Talks that can ease pain of a marriage break-up and cut cost to less than £600

THE 100,000 couples who divorce each year can reduce the pain – and cost – by cutting down on conflict, say financial advisers. Good Divorce Week, organised by family law association Resolution, starting tomorrow, focuses on eradicating arguments for the sake of the children.

With legal bills of up to £400 an hour a family’s finances also need to be protected. According to the Money Advice Service, a typical divorce costs £14,500 or as much as £150,000 if significant assets need to be divided. Financial adviser Hargreaves Lansdown warns that the divorce lawyer’s office is not the place to argue over who gets the sofa, with the fees clock ticking as soon as you walk through the door.

The firm’s Sarah Coles recommends that issues surrounding money should be answered as quickly as possible – as delay will cause animosity as well as fuel higher legal bills.

Coles tips mediation for couples who know they can be civil with each other. She says: ‘This brings couples together in a room with a single lawyer to cut costs. It can help them reach agreement for less than £600.’ Some firms also offer fixed fee deals – for example, Co-operative Legal Services charges £300. There are also online DIY divorce kits for less than £100 that may suit the simplest cases.

Even straightforward divorces can take up to a year.

But the Government has been trialling a scheme south of the Border to shrink this to two months – taking a digital-only approach.