The cost of the divorce falls into two parts:
- the court fees (an initial petition fee of £300 plus a document swearing fee of £7 and the £40 fee for the decree absolute); and
- the solicitors’ fees for preparing the court documents.
Although the court fees are set (and there is no VAT on them), the solicitors’ fees will depend on the amount of time they have spent. If the case is undefended, these will usually be between £700 and £1,000, plus VAT, excluding the court fees This does not include the time spent in dealing with the finances or with children’s problems.
The more significant fees in any case relate to sorting out the financial issues or any dispute about the children.