The Rising Costs of Divorce
We were one of the only firms to announce the increase in the court administration fee with regards to divorce petitions in March 20016. The administration fee rose from £410 to issue a divorce petition to £550. Whilst there had been talk in September of 2015 of there being a fee rise, this was put out to consultation and was hotly contested in some of the House of Commons committees. However, the government rather stealthily, then introduced the new fee on the Wednesday afternoon, just two working days before the new fees came in to force on the following Monday.
Here at Ridley & Hall, we are aware that when people go through separation, it is an extremely expensive time. Most people go from one home to two homes and may have found it difficult to financially manage one home, let alone two. Legal Aid has been all but decimated in family cases since the introduction of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and we realise that clients are feeling the pinch.
As a result, we have looked carefully at our fixed fee package for divorce matters and have made a reduction in our most comprehensive package which was £695 plus VAT but is now £500 plus VAT.
The packages are:-
- Checking Package – Here we send you out all the relevant paperwork and you then send it back to us to check.
- Help with Divorce – Preparation of Documentation Service – Here we prepare all the documentation but you are responsible for sending the documents to the Court with the appropriate fee and getting the paperwork back in from the Court.
- Our Full Divorce Fixed Fee Package – We are responsible for preparing the paperwork and sending it off to the court.
Most people when they come in to see us, would prefer not to have the hassle and stress of dealing with divorce proceedings on their own. The third package can certainly take that away from people but if clients do feel that they cannot afford that package, then there are two other services with which we provide some assistance.
If you would like some advice from the Family team at Ridley & Hall, please call Vicky Medd on 01484 538421.
