Wikivorce is cheaper than local solicitors. Why?

PaulAA_2

Hi all,

The local solicitors offer face-to-face service for an hourly rate. I understand Wikivorce is over the phone, not skype.

As a respondent is there much benefit from the face-to-face communication?


Thank you

lika_86

The benefit of using solicitors is not so much face to face communication but the fact that they are legally trained and hold the appropriate professional insurance, wikivorce advisors are not and therefore their advice should not necessarily be relied upon in the same way.

Mattygroves2

However, wikivorce advisors are specialists in their area whilst local solicitors may be more generalists.

One reason may be the infrastructure costs of running a local practice - rent, reception staff, rates. Wikivorce can be based somewhere with minimum costs rather than having to have a high street presence.

You can always start with the cheaper option and then move to a more specialist and higher cost model if needed. Have you asked your local firm if they are family law specialists and have links / access to family law barristers if you need them ?

CP26

The Wikivorce telephone line is free but they are just advisors. Very knowledgable so they can give you a good overview of the divorce proceedings and give you a rough idea of where you might stand. However they are not legally trained.

If you buy one of the divorce services through Wikivorce you will get access to legally trained people who can help you with your divorce. However these services are usually only for people with very straightforward divorces and you should really think carefully about whether they're right for you. They also wont be local so if you run into any problems it might not be quick to resolve if you can't just pop into the office.

Most high street solicitors also offer fixed free divorce packages now if you and your ex are relatively amicable about everything.

You can also do an entire DIY divorce at minimal costs if you're both amicable about it all and are prepared to work together. A solicitor will still need to write the financial order for you but you can negotiate fixed fees. Ours just wrote the order to our specifications and I did all the paper work as we had so little to split. Overall the divorce only costs the court fees plus a couple of hundred for the order.

Essentially the Petitoner does most of the leg work. When you receive a copy of their petition from the court you just need to sign the form stating whether you agree to the divorce. I wouldn't advise contesting the divorce as this is a very expensive option and you will need a good solicitor - most would advise not to bother contesting unless there are some major assets in play or other circumstances that means it's worth the cost.

Once you reply, the judge will look at the paperwork and decide if. A decree Nisi can be granted. If it is you'll both receive a letter telling you so and the petitioner has to wait at least 6 weeks and 1 day before they can apply for the absolute and the divorce is final.

During this time both of you should be sorting out the finances. It's usually advised to wait until you have the finances agreed and the petitioner submits both the application for the absolute and the financial order application at the same time. This way it alls gets tied off on one go.

However, you can get a divorce and then do the finances if you wish.


Just remember - divorce and money brings up a lot of emotions and it might seem smooth enough now but it can get nasty quickly. Don't rely on promises of 'I only want X' - make sure your own interests are protected and do be prepared for surprises.

Beware of fixed fee and Wikivorce services if you think your divorce may become complicated.

PaulAA_2

Thank you all.

Not even sure if my case is complicated. No children and a jointly owned property. I don't think I have enough to buy out half of the prooerty share. I can get some equity out, but there is still shortfall. Is it possible to agree a number of monthly payments to cover the shortfall?

A few small pensions that I think can be consolidated.

Also looking at resolution.org.uk there are different type of lawyers: family, collaborative, mediators, arbitrators.

I am not clear on the type of a lawyer I'd need. What are the principal differences please? Ideally if it comes to a divorce I'd like to sit down together with my wife and agree a fair split. Does it work like that instead of each party having separate lawyers that charge by hour?

CP26

I don't know the difference between different types of solicitors / specialisms so can't really advise there.

You and your wife can sit down, look at all your assets and liabilities, and reach an agreement together about who gets what. You can then take this agreement to a solicitor (I used a standard family law one) who can turn this into a formal Consent Order.

The Consent Order can then be put to the court who can seal it and make it legally binding. Depending on your arrangement with the solicitor they can help you through the application process for this, and potentially offer some advice around the agreement you've come to e.g. if something looks particularly unfair / unbalanced.

If you don't agree then you'll more likely have to get one of the other types of financial order (the check boxes on the petition). I'd recommend speaking to a solicitor about what each of these mean and what can go in them.

I believe that if you don't agree on the financial split you now have to go and see a mediator who will help you decide. I think this is to save the court time as if you come to an agreement through mediation for one of the financial orders, you don't need to have expensive court arguments.

The easiest way is the Consent Order as you don't have to attend mediation for this as you both agree from the start. You can only apply for a financial order though once your decree nisi has been granted.

It all depends how well the two of you can work everything out.

My ex and I had no children, minimal savings and a house.

We had each come into the marriage with various bits of furniture and a car each so we just kept what had originally been ours. Joint purchases were divided up by negotiation or if they were gifts, by who had purchased them e.g. if his parents bought it, he got to keep it.

Savings wise, we each kept what was in our respective accounts as the amount was pretty equal and small. I had a small pension pot, he had nothing but he agreed that he didn't want anything. (Pensions can be really complicated so do get a solicitor involved if either of you wants a share of the others pot.)

As for the house, he wanted to stay living in it and eventually take it on. He paid for everything house related allowing me to move out and start again. We both agreed that as there was not a lot of equity and he had been paying for it on his own for a while he didn't have to 'buy me out'.

Our Consent Order states that he has to get a sole mortgage within a set time frame so that I'm no longer financially liable for the house, or he'll have to sell it.

From your posts it sounds like she's already got the ball rolling and submitted her petition. I suspect she'll have used a solicitor rather than DIY so do keep in mind that they will be giving her legal advice about her position so you might want to pay for an hour or two with your own solicitor to at least understand what you are entitled to from the marriage pot. Even if you then want to do a Consent Order it'll help if you have the same level of understanding she does.

You can download a lot of the court forms from gov.uk to see what type of information the courts would be expecting to see.

It took me a lot of time and research to be able to do it DIY so don't treat it lightly. I was lucky and got it all right first time, but it was very stressful - I didn't have the luxury of being able to pay someone else to do it but if I could have had someone take away the pressure I probably would have gone for it.

mgdavid

CP26 wrote: »

..... You can only apply for a financial order though once your decree nisi has been granted. .......

but ote that decree nisi is only a stage; a good solicitor will insist on the Financial order being written and agreed and processed before decree absolute is granted (to prevent financial wrangles rumbling on for months and even years).

nicter

If you and your wife can decide a split between you I see little point in paying a solicitor. My husband and I agreed 50/50 on everything, sold the house, split the money and only fees to pay were the court fees
Simples :beer:

PaulAA_2

I'm curious: what do people do once the house is sold and the profits are split? It's probably not easy to get back on the property ladder?

thorsoak

You get back on the property ladder - maybe a couple of steps further down - but that's the way it goes.

nicter

We used the money from our settlement as a deposit on a flat each