Costs of divorce

Barahp

My younger sister is getting divorced (England and Wales). As a SAHM with two children (both over 5) she has no income, but I understand that legal aid is not available any more.

I would be grateful if anyone could give me a ballpark of how much this is going to cost in legal fees and court fees. The only assets to carve up are the house and his pension and whilst he may contest custody to be spiteful (and rack up more costs), he won't actually want custody of the children.

Many thanks in advance.

springdreams

There is no fixed figure.

Lawyers charge by the hour. If your sister and her husband spend a lot of hours quibbling over the small stuff, then it will cost a lot of money.

If, however, they can agree amicably between them how to divide up the marital assets and reach agreement on custody of the children and visitation and maintenance, then less lawyer hours will be needed.

Lawyers fees are around £200 - £250 per hour for a newly qualified lawyer, and can run to £750 per hour for a senior partner.

Then there are the court fees. I don't know what these will be, but I'm sure someone who does will be along to advise.

Mojisola

Worth reading around the subject - http://www.wikivorce.com/divorce/

Also a good site for advice from people with experience of the process.

TBagpuss

Solicitors fees will vary a bit depending on where in the country she is. Since legal aid was abolished for divorces a lot of solicitors now offer fixed fee divorces, most I have seen charge around £500 - £600 + VAT but that is only for the divorce itself, sorting out finances will be extra, and will vary depending on complexity and how cooperative she and her husband can be.

Some solicitors also offer 'unbundled' services which means that you can pay them for specific bits of the process, and do some of the simpler parts yourself.

If her husband is willing to go to mediation, the costs of that can be met through legal aid, although she is likely to still need a solicitor to give her advice about any proposals made in mediation.

Court fee to issue a divorce is currently £550 but there is a means-tested fee exemption scheme, so she may be eligible for that (if she has no savings or investments other than the house)

There are specialist divorce funding lenders around, which offer loans specifically to cover legal costs, repayable from the financial settlement.

Many family lawyers offer a free initial consultation so she should see one and they will be able to give her a bit more information about her options.