How Much is a Quick Divorce?

When you are looking for a Northwest divorce solicitor two of your questions may be the cost of a divorce and the divorce lawyer’s speed and ability to deliver on a promise of a quick divorce.

In this blog, our divorce solicitors answer your questions on divorce costs.

For expert divorce advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

How much does a quick divorce cost?

At Evolve Family Law we believe in being upfront about our fees and publish our fixed fee costs on our website.

We offer fixed fees for a range of family law services including a fixed-fee divorce service if you are the sole applicant for a divorce. The fixed fee divorce service is appropriate for most divorce applicants but won’t be appropriate for your circumstances if your spouse intends to oppose the divorce or if you do not know where your spouse is living or if your spouse is living overseas.

We welcome phone calls to discuss starting divorce proceedings and to offer information on the likely costs. For example, if you would like a quote to make a joint divorce application with your husband or wife or if your spouse lives overseas and you need a bespoke divorce quote.

Most people benefit from an initial relationship breakdown consultation at a separate fixed fee so we can provide preliminary advice and advise on your best route.

If you are trying to compare other fixed-fee divorce quotes you should check that those quotes include VAT and the divorce court fee. Our quotes do so to ensure you know the final figure.

What does a fixed-fee divorce quote cover?

A fixed-fee divorce quote covers:

• Advising you on the procedure for a no-fault divorce
• Preparing the divorce application and statement
• Applying to court and submitting the application and fee
• Corresponding with the court and your spouse
• Applying for your conditional order of divorce
• Applying for your final order of divorce

The final order concludes the divorce proceedings.

The fixed fee quote does not cover the situation where your spouse decides to defend your divorce application. This is very rare because, in no-fault divorce proceedings, a respondent can only defend a divorce on limited grounds. For example, a divorce can be defended if your spouse says you are not legally married to one another or if divorce proceedings have already been started in another country. A respondent to a divorce application can no longer oppose the application simply because they don’t want to get divorced.

What isn’t included in a fixed-fee divorce quote?

It’s important to understand what isn’t included in a fixed-fee divorce quote so you can fully budget for your legal costs.

The fixed-fee divorce quote covers the divorce application. It does not cover an initial consultation meeting to discuss matters such as:

• Whether you can get your husband or wife to leave the family home
• Whether your spouse will need to pay you spousal maintenance or child support until you can agree on a financial settlement
• Child care arrangements for your children including residence and contact
• Advice on potential financial settlement options
• Help with applying for a non-molestation order or occupation order

We offer a relationship breakdown consultation initial review meeting for a fixed fee where we can discuss your preliminary legal questions about your separation and provide advice on your next steps.

If you reach a financial agreement with your spouse, we also offer a fixed fee service to convert your agreement into a binding financial court order.

Wherever possible we offer fixed-fee services. Where it is not possible to do so, we give you clear information about the hourly rate used by your divorce solicitor and provide information about the likely costs and timescales.

Some people question why family law solicitors can’t provide a fixed fee to obtain a child arrangement order or financial court order. That’s because a child arrangement order application may involve one court hearing or ten hearings. A financial application may settle at the second court hearing (called a financial dispute resolution hearing) or a complex financial court application may result in a ten-day contested final hearing.

For accurate cost information, it is always best to speak to our specialist family law solicitors as they will be able to give you an idea of costs and timescales if you need bespoke children law or divorce financial settlement advice.

How long does a quick divorce take?

Any divorce solicitor will take around six months to complete your divorce application and secure your final order of divorce. You may think that isn’t quick but the divorce timeframe isn’t down to your divorce lawyer.

It takes around six months to get a no-fault divorce because the court imposes mandatory delays on you. Court rules say you must wait 20 weeks between stages one and two of your divorce and then there is a further six-week wait between your conditional and applying for your final order of divorce.

Our divorce solicitors understand that the delays in the divorce process can be frustrating, especially when your spouse has agreed to a quick divorce. While we cannot shorten the mandatory delays, we can use the time to help you negotiate the parenting and contact arrangements and help you negotiate a financial settlement. If you reach a financial agreement, we can ask the court to make a financial consent order once you have got your conditional order of divorce.

For friendly expert divorce advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.