The answer to the question “How much does a divorce cost in the UK?” has a variety of answers, because the cost of a divorce in the UK can vary significantly depending on whether you own a property, the assets you have, and whether there are children involved.
With child maintenance and the possibility of either partner needing to buy a new property, costs can rise pretty quickly.
In fact, the average cost of a divorce in the UK is £14,561 between legal and lifestyle costs.
Factor in court costs and child maintenance costs after the divorce and that figure starts to increase…
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How Much Is An Uncontested Divorce?
Recent statistics show that 99% of divorces in England and Wales are uncontested. Meaning, that neither party is defending or disputing the dissolution of their marriage and they avoid court hearings.
If you are the partner seeking the divorce, you’re known as the petitioner. This means that you’ll pay anything from £450 to upwards of £1,000 in solicitor’s fees, plus £550 in a divorce centre fee – making the total somewhere between £1,000 – £2,000.
However, if you’re the other party in the divorce, then you’re known as the respondent. You won’t need to pay a divorce centre fee and your solicitor’s fees should be lower, making the total anything from £250 – £1,000.
The divorce centre fee is unavoidable. So, that £550 needs to be factored in and paid by the petitioner unless you’re eligible for financial assistance.
If you require a financial settlement, that will add to the cost of a divorce. A simple agreement will cost around £300 plus VAT but could be higher depending on your solicitors.
However, if your circumstances are more complicated due to additional assets, then this fee could rise to more than £1,500.
What About Child Maintenance?
Often when a marriage breaks down, there are children involved. So, living arrangements and child maintenance costs need to be sorted out…
If you and your partner can’t agree on the amount of child maintenance that one parent should pay to the other, then you can ask the Child Maintenance Service to calculate it for you.
They’ll take a few factors into account, including:
- How many children you have
- The income of the parent paying the maintenance costs
- How much time the child(ren) spend with the paying parent
- Whether the paying parent is paying child maintenance for any other children
You can use the government’s child maintenance calculator HERE to work out how much your costs might be based on your weekly income.
What If A Divorce Goes To Court?
Failing to reach an agreement with your former spouse through mediation or any other means will result in you having to apply to the court for adjudication.
The court will charge you £255, and your solicitor’s fees will need to be accounted for…
This could be anything up to £15,000, depending on how complicated your assets are and the situation surrounding child arrangements.
If you decide to contest the divorce after this, then you’ll have a fully contested final hearing in court where the judge will hear arguments from both parties before making a final decision…
But this will set you back anything up to £30,000 – and beyond.
Finding A Divorce Solicitor Near Me
If you’re looking for an expert divorce solicitor near you, then we’ve got you covered…
To be connected to a specialist divorce solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry ».
