How much does divorce cost?

We recommend you approach the financial aspect of your case on the basis that you and your spouse will each meet your costs.

We appreciate that you want to understand what you are entitled to in your divorce settlement, but when negotiating a financial settlement, it is more difficult to be precise about costs. However, a solicitor should always provide you with a cost estimate before embarking down this route.

Having more complicated assets, such as dividing a company in a divorce or intellectual property, can increase the cost of your financial settlement, but our lawyers will be able to guide you through the process.

You and your ex-partner might agree on how to divide your assets, but this agreement is not legally binding unless a court approves a consent order.

If the assets in the case are minimal, or the parties have already decided who gets what, then it may just be a case of getting a solicitor to draw up a clean break consent order to prevent either party from claiming against the other in the future.

The document still needs to be prepared and approved by the court. Legal fees could range from £2,000 – £3,000 plus VAT to get this completed. Please note this is an estimated figure and the price will vary based on the circumstances of the case.

If there is a dispute over the financial settlement, achieving a financial settlement could require considerable work.

You will likely need to go through a divorce settlement disclosure exercise to establish what assets each party has to achieve a fair settlement. Depending on the assets’ complexity, this may be a complicated process or relatively straightforward.

In terms of child arrangements, the cost will depend on the nature of the dispute.

Ultimately, if the case ends up in court, it is likely to cost several thousand pounds – considerably more if the case goes all the way to a final hearing. On top of this, there may also be barristers’ fees to pay.

The best approach, wherever possible, is to keep things amicable with your ex-partner for your children, and consider the court process only as a last resort.

Other routes are available to resolve matters by agreement. For example, family mediation, collaborative law, or a round-table meeting with respective lawyers to negotiate an agreement.

Our experts will guide you through the entire process, so you have a clear understanding of what is expected at every stage. We’ll be there to share the burden and give you the support you need.

If you reach an agreement, particularly where only one of you intends to appoint a solicitor, it is often the case that the legal costs incurred are shared.

The sole applicant or joint applicant can ask the court to order that the other party pay their legal costs relating to the divorce. Alternatively, they could request that the costs be divided equally, or just the court fee be shared.

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.

Once a comprehensive settlement is reached, this may be set out in a draft consent order and sent to the court for approval. If the court deems the proposed settlement fair in the eyes of the law, you will have a legally binding order without having to go through the court process.

Ultimately, if no agreement can be reached, then the court will need to decide who gets what. If a case goes all the way to a final hearing, which is rare, it would not be unusual for legal fees to be over £20,000.

Therefore, it is important to always think about the cost-benefit analysis. There is little point in spending thousands of pounds fighting over something worth less than that.

The applicant or joint applicant can ask the court to order that the other party pays their legal costs relating to the divorce or request that the costs be divided equally, or just the court fee be shared.

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.

If the applicant wishes to apply for costs against the respondent, then the best practice is to reach an agreement on costs before the divorce application is issued with the court.

If costs cannot be agreed upon at this stage, the applicant can include a claim for full costs in the application itself.

Should costs be agreed at the conditional order stage, a ‘costs order’ can be made. If costs cannot be agreed upon, the applicant can continue with their application for costs, and the court will decide.

While it is possible to apply for a costs order in certain circumstances, the application’s outcome cannot be guaranteed.

If you issue financial remedy proceedings in relation to your finances, both parties are required to provide a breakdown of their costs before each court hearing. This will enable you to compare your outlay with that of your spouse.

The court will consider if the costs claimed are reasonable and look at both parties’ conduct before and during the divorce process.

If a costs order is made in one parties’ favour, the other party is under a legal obligation to comply and pay. If there is a failure to do so, this could result in enforcement action being necessary.

If the respondent does not agree to pay towards the divorce costs, it could cause unnecessary issues, which may increase costs and delays.

Therefore, the best practice is to try and reach an agreement regarding the cost of divorce before the divorce application is even sent to the court to be issued.

By doing this, you can reduce the respondent’s likelihood of challenging the issue of costs later on down the line.