QualitySolicitors Large & Gibson can help you through your situation, we offer a range of legal services to suit your individual circumstances. Our experienced solicitors are here to provide honest and compassionate expert legal advice, we have helped clients across Portsmouth, Hampshire and beyond with the legal side of a relationship breakdown for many years. Our expert, experienced divorce lawyers will work hard to make your transition as simple and stress free as possible.
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DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS PRICE GUIDE
Our pricing for divorce proceedings:
For a straightforward undefended divorce (where you are the Petitioner) we would charge circa £500 (excluding v.a.t. and the court issue fee)
Factors that could make the case more complex and therefore more expensive:
- Where the Respondent does not return the acknowledgment of service form to the court. This may necessitate personal service of the divorce papers on the Respondent.
- If the divorce is defended.
- Where it is necessary to file an amended petition or a supplemental petition.
How long will my divorce take?
A straightforward undefended divorce usually takes about 20 weeks. A defended divorce will take considerably longer. Very few divorces are defended these days.
Our pricing for the financial and property aspects of divorce
The fees set out above are in respect only of the divorce proceedings (meaning the main divorce suit). You will incur additional fees in relation to any financial proceedings ancillary to the divorce. Those fees very much depend on the extent of the co-operation between the parties and therefore the amount of work involved. Financial disclosure is a necessary pre-requisite to the process of negotiation. These days, separating couples are encouraged to participate in mediation to make arrangements for the future. We encourage you to take part in mediation at an early stage, indeed you are obliged to attempt mediation before applying to court. The cost of mediation does not form part of our fees and those fees will be payable by you direct to the mediator.
Where terms are agreed between the parties, for drafting a simple consent financial order we would charge circa £500 excluding v.a.t. and the court application fee (which conventionally is shared equally between the parties).
Where we are instructed to handle financial negotiations, deal with voluntary financial disclosure and draft a consent order our estimated fees will be between £1,500 and £2,500 excluding v.a.t. and expenses.
If the parties cannot reach agreement, one or the other may issue an application for a financial remedy order. That process could involve 3 (or sometimes more) hearings. There is a First Appointment, followed by a Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) Hearing and then by a Final Hearing. At every stage of the process, the parties are encouraged to negotiate in the hope of reaching a settlement.
Our fees up to and including the First Appointment are likely to be between £2,000 - £3,000 excluding v.a.t. and expenses. Our fees from the First Appointment up to and including an FDR Hearing are likely to be between £2,000 - £3,000 excluding v.a.t. and expenses.
Our fees from the FDR Hearing up to and including the Final Hearing are likely to be in the region of £4,000-£6,000 excluding v.a.t. and expenses.
Cases involving an especially difficult/ non-co-operative party or more complicated issues, or high value and/or foreign assets may involve more work and therefore more expense.
How long will the financial remedy proceedings take?
The First Appointment usually takes place about 3 months after the issue of the application, followed by an FDR Hearing about 3 months after that and a Final Hearing another 3 months after that. We will be able to give you a more accurate timescale as the matter progresses.
Disbursements
Disbursements are expenses we incur on your behalf payable to third parties. For example:
- Court fees
- Process server’s fees (for personal service of court papers where required)
- Chartered surveyor’s fees (where required for valuation of property by a single joint expert)
- Pensions actuary fees (where required for an actuarial report by a single joint expert for pension sharing)
- Fees payable to counsel for advice and/or representation at court
- Travel to court and car parking
Where appropriate, we may uses the services of a barrister (counsel) for advice and/or representation in which case the choice of barrister will be made in consultation with yourself. The barrister’s fees will depend on the type of case/ hearing and seniority of the barrister in question. A barrister will usually charge between £2000-£3,000 plus vat per day.
Key stages
The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of the divorce process:
- Taking your initial instructions, and drafting your divorce petition;
- Making a referral to mediation (unless you choose to self-refer);
- Applying for the decree nisi;
- Applying for the decree absolute;
- Negotiations with regard to financial/property matters;
- Dealing with financial disclosure and where necessary mutual exchange of voluntary financial statements;
- Preparing and issuing your application for a financial remedy order;
- Preparing your Form E;
- Considering your spouse’s Form E;
- Preparing a chronology/concise statement of issues/request for further information and documents;
- Preparation of bundles of documents for the court hearing(s)
- Preparation and attendance at court hearing(s), including (where applicable) brief to counsel.
Once a Final Order has been made, whether by agreement or after a contested hearing, there may be other work to do and therefore fees involved. For example, where the court orders a property to be sold or a property to be transferred from one party to the other. We will quote separately for the cost of the conveyancing work involved and the expenses such as Land Registration fees.
Written terms and conditions of business
Written terms and conditions of business, including more information about services and charges (including hourly rates), are available on request. Alternatively, you can find them on our website www.qualitysolicitors.com/largeandgibson