might be eligible for legal aid, and advise you how we might be able to help you | |
| First advice meeting (up to 1 hour) | £80 |
| This is ideal for those people just wanting some initial advice on their options. After the meeting we will send you a summary of the issues discussed. | |
| Subsequent advice meeting (up to 1 hour) | £130 |
| This might suit people who are acting for themselves or whom are involved in mediation who need some advice along the way. After the meeting we will send you a summary of the items discussed. | |
| Subsequent advice meeting (up to 1 hour but with up to 1 hour preparation beforehand) | £180 |
| Like the previous one this might suit people involved in court proceedings where there are documents to read before the meeting. After the meeting we will send you a summary of the items discussed | |
| In addition to any of the above send a letter to your spouse/partner/opponent | add £30 |
| If at the time of your meeting with us you decide that you would like us to send a letter, perhaps setting out your proposals we can do this and forward to you any reply that we receive. | |
| Taking your further instructions via phone or email and then send a letter to your spouse/partner/opponent | £40 |
| We will prepare a draft for your approval and forward to you any reply that we receive | |
Divorce – Petitioner
| Acting for the Petitioner in an undefended, agreed divorce | £450 |
| This includes obtaining your instructions, preparing the divorce papers and all steps to decree absolute. There is a court fee, currently £550 to start the divorce. If you apply for the decree absolute more than one year after decree nisi there is a further court fee, currently £53. | |
| In Addition To The Above: | |
| Obtain certified copy of a UK marriage certificate | Add £20 |
| This includes the church or registry fee for this. | |
| Obtain official translation of marriage certificate | Add £20 |
| In addition there will be a fee for the translator, which will depend on the length of the document and language. | |
| Application to court to dispense with marriage certificate or rely on a photocopy | add £60 |
| If you married abroad have lost the marriage certificate and it is impossible to obtain a certified copy or only have a photocopy. There will also be a court fee currently £53. | |
| Application to court to omit address from divorce petition | Add £40 |
| If you have good reason to not want your spouse to know your address then this application can be made. There will also be a court fee currently £53. | |
| Arrange personal service of the divorce petition | Add £30 |
| If your spouse ignores the divorce papers this will be needed to prove receipt. There will also be process server’s fees; these will depend on how difficult it is to trace your spouse. | |
| Application to court for deemed service or substituted service | Add £60 |
| If you know that your spouse has received the divorce papers but they have not replied or if you do not know where they live one of these applications may be appropriate. There will also be a court fee currently £53. | |
| Application to dispense with service of the divorce petition | Add £200 |
| If your spouse cannot be found this application can be made. The fee includes writing to known addresses, banks etc to see if they have information about your spouse’s whereabouts. There will also be a court fee currently £53. | |
| Amend divorce petition after lodged with the court | Add £40 |
| In addition there is a court fee, currently £95. | |
Other Divorce Fixed Fees
| Take over conduct of ongoing divorce and amend petition and conduct divorce to decree absolute | £450 |
| If you have been dealing with the divorce yourself and have run into problems we can help put it right. There may be additional court fees to pay. | |
| Act for respondent in agreed, undefended divorce | £150 |
| If you have received divorce papers and do not know what to do we can help and deal with matters to decree absolute. | |
| Respondents application for decree absolute | From £400 |
| If the petitioner does not apply for the decree absolute the respondent can. There will be a hearing and a court fee. | |
| Respondents application to prevent decree absolute | From £400 |
| In some cases the respondent can ask the court to delay the decree absolute being made until finances are resolved. There may be a hearing and a court fee. | |
Children Cases Fixed Fees
| Prepare application to court for children order such as child arrangements order, special guardianship, lodge with court, serve by post and attend first hearing in Stockport courts | £480 |
| Sometimes these issues can only be resolved by an application to court. In many instances some resolution can be achieved at the first hearing. There is a court fee, currently £232. | |
| Attend first hearing in Stockport courts in relation to child arrangements order, special guardianship etc | £400 |
| This might be useful for those people who want to carry out as much as they can themselves in order to save costs but still need the help of a solicitor from time to time. | |
| For any of the hearings above but in Manchester, (other courts fees by agreement) | Add £120 |
| This figure includes all travel expenses. | |
| Prepare urgent application to Manchester court for emergency children order such as child arrangements order, prohibited steps attend emergency without notice hearing, arrange personal service and attend return hearing | £1250 |
| will be a court fee (£232) and process server’s fees. | |
| notice hearing, arrange personal service and attend return hearing | |
| will be a court fee (£232) and process server’s fees. | |
| As above but in other courts | By arrangement |
| The fee will depend upon the distance and travel time | |
| Prepare a statement for court where we have been instructed previously | £300 |
| This includes meeting with you to take your instructions and preparing your statement for you to sign | |
| Prepare a statement for court where we have not been instructed previously | £400 |
| This includes meeting with you to take your instructions and preparing your statement for you to sign | |
| Review S7 or S37 report from CAFCASS or Social Services | £90 |
| There is a separate fee if we need to meet with you also | |
| Prepare instructions to a barrister to represent you at court | £150 |
| Attend review or directions hearing in Stockport courts in relation to child arrangements, special guardianship etc where the hearing has an estimated length of 1 hour | £400 |
| This includes us reviewing the papers in advance of the hearing and meeting with you at court at least 30 minutes before the hearing time | |
| Attend a hearing in Stockport courts in relation to child arrangements, special guardianship etc where the hearing has an estimated length of half a day/3 hours | £650 |
| This includes us reviewing the papers in advance of the hearing and meeting with you at court at least 30 minutes before the hearing time | |
| Attend a hearing in Stockport courts in relation to child arrangements, special guardianship etc where the hearing has an estimated length one a day | £950 |
| This includes us reviewing the papers in advance of the hearing and meeting with you at court at least 30 minutes before the hearing time | |
| For any of the hearings above but in Manchester court, (other courts fees by agreement) | Add £120 |
| This figure includes all travel expenses. | |
| Prepare court bundle, case summary and chronology for court hearing | From £120 |
| Sometimes the court will require these documents for a hearing. The price for preparing them depends upon whether you have all of the documents, their volume and number of copies needed | |
Protection From Harm
| Prepare urgent application to Stockport courts for emergency injunction order, attend emergency without notice hearing, arrange personal service and attend return hearing | £1000 |
| In addition there will be a process server’s fee. Sometimes the court does not fix a return hearing, if not we would refund you £100. | |
| As above but in Manchester courts (other courts fees by agreement) | Add £240 |
| This includes a return hearing in Manchester | |
Agreed Financial Relief Fixed Fees
| Prepare co-habitation agreement, all steps through to its signing | from £450 |
| Any un-married couple who live together should think about one of these. They are particularly important where only one party owns the home. This is includes us meeting with you for 1 hour, discussing your requirements and preparing the document | |
| Prepare pre-nuptial agreement, all steps through to its signing | Price on individual basis |
| These can be complex. They are particularly relevant for couples who are marrying for a second time. Our fixed price will depend upon the complexity of the matter. | |
| Prepare separation agreement, all steps through to its signing | from £450 |
| This is includes us meeting with you for 1 hour, discussing your requirements and preparing the document | |
| Prepare clean break consent order where there are no assets arrange signature and lodge with court | £200 |
| Even if there are no assets it is always sensible after a divorce to ask a court to approve any financial agreement in an order. It should include a clean break to prevent any future claims. There is a court fee of £50 for this | |
| Prepare consent order following agreement, arrange signature and lodge with court | from £450 |
| A consent order provides security and enforceability. If it includes a clean break it will prevent any future claims. There is a court fee of £53 for this | |
| Prepare consent order following agreement, arrange signature and lodge with court (where we have had no ongoing involvement) | from £450 |
| A consent order provides security and enforceability. If it includes a clean break it will prevent any future claims. There is a court fee of £53 for this | |
Contested Financial Relief Fixed Fees
| Facilitate the exchange of voluntary financial disclosure, review that received and meet with you to discuss | from £240 |
| Sever joint tenancy (by post) and register with land registry | £43 |
| Register matrimonial homes act notice | £43 |
| Act for you as applicant in court proceedings in Stockport Court up to first hearing, including preparing and lodging application, preparing financial statement, considering your opponents financial statement, preparing questionnaire and attending first hearing | £1350 |
| This assumes that you are able to provide us with your financial documents needed for your financial statement. There is a court fee also, currently £275 | |
| Act for you as respondent in court proceedings in Stockport Court up to first hearing, including preparing financial statement, considering your opponents financial statement, preparing questionnaire and attending first hearing | £1250 |
| This assumes that you are able to provide us with your financial documents needed for your financial statement. | |
| Prepare financial statement (Form E) | £500 |
| This assumes that you are able to provide us with your financial documents needed for your financial statement. | |
| Prepare questionnaire, schedule of issues and chronology for first hearing | £500 |
| This includes meeting with you to go through the financial statements and determining with you the issues and questions to raise | |
| Attend first hearing in Stockport court | £400 |
| This is the hearing at which the court determines the issues in the case whether any expert’s reports are needed, if all the questionnaires should be answered and by when. | |
| Prepare replies to questionnaire | from £350 |
| This includes meeting with you to discuss the information for the replies | |
| Joint instruction of valuer, review report, take instructions and put questions as needed | £140 |
| Joint instruction of actuary, review report, take instructions and put questions as needed | £260 |
| Meet with you to review documentation in advance of FDR hearing, consider proposals for settlement and prepare a without prejudice offer | £240 |
| Receive and collate your updating financial disclosure and exchange | £80 |
| Prepare position statement and supporting documentation for FDR hearing | £240 |
| Prepare court bundle for FDR hearing | From £120 |
| Prepare instructions to a barrister to represent you at court | £180 |
| Attend Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) hearing in Stockport Courts | £1100 |
| This includes meeting with you at court at least one hour before the hearing and advising you on potential settlement and representing you at the hearing. | |
| Attend Stockport Court for contested hearing of up to 2 hours (e.g. interim maintenance) | £1100 |
| This includes meeting with you at court at least one hour before the hearing | |
| For any of the hearings above but in Manchester court. (other courts fees by agreement) | Add £120 |
| This figure includes all travel expenses. | |
| Prepare a statement for court where we have been instructed previously | £300 |
| This includes meeting with you to take your instructions and preparing your statement for you to sign | |
| Prepare a statement for court where we have not been instructed previously | £400 |
| This includes meeting with you to take your instructions and preparing your statement for you to sign | |
If you would like further information then please contact us:
Telephone: 0161 429 7251
Email: [email protected]
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Twitter: @higginsmiller
Higgins Miller Solicitors Ltd, 49 Middle Hillgate, Stockport, SK1 3DL
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We are a firm of Stockport Solicitors specialising in divorce, matrimonial, family issues and children disputes. Based in Stockport but covering the whole of England and Wales, we offer a friendly but robust and practical approach to your case.
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We are a firm of Stockport Solicitors specialising in divorce, matrimonial, family issues and children disputes. Based in Stockport but covering the whole of England and Wales, we offer a friendly but robust and practical approach to your case.
