As an alternative to charging on the basis of the time spent, we are pleased to offer a fixed fee to deal with divorce proceedings. Our fixed fees are as follows.
Petitioner (a person applying for the divorce) total £1,330 made up as follows;
| Our Cost | VAT @20% | Total (Our Services) | Court Fee | Total |
|---|
| £650 | £130 | £780 | £593 | £1,373 |
Respondent (a person receiving the divorce papers) total £540 made up as follows;
| Our Costs | VAT | Total Costs |
|---|
| £450 | £90 | £540 |
Payment – we would require payment of the fixed fee prior to the commencement of any work relating to this matter. The court fees is payable prior to submitting the Petition to the Court.
Our fee includes the following;
- Initial consultation with one of our Family Solicitors.
- Advice about the proceedings.
- Preparation of documents including divorce petition, application for decree nisi and decree absolute.
- Affidavit to support decree nisi.
- Correspondence with the other party or their Solicitors, agreeing content of petition in advance communicating with the Court andreporting to you.
The following is not included in the fee.
- Attempting to locate the other party.
- Making an application to the Court for an order that the petition has deemed to have been served.
- Defended divorce proceedings.
- Arranging for divorce documents to be served on the other party personally (this procedure involves instructing a process server who will have separate instructions and his own fees).
- Amending the divorce papers after proceedings have started.
- Any additional expenses such as obtaining a certified copy of your marriage certificate (if you do not have the original).
- Translation of your marriage certificate if this is not in English.
- Unforeseen complexities arising from the case which require additional work or advice or attention.
- Any advice regarding children or finances.
In the event that any of the above issues should arise and you instruct us to act on your behalf with regard to any of them our charges would be as follows:
1. Attendance/perusal/preparation etc @ £200.00 per hour
2. Letters and e-mails out @ £20.00 per item
3. Telephone attendance @ £20.00 per 6 min unit
3. Letters and e-mails in @ £10.00 per item
Before commencing any additional work we will provide you a costs estimate and update you periodically.
In the event that you decide not to progress the matter or cease to provide instruction the full fixed fee will apply. In the event that the petition has not yet been issued the court fee will be refunded.
I also write to advise you of certain matters which are required to be provided by Solicitors to their clients in accordance with the SRA Code of Conduct 2011, which will be of some assistance.
I anticipate that your matter will take between 6 to 9 months to conclude. This will of course depend on whether there are other issues that need to be resolved such as finances and children.
In the event that the other side do not return the acknowledgment of service form it may be necessary to serve a copy by way of either a court bailiff or a process server. The costs of this will be conveyed to you prior to instruction for your approval.
In the event that the other side do not return the acknowledgment of service but it can be demonstrated to a court that there is sufficient evidence to prove that he or she has received it an application may be made for “deemed service”. Our fee for preparing the application and statement in support is £200 plus VAT. In addition there will be a court fee which is currently £50.00.