Divorce lawyers & divorce solicitors

Before your first meeting with a divorce solicitor, we recommend gathering some important documents that they need to kick-start the proceedings. These include:

• Marriage certificate (this needs to be an actual copy or a certified version)
• Your prenuptial or postnuptial agreement (if applicable)
• Separation agreement (if one has been signed already)
• Addresses of both parties (important for jurisdiction purposes)
• Information about your children (names, date of birth, who they currently live with, current parenting plan)
• An overview of your finances (for both parties)

If you don’t have everything ready, don’t panic. Our divorce lawyers recognise that this is an initial meeting – you can always get documents over to us later down the line.

In your initial meeting with your divorce solicitor, we recommend focusing on three main areas:

1. Process
   • “Does my case seem amicable or complex?”
   • “Do you recommend we undertake mediation throughout the process?”
   • “How long do you think the process will take?”
2. Finances
   • “How much will my divorce cost?”
   • “Is there anything I’m not eligible for with our shared assets?”
   • “What happens to the family home?”
3. Children
   • “How does the court decide child arrangements?”
   • “How can I keep the wellbeing of my children a priority?”
   • “Will I get child maintenance?”

We recommend sitting down prior to your meeting to think about what questions you definitely want an answer to. By making a note of these, you will be able to leave that meeting having more answers and clarity to your situation, making you feel more confident about the future.

In 2022, no-fault divorce was introduced to UK law. Previously, you needed to provide the courts with one of five reasons for your divorce (such as adultery or unreasonable behaviour). Nowadays, all you need to say is that your marriage has irretrievably broken down, and the courts will recognise and accept this.

The no-fault process has five main steps:

1. Application
2. Reflection period (20 weeks)
3. Conditional order
4. Waiting period (6 weeks)
5. Final order

Both the reflection and waiting period are mandatory as part of the no-fault process. On average, your divorce should now take 6-8 months (rather than the years it used to take). However, this can be delayed due to complications like financial matters and child arrangements.

Your divorce lawyer will be able to provide an estimate of how long your divorce will take.

At any time that you feel under threat or in danger, then the first step is to dial 999.

However, protection can also be obtained from the family court, including orders which regulate the occupation for the family home (and exclude the violent party), and orders that prohibit certain behaviour.

Further information on domestic abuse

If you are getting divorced in either England or Wales, you actually don’t need to provide grounds for your marriage breakdown. Both countries operate a no-fault based divorce system – so all you need to do is state that your marriage has broken down. 

Stopping divorce proceedings once they have begun is very challenging. Since 6 April 2022, a divorce can only be contested on limited grounds, such as jurisdiction, generally have to do with the validity of the marriage and whether it was celebrated according to the correct procedure. If you wish to apply for a divorce without your spouse’s agreement, or you have received a divorce application you do not consent to, it is important to seek advice from a solicitor.

However, if someone is refusing to acknowledge a divorce application, it can can be extremely frustrating. There are several options open to you if your spouse does not respond. 

Once the divorce application has been filed, the court sends out a copy of the application and an Acknowledgment of Service form to the respondent (your ex-spouse). 

They are given 14 days to complete this and return to the court. This confirms to the court that the respondent has received the application. 

If there is no cooperation from them, you can have the application personally served.

A court bailiff can arrange this (if you do not have legal representation) or a Process Server (if you have a solicitor acting for you). They will physically serve the documents to your spouse at their address or an alternative address, like their work address.

 Once personally served, you can proceed whether they cooperate or not.

Many people going through a separation don’t necessarily feel ready to dive straight into divorce proceedings.

In this case, there are several alternatives to divorce available. For example, you can choose to separate but not get divorced. If you choose this option, you will remain legally tied to your spouse. This means both that you will still be husband and wife, and you will remain financially tied.

Typically, a divorce takes between 6-8 months, but this can be longer depending on the complexities of your case. This can include complicated financial settlements, agreeing on child arrangement orders, and cooperation from both parties. If there are complex issues and disputes, the process can sometimes last 12–18 months. 

There are also two main waiting periods. The first of which is a 20-week cooling-off period once the court has issued the application. This has to happen before the conditional order is able to be granted. The second happens after this – a six-week waiting period until you apply to the court for a final order. The final order is usually issued in a matter of days.  

There is no exact price for a divorce, as the cost is dependent on how you choose to get divorced, plus the complexities of your individual circumstances.  

There is the standard court fee of £612 for your divorce application, as well as the solicitor’s fees. Here at Stowe Family Law, we do offer fixed-fee divorces if you are concerned about the price. 

The general rule on who pays the legal fees in a divorce is that each person getting divorced will pay their legal costs. 

How much does a divorce cost for the applicant?

If you are the person starting the divorce process, you are referred to as the applicant.  

Please be aware that applicants must also pay a court fee of £612 directly to the court when submitting the divorce application. This fee is required in all cases, regardless of how the divorce is initiated, whether you use a solicitor, or how the proceedings are handled.

The person applying for the divorce (the applicant) will be responsible for covering the court fee. If the application is a joint one, applicant 1 will pay the court fee. 

How much does a divorce cost for respondents?

If your spouse has applied for a divorce and you are responding to their application, you are known as the respondent. As the respondent, you do not need to pay any additional court fees beyond this fixed fee.

Does the applicant always pay the cost of divorce?

The person applying for the divorce (the applicant) will be responsible for covering the court fee. If the application is a joint one, applicant 1 will pay the court fee. 

However, it is necessary to make a separate application to the court to ask for a costs order, and for this reason, they are rarely sought.

It is important to note that costs relating to the divorce are different from those incurred in negotiating a financial settlement and/or child arrangements.

Read more:

• How much a divorce costs
• Who pays the legal fees in divorce

It depends. It is unlikely that you would need to go to court for the divorce proceedings themselves.

If you reach a financial settlement by agreement, that will usually be dealt with on paper, without court attendance.

If you cannot reach an agreement despite trying tools such as mediation or arbitration, it is maybe necessary to deal with this via the court process, which will usually involve attending court for hearings.

It depends. The court has to take into account a number of factors when deciding how to split assets.

The starting point is equality, but there can be a departure from that, in order to meet needs or to reflect other factors, such as assets brought to the marriage by one party.

This is a discretionary area of law, and outcomes will vary depending on the circumstances of the parties.

Read our helpful guides to get more information on divorce, or contact our team today to get started.

• How long can a spouse drag out a divorce in the UK?
• What do I do if my spouse ignores the divorce petition?
• What is a conditional order?
• What is a consent order?
• How do I apply for a final order?
• How do I change my name after a divorce?
• What if my spouse lacks mental capacity in a divorce?
• What is mediation and is it mandatory to the divorce process?
• Can a divorce be settled outside of court?