Our Fixed
Fee Divorce includes all steps from initial instructions through to your Decree Absolute. Ours is not an online “tick-box”
service but is personal, face-to-face and tailored to your individual circumstances.
WHAT WILL YOU PAY?
The total fee is £950.00,
assuming there are no unforeseen problems, which is payable in three instalments as follows:
1.
£350.00 - payable at your first meeting when you will need to provide completed instruction sheet (Stage 1).
2.
£300.00 - payable when the divorce petition is ready to be 'issued' by the Court - the Court fee payable
at this stage is covered (Stage 2).
3.
£300.00 - payable when we apply for the Decree Nisi (Stage 3).
The fees break down as follows:-
| Our Fees including VAT | £610 |
| Court fee on filing the petition | £300 |
| Court fee on Decree Absolute | £40 |
| Total | £950 |
You may
have to pay an additional fee if you need to obtain a copy of your marriage certificate, and a fee of up to £9.00 when you swear your Affidavit (statement on oath) in support of the
Divorce petition. This is the document we lodge with the Court, requesting them to fix the date for Decree Nisi. If you do
this at the court offices, no fee is payable.
WHAT DO WE DO?
Before your first meeting with one of our Family Law team, we need you
to complete our Matrimonial Instruction Sheet and send it to us. This contains most of the information we will need to cover
the preparation and issue of the Divorce Petition and all the steps that need to be taken to obtain Decree Absolute.
Should the matter become more
complicated, eg your spouse defends the proceedings or files a Cross Petition (seeking a cross divorce against you), this
will not fall within our fixed fee scheme and we will need to increase the costs according to the extra work incurred.
Should this happen, we will notify you as soon as practicable, and before any additional costs are involved. We will give
you an estimate of the likely increase in the fees, and outline the additional work we will need to undertake.
If
the Petition is defended, the procedure becomes more complex and differs from that outlined in the following pages. We will
explain the revised procedure to you at the time.The fees will also increase if your spouse fails to return the acknowledgement of service
form.
On issuing the Papers, the Court posts the Petition to your spouse or their solicitors. If your spouse fails
to deal with the papers it may become necessary to have a further set of the papers delivered by hand by an Enquiry Agent
so that the divorce can progress. If this is necessary, our fees will increase by the cost of instructing the enquiry agent
and his fees. We will be able to give you a clear indication, in advance, of the likely cost.
HOW
WILL ANY WORK EXCLUDED UNDER THE FIXED FEE OR WORK IN SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS RELATING TO YOUR PROPERTY OR ANY CHILDREN BE
PAID FOR?
You will usually need to resolve the financial aspects of your separation
before we advise you to apply for Decree Absolute. Any work we undertake in respect of the financial aspects or concerning
your children will be charged at our usual hourly rate. Our current rates are £115 per hour for a
Trainee and between £175 and £195 per hour for a senior solicitor. VAT is added to these rates.
We understand that most clients need to know the likely cost of instructing us and need to reach an affordable payment arrangement.
We can discuss all of this with you should you need to instruct us on the other aspects of your divorce.
IS YOUR SPOUSE LIABLE FOR YOUR COSTS?
During divorce proceedings, you can
ask for a Court Order that your spouse contributes to the costs of the divorce. This may cover some or all of the fees you
incur. We will explain how this works during our first meeting.
If an Order for costs is made against your spouse, then we will
write one letter to your spouse to recover those fees, but the plan does not include the fees for enforcing any Order for
costs made within the divorce proceedings. If we have to help you enforce the order, there will be additional costs involved.
WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?
Please read the section headed "Divorce Procedure". This explains the various grounds on which a divorce petition
can be filed.
If you would like to proceed
with us, we will need you to complete the Matrimonial Instruction Sheet. Please print the pages, complete them and send them
to us before your first meeting.
When you come
for your first meeting, please bring:
Your marriage certificate.
The completed Matrimonial Instruction
Sheet, together with supporting documents, (if not sent beforehand).
The initial £350 payment in cash or
cheque. If you wish to pay in advance by internet banking please telephone and we will let you have our account details.
Download
our:
Divorce Procedure Information Sheet
Matrimonial Instruction Sheet
For further
information contact us on 01474 579940 or email info@stanlaw.co.uk