Keeping Down Cost of Divorce

ElaineC_2

I am seeing a solicitor tomorrow to start divorce proceedings.

Has anyone any advice on how I can keep the costs down. At £180 per hour the cost is astronomical, but all quotes are coming in at a similar rate.

I have downloaded the divorce papers from the Internet, and intend to do this part myself, with the solicitor checking through them, which should reduce costs.

There are no children involved, everything should be split 50/50, but there is a pension which will be complicated to sort out.

This is one of the reasons I feel I need to get a solicitor involved, the other reason is that I feel I will not be able to sort out things amicably with my OH fairly as I lack confidence.

Browntoa

keep the cost down by agreeing as much as possible, be brave and talk about the pension with your ex

ElaineC_2

My OH is not discussing anything at the moment. He does not want to make things any easier for me, and does not think he has to share any of his pension.

Unfortunately he is in no hurry to move things along as he is in the FMH (no mortgage) and I am in rented which I really cannot afford.

I need to get the house sold so I can get a home of my own and not have rent to pay. The rent is most of my income, so I am living off my savings at the moment. This is not a long term solution.

I am worried that I may have to wait 5 years, by then I will have no savings and will not be able to buy a house with what is left.

denton6

You can both attend mediation, either seperate or together, this is a cheaper option. we are using mediation but they dont seem to be any big hurry to get things sorted. good luck it is a hard thing to be going through. i know.

Absolutely

Mediation may be the way forward, but if you ex is determined to be unco-operative, it may also be chucking more money away. Mediation costs depend on how much you earn / get in benefits. In my case it cost about £130 an hour and my ex had to pay £200 an hour.

After 2 or 3 sessions, we finally came to an agreement.

I'm also not sure that downloading divorce papers from the internet and having your solicitor check them is going to be cost-effective.
1. You'll still be charged for the time your solicitor has to look at them
2. If you've not filled them in correctly, you get solicitors feedback (more time, more money, etc

Katherineanton

Hi Elaine,

Regarding the actual divorce part, I did not have the money to go through a Solicitor either (the ex did not pay anything towards it), so I did it myself online at a cost of £67 plus court fees.

I found it very simple to do - just print off letters and send them to your ex via a local HM Court and await replies. This worked for me as it meant I did not have to directly communicate with my ex.

Good luck!

Absolutely

Katherineanton wrote: »

Hi Elaine,

Regarding the actual divorce part, I did not have the money to go through a Solicitor either (the ex did not pay anything towards it), so I did it myself online at a cost of £67 plus court fees.

I found it very simple to do - just print off letters and send them to your ex via a local HM Court and await replies. This worked for me as it meant I did not have to directly communicate with my ex.

Good luck!

I wish I'd got my divorce at that little cost! But I looked into doing the divorce myself via the internet and it was just too complicated with kids and a family business involved.

Therefore I went through a solicitor and mediation. I was told by my Solicitor that I could not get my Decree Absolute until we reached a financial settlement (hence the Mediation). However, there were children involved - all of school age, so maybe that's the difference.

Having looked at your other posts, I believe you are now having issues with your ex and your old home.

I think on-line divorces can work for where it is a straight-forward agreement by both parties that the marriage is over and they both agree on who is going to have what - assets wise.

Where there is any disagreement, whether over a pension or a house, I would say legal advice is needed.

I paid 2k for my divorce, but it is all "signed, sealed, and delivered". No on-going issues.

Money well spent imho.

ElaineC_2

Thank you all for your advice.

Emmzi

you have right of access to the fmh.

move back in and I anticipate he will cooperate with whatever it takes to get you to move out.

xxxxhelpxxxx

Try looking at https://www.wikivorce.com. They have some really good advice on there and also offer a fixed price service.