DIY Divorce??

fattyrae1

Hi. I live in N Ireland and am wanting to get a divorce. I have been told i need to pay court fees up front which is over £300 and i really don't have the money. I did apply for legal aid a couple of years ago but it took over a year and then they said they needed further information and i got so fed up i just left it. I now want to start proceedings again but am now in a higher paid job and probably won't get legal aid so i was wondering about DIY divorces. Has anyone any experience with this and what exactly do you have to pay for?

Thanks.

mrs_baggins

hello there, am not sure if therules may be different there but Idid it a few years ago and it saved me a heap of costs.

we were lucky in that we both agreed to a divorce and there were no financial implications for either side so it was very straightforward.

I got the forms from the court, completed them with a given reason for divorce, made 3 copies as requested then sent back with my payment. court looked at it andin time a copy was sent to ex to be. eventually had to wait the required 6 weeks and the job was done. there were no children involved either so this made it also easy. gor cgarges go to your county court pages or similar as it was about 3 years ago now and i canrt remember fees

xmaslolly76

A diy divorce will Still cost you £340 i believe it is at the moment the bulk of which is paid at the start and i believe the £40 is for the decree absolute i may be a little bit out but thats basically it.

I dont believe there is a cheaper way of doing chick? :-) x

fattyrae1

Thanks for the replies. I guess it is going to cost me either way. Cheapest thing would be not to get married in the first place:rolleyes:

ICATQ

The fees are Court fees and cannot be avoided, the forms and advice from the court service is free, I expect the fees are similiar in NI although the legal system is slightly different.

There is guidance with the forms telling you how to fill them in, also you can get guidance from online. wikivorce is a good starting point for forms and advice too.

doelani

Doing it through the court without solicitors is the cheapest if you both agree to it, my hubby and his ex did it this way and split the cost 50/50

If you ring the high court in Belfast and ask for " matrimonial" department they can confirm the costs. Hubbys was about 6 years ago and think £300 was about what they paid.

Will your ex pay half ?

Kataratarina

If u apply for legal aid on higher paid wage u may only have to pay a small contribution depending on ur disposable income- after u pay ur rent/motgage, rates.