Is a solicitor necessary in divorce proceedings?
Unbundled services are becoming increasingly popular
As solicitors, we often get asked the question whether we are a necessity within the divorce process so as to avoid legal costs. This is becoming an increasingly familiar question with the establishment of online divorce. Divorce can be an expensive process, the court fee is currently £550 and there is no discount if the application is made online. For the purposes of this article, references to divorce also include dissolution of a civil partnership.
The majority of solicitors are also specialised which means we only advise in one or two areas. This increases our knowledge of our area of expertise. This has enabled us to navigate Court proceedings and to anticipate what a Judge may or may not order before the hearing has even started so as to strategise from an early stage. Family decisions are based on case and statute law. As such, navigating a property and ࡼQDQFLDO VHWWOHPHQW IURP
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Solicitors can be time and
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This does sound a bit peculiar given that we charge for our time, however, our advice can actually save you time and
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are a complex area of law and often the most disputed with the family area. Solicitor
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your proposals would be deemed reasonable and fair and within the parameters of what a Court would order, if it were before a judge for a
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be noted that there can now be costs consequences for not reasonably conducting the litigation or declining an open proposal considered to be reasonable by the Court. This means that should this happen you may have to pay your ex-spouses costs for the costs of litigation when this could have been avoided.
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between you and your spouse, solicitors will make every
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formalise this agreement on the basis it is considered fair and reasonable. Solicitors also recognise that legal fees can be expensive so often suggest mediation as a way for parties to negotiate and try and agree a settlement. This can be
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can split the costs of the mediator between themselves rather than having to pay for separate legal representation.
You do not need to use your VROLFLWRU IRU HYHU\WKLQJ
Contrary to popular belief you do not need to instruct your solicitor to complete everything in relation to your divorce or separation. You could for example choose to complete the divorce on your own but instruct solicitors in UHODWLRQ WR ࡼQDQFHV even choose not to have a solicitor act for you, but rather seek a solicitor whenever you need advice on an ad hoc basis. This is referred to as unbundled services and is becoming increasingly common. ,I \RX DJUHH PDWWHUV between you and your spouse you can simply instruct a solicitor to draw up a Consent Order to make it binding on you both. This will keep costs to a minimal and ensure that the settlement terms are drafted correctly to protect your interests. /HJDO IXQGLQJ We appreciate that it can EH GLࡺFXOW WR DಀRUG OHJDO fees. We therefore ensure that we bill on a monthly basis to ensure that you are not hit with a big bill that ZLOO EH GLࡺFXOW WR SD\ can also apply for litigation funding if you have no cash reserves to pay for solicitors fees, but have a property, or have claims in your spouse’s SURSHUW\ ,I WKLV W\SH RI funding is available, legal costs are taken from cash/ property you recover from the settlement. There is also the possibility of obtaining legal aid, although legal aid for GLYRUFH ࡼQDQFHV DQG FKLOGUHQ matters are now means and merits tested. This means that they take into account any income that you earn.