Family law solicitors & divorce lawyers Bicester, Oxfordshire

For a straightforward divorce, it typically takes between 6–8 months to complete the process in England and Wales. However, if you need to negotiate a financial settlement or agree on child arrangement orders, your divorce proceedings may take longer.

We understand that the process of getting divorced can be an extremely stressful time that affects every aspect of your life, so you’ll want it to be resolved as efficiently as possible.

Our Bicester divorce solicitors will work tirelessly to minimise delays wherever possible, helping you move forward with life after divorce.

The cost of a divorce depends on the circumstances of your case, although the court fee for submitting a divorce application is currently £628. For example, a straightforward divorce is typically less expensive, as there is usually less negotiation involved.

Our lawyers in Bicester will be able to provide an accurate estimate based on your individual circumstances. Get in touch with our team today.

Following a divorce, decisions about where children live and how much time they spend with each parent are usually agreed between the family, with the children’s best interests remaining the priority. We understand this can be a difficult process, but our child law specialists are here to guide you every step of the way.

Parents may agree arrangements jointly, or one parent may become the child’s primary carer. If an agreement cannot be reached and the court becomes involved, it will make decisions based on what is in the child’s best interests. In some circumstances, the court may also consider the involvement of wider family members, such as grandparents, where this would benefit the child’s welfare.

If you are based in Bicester or the surrounding area, your hearing will usually take place at Oxford Combined Court Centre on St Aldates in Oxford city centre.

Oxford Combined Court Centre is located on St Aldates in Oxford city centre, close to Carfax Tower and Christ Church. It is around a 15–20 minute walk from Oxford Station via Park End Street towards the city centre.

From our Bicester office at Franklins House it is approximately a 20–30 minute drive via the A34 towards St Aldates. Nearby cafés include Starbucks on Cornmarket Street, Pret A Manger on Queen Street and independent favourite The Missing Bean on Turl Street if you arrive early.

No. You don’t have to use a solicitor to get divorced in the UK, and many people deal with the application themselves.
Where advice often helps is with everything around it. Money, property, pensions, and children don’t automatically get sorted once the application is sent off. At Stowe Family Law, our divorce solicitors in Bicester often speak to people who are fine with handling the paperwork. However, they want to check they understand how divorce can affect the bigger picture before going any further.

A divorce starts when an application is sent to the court. This can be made by one person or jointly.
The application itself is usually a simple administrative step. What often matters is understanding the stages that follow. This includes timescales and when financial or child arrangements are dealt with.
That’s why some people read our guide to divorce in England and Wales before submitting anything.

There is one legal ground for divorce in England and Wales: that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
You don’t need to prove fault or explain what went wrong. The law is set up to avoid blame and keep the focus on moving forward. This is why questions about reasons for divorce often sit within the wider divorce and separation process, rather than being argued in court.

There’s no automatic right to a particular share of assets, and there isn’t a set formula. Instead, everything depends on personal circumstances, such as:

• Income
• Property
• Pensions
• How long you were together
• Whether you have children

This uncertainty is why people often look for clarity around how finances are split during divorce before making decisions, particularly when they want a realistic sense of what the law actually takes into account.

During the divorce process, both people usually share details of what they own and owe: property, savings, pensions, debts, and sometimes business interests. The courts will then split assets in a way that is fair, rather than 50/50.
Divorce ends the marriage, but it doesn’t deal with finances by itself. That has to be sorted alongside the process. For many couples, questions start with the family home, which is why understanding property in divorce often becomes an early and practical concern.