How much does divorce cost today?

gilbutre

From casual research online I see that "traditional" divorce costs at least £500, but some websites propose options below £100:

https://www.divorce-online.co.uk/divorce-services/diy-divorce-services/diy-divorce/

https://www.quickie-divorce.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwusrtBRBmEiwAGBPgE9O118d5rhy6zcf75AuVeMcKmByzIjqf2PxV_5hgMTOSlX29mrazZBoC_wEQAvD_BwE

Sounds a bit too good to be true, what's the catch?

MovingForwards

Catch is the court fees are high!

when I last looked for England/Wales it was £450 just for submitting the divorce paper, then there's one or two steps after that, each attracting a fee.

In Scotland and doing the simplified divorce it's £125 all in and potentially done in 6 weeks.

elsien

In the case of contested ones, and the need for a barrister, thousands.

Davy_Jones_II

Mine cost me a beautiful Georgian townhouse overlooking Greenwich park.

Skintski

I found the website below really useful. The basic court costs if you do your own divorce was £550 when I did mine. You then have to have a solicitor for a consent order and that cost another £259 but we didn’t have much to argue about.

https://www.wikivorce.com/divorce/

[Deleted User]

The catch is that you need to get married to qualify for a divorce. The average wedding cost £31,974 in 2019.

mgdavid

If it's not amicable and one party is spiteful, then thousands. About £15k in the case of a family member.

Pollycat

What is a "traditional" divorce? :huh:
Is there an alternative?

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-divorce

gilbutre

Pollycat wrote: »

What is a "traditional" divorce? :huh:
Is there an alternative?

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-divorce

By traditional divorce I meant the normal route, not the £37 online divorce route.

So there is no way around these £550 right? I guess these websites are dodgy, they really make it look like the small price advertised is all that needs to be paid.

Pollycat

gilbutre wrote: »

By traditional divorce I meant the normal route, not the £37 online divorce route.

So there is no way around these £550 right? I guess these websites are dodgy, they really make it look like the small price advertised is all that needs to be paid.

Lots of websites are 'dodgy'.
The trick is recognising that before you part with any money (which you appear to have done :T).
From what I can see from the links you gave in your first post, these companies are no different to those offering to get you a EHIC or passport or driving licence, submit your tax return etc for a fee.
There are many threads about those sorts of companies.


It does say at the bottom of the first link:

Please Note: Court fees in divorce are set by the government and are currently £550 to file for divorce. They are separate to our fee and are paid at the time you start divorce proceedings. They can be paid via cheque, postal order or over the phone with ourselves at any time. If you are on a low-income or receive certain benefits you may be entitled to a remission with these fees, call us on [URL="tel:01793 384 029"]01793 384 029[/URL] to find out.

The company in the 2nd link are somewhat less up-front about court fees but it is on their website if you look.

bouicca21

Mine just cost the court fees, about £700, but the fees are higher now. We were both reasonable and determined to be fair. Relatives did argue, cost them about £45k.

Highly recommend advice and support on wikivorce.