How much will my divorce cost?

Steven Wadehttps://familylawassistance.co.uk/our-founders/

`How much will my divorce cost?’ is an understandable question

It’s a good question. You have almost certainly heard the horror stories from friends and family members who have gone through it all. Say `How much will my divorce cost?’ to them and they’ll likely purse their lips and talk about a figure that is in 4,5 or 6 figures. They’ll talk about losing houses, cars, businesses and moving back to their mum’s house.

Remember though – people are more likely to talk about this sort of thing if it’s gone badly, rather than if it went well. Remember too that you’re almost certainly only hearing a fraction of the story too.

If you’ve been reading our social media feeds recently though you’ll see we reported that a recent legal conference it was said by one of the speakers that £63,000 in legal costs isn’t `disproportionate’.

Nuts and bolts

There are two main different kinds of costs you’ll end up paying to go through the legal process. One is the cost of court applications (which are usually a few hundred). And the other is legal fees – what you pay your solicitor (if you have one).

This second component is the biggie. We’ve had clients who have paid 6-figure sums to their solicitor.

In English and Welsh Family Law there are 3 components (all needing their own separate application):

1. Divorce. This is now `no fault‘ and can be done online. You don’t need anyone to help you do this.
2. Finance. You don’t have to get a finance order…but you will remain tied to your ex financially until remarriage (with the remarrying party no longer able to make an application).
3. Children. You don’t have to get an order here. It’s better if you work things out yourselves. Seriously. Read some of the other blogs on this site!

As a rule of thumb – and there’s no way of dressing this up. The more contentious, the more awkward, the more protracted your legal proceedings are…they more expensive it is. If one of you is refusing to communicate, it increases cost. If one of you is dishonest, it increases cost. If no one compromises, it increases cost.

We address this in other blog posts – the Divorce from Heaven and the Divorce From Hell.

The end bit to `How much will my divorce cost?’

The bottom line is that there is no upper limit to what you can pay. Court fees are relatively low. Legal bills can range from almost zero all the way through to I-don’t-have-that-kind-of-money levels.

But. If you’re both nice, reasonable, fair – it *can* be done for a 3 or low 4-figure some with an absolute minimum of paperwork and fuss.

About the author…

Steven Wadehttps://familylawassistance.co.uk/our-founders/

Steven Wade is the founder of Family Law Assistance, a team of McKenzie Friends supporting litigants in person through the family court system in England and Wales. With nearly two decades of experience in family law starting in 2006., Steven has guided hundreds of clients through proceedings involving child arrangements, parental alienation, financial disputes, and non-molestation orders as well as finance and divorce matters. He's run branches of Fathers Need Fathers in England and Wales (now Both Parents Matter), hosted workshops for separated parents, trained McKenzie Friends to assist litigants in the family and travels around the country to assist men and women in and out of court. Steven regularly produces content to demystify legal processes both in blog posts on this site and also on Tiktok and is known for his empathetic, practical advice. He has delivered training and support to parents and support workers dealing with the route through the family court.