Who pays legal fees in divorce?

If you are the applicant or joint applicant you can apply for costs from the other person (respondent) by asking 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 is 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 you are on a low income or in receipt of state benefits including Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Income-related Employment, and Support Allowance and Universal credit, you can apply to the court for help with these fees by completing an EX160 form “Apply for help with fees”. 

Talk with a Stowe divorce lawyer if you need help either finding or filling out the form.

If the applicant wishes to apply for costs against the respondent, the best practice is to agree on costs before issuing the divorce application to the court.

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

If costs are agreed upon at the conditional order stage, a ‘costs order’ can be made by agreement.

If costs cannot be agreed upon, the applicant can continue with their application for costs, and the court will decide.

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

If a costs order is made the respondent is under a legal obligation to comply and pay, and if there is a failure to do so, this could result in enforcement action being necessary.

It is strongly advised to try and reach an agreement on costs before the divorce is submitted to the court.  The overwhelming majority of cases proceed undefended so no attendance at court is required in connection with the divorce, but the issue of costs may see attendance at court necessary.

Additional costs may also be incurred if complications arise in proceedings, such as when  a spouse does not file the Acknowledgement of Service with the court.

It is possible to ask for government aid paid towards your legal costs. 

Legal aid, as it is known, is available in certain circumstances such as:

• If you are using it for mediation
• If you have experienced domestic abuse in the last five years
• If you are at risk of homelessness

Unfortunately, while we are a specialist family law firm, Stowe Family Law does not have a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and is, therefore, unable to offer legal aid to our clients. 

Please read our guide on legal aid for more information.

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

Therefore, it is best practice to reach an agreement regarding the cost of divorce before the divorce application is sent to the court.

Doing this can reduce the likelihood of the respondent challenging the issue of costs later on down the line.

In short, no: a divorce lawyer’s fees are not tax-deductible except in very specific circumstances. 

As a family law firm, this is not our area of expertise; talk with your accountant to get a clearer understanding of how this works.