Divorce costs

sportbeth

Hi all,

I'm about to (rather happily I might add) petition for divorce on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. Some of you may recall that I put up with a philandering husband both before I was daft enough to marry him but after we married). I've since got a new job, new home and new man

One question, as I'm petitioning for the divorce, am I entitled to request that he contributes? I think I'm looking at the following fees:-

- Divorce Petition fee
£340 -
- Decree Absolute fee
£45 - Consent Order fee
£45
Typical Cost Of A DIY Divorce

There's no issue of getting a solicitor involved as we're got no children and have agreed financially the terms of the split, I'm just reluctant to bear the costs of £600 odd as I was the only one trying in the marriage!

I've googled this all over the place and can't seem to find any answers.

Gigglepig

What does your ex say - does he agree to the divorce? If you are the only one wanting the divorce I'm not sure how you would get him to pay for it, unless you can try to make the fees part of the financial settlement you suggest?

sportbeth

This is where it gets interesting, he doesnt agree to the divorce, he thinks that its entirely reasonable to expect a woman to stay in a marriage smiling when he's openly trying to go after any woman with a pulse.

But surely if I'm gunning for Unreasonable behaviour and he doesnt dispute any of my evidence then the costs should at least be split of not paid for by him?

floss2

I think you will have to shoulder the costs yourself if it is you wanting the divorce.

BTW, have you got written agreement with regard to any pensions you may both have, whether frozen or currently being paid into, and also any endowment policies?

floss2

sportbeth wrote: »

This is where it gets interesting, he doesnt agree to the divorce, he thinks that its entirely reasonable to expect a woman to stay in a marriage smiling when he's openly trying to go after any woman with a pulse.

But surely if I'm gunning for Unreasonable behaviour and he doesnt dispute any of my evidence then the costs should at least be split of not paid for by him?

You could try & get the costs awarded against him, but for £600+ is it not worth it to be shot of him?!

Caroline_a

I have to say that I'd be wary of someone who in theory has agreed the financial terms of the split but doesnt agree to the divorce.

Make sure you get everything in writing, witnessed before you spend any money!

McKneff

Wouldn't it be worth £600 just for it all to be over and done with so you can get on with the rest of your life. I'd say it was money well spent to be honest.

Once you have decided that I guarantee a weight will be lifted from your shoulders.

Hope you will be a lot happier in your new relationship.

Good luck

Devi

Well done on getting rid of him - i too am happily divorced, best thing i ever did!

You may be able to get the court to rule that he pays for your court /legal costs, especially if he admits that he was at fault - this is what happened with me.

However I did get a solicitor involved as i didn't want to deal with the headache and paperwork and chasing etc and also i didn't have a clue where to start!

The total cost, with the clean break order, was around £1700 with court and solicitors fees and he had to pay just over £1000 of my costs with me just paying for the clean break order.

sportbeth

thanks for all the responses all. We originally went 50/50 on the house equity and agreed all the contents very fairly, he's insisted on keeping his pension and shares (sounds like I'm being a pushover on that but I really dont want to be beholden to him on anything so I've agreed on the basis of a quick split)

It sounds like I might have to just cough up for it. Its no massive biggie but the principle seeing as he's keeping all his other assets. But I'd rather get shot of him as quickly as possible as he drinks heavily and I'm paranoid about him going for broke and turning up at mine claiming we're still married!

NJW69

If you divorce him for unreasonable behaviour and that is accepted by the court then he stands the costs as its his fault for the marriage breaking down through being unreasonable.

sportbeth

brilliant news! Is that automatic or do I have to stipulate that anywhere in the paperwork?