Divorce

Crafter_baker

Hi All
I'm new to this forum.  My partner has just had his divorce finalised.  Was very lengthy as his ex-wife was not very helpful in the situation.  Also he had 3 solicitors through no fault of his.
He went to the 3rd solicitor with decree nisi complete and all that needed done was to have his pension shared which he paid an actuary for separately.

We expected his solicitors bill to be in and around £2000.  He had not previously discussed any prices but thought he had an idea of the average price for a divorce.  The solicitor sent the final bill and it was £9500.  His solicitor knew his finances, knew his salary was average, knew he had no savings and knew he suffers from ME yet she made no mention at anytime of what the bill may be.

She was charging £250 per hour plus all the extras for letters, emails, phone calls etc.

How can solicitors charge these extortionate fees to every day working people without any for warning.

We don't know where to turn for advice.

Thanks  

mr_stripey

I don't think there is an average price for a divorce. It is likely that all the charges for calls, emails etc were set out.

Solicitors make money from both sides in a dispute; the more you can agree in person between ex husband and wife, the better (speaking from my own experience)

Perhaps his ex wife has also had a hefty bill from her solicitors?

Hoenir

Crafter_baker said:

She was charging £250 per hour plus all the extras for letters, emails, phone calls etc.

The solicitors has an office to run. No different to any business. Rent, rates, telephone, all manner of insurances, wages for the staff they employ plus employers national insurance and pension contributions, office equipment maintenance. photo copier rental. The list goes on and on. 

When you have a cup of tea in a cafe what's the cost of the water, tea bag and milk out of what you are charged? 

kazwookie

OP you need to check letters / emails sent from the solicitor, it is likely some where they would have send a letter / email along the lines of 'our charges are..................'  and listed everything out.  There is also likely to be   'a sign and send this back to us you agree we act for you type letter.'

tacpot12

The only thing he can do now as ask them to justify the cost, i.e. provide a cost breakdown and then ask for time to pay.

You would think that by the time he was on his third solicitor he would have got the hang of engaging a solictor. He should know to ask them "How much is this going to cost?" 

AskAsk

This is the issue with divorce lawyers.  You can never know how long they are going to spend on your case.  £2,000 is far too low for a divorce process unless it was an amicable one through amicable and then it is still more than this I think.

It doesn't surprise me that the bill has come back at £9,500 for the consent order / financial order.  The time is for getting the consent order.  The decree NSI is actually quite simple and can be done by yourself without the need for a solicitor.

Green_hopeful

There will be a process to ask for a breakdown of the costs. If the negotiations were completed before the third solicitor was instructed then perhaps your partner has been overcharged. There should have been a long letter sent when the third solicitor was instructed setting out their costs and your partners rights in the process. There will also be a complaints process. If the charge is correct and the solicitor won’t reduce it then ask to pay over time. I feel for you and your partner. My divorce was eye wateringly expensive. I paid on the last day possible on a credit card to give me the maximum time to pay it off. 

VyEu

They should have been giving him costs estimates. Was there a court process? If so 9.5k all in including a first hearing is pretty good. Either way, it comes down to the retainer and what was agreed between him and his sols. £250 incl VAT is imo a good rate, and it would have been in the terms and conditions 

Stateofart

I think your price is pretty reasonable.  A family member of mine went through a messy separation that took a while and the bill was £10000.  £2000 is about the amount to buy and sell a house, when everyone is pulling together !  The very fact he's on his third solicitor and thinks it should be around £2000 says to me he has no idea how things like this work.