We understand that legal fees can be a concern, especially when going through difficult times. We are flexible in our approach to payment and are happy to discuss suitable payment arrangements for you. Where there are assets to be divided as part of the proceedings, we may be able to offer deferred payment terms to the conclusion of the proceedings.
Legal Fees
Fixed Fee
On some matters we have fixed fee options available. Please see below for typical examples of our divorce and civil partnership dissolution fixed fee packages. In other instances, the firm will assess your situation and provide you with a fixed fee to assist with your case. This arrangement gives you a level of cost certainty. In some circumstances we are able to do this in stages of your case giving you more flexibility.
Fixed fee divorce packages
We offer fixed fee packages for clients who wish to petition for divorce and also for clients who have been served with divorce papers or are aware that they are likely to be in the future.
- We provide an initial interview to provide general advice, advice as to the procedure and to answer any questions that you may have for £100 plus VAT.
- If you are the petitioner in divorce proceedings and your proceedings are to proceed undefended, we charge £500 plus VAT and disbursements.
- If you are the respondent in divorce proceedings and the proceedings are undefended, we charge £350 plus VAT for dealing with your divorce.
Fixed fees civil partnership packages
We offer fixed fee packages for clients who wish to petition for civil partnership dissolution proceedings and also for clients who have been served with civil partnership dissolution papers or are aware that they are likely to be in the future.
- We charge £100 plus VAT for initial advice
- If you are the petitioner in the civil partnership dissolution proceedings and your petition is to proceed undefended we charge £500 plus VAT and disbursements for dealing with your civil partnership dissolution.
- If you are the respondent in civil partnership dissolution we charge £350 plus VAT for dealing with your civil partnership dissolution.
Agreed Hourly Rate
The firm will assess your case and provide a fully flexible option on an hour by hour basis. You will be given information about the likely overall cost of your matter and you will be updated as to these costs as the matter progresses. Our hourly rates vary from £125 and £218 per hour plus Vat dependent upon the level of experience and qualifications of the person acting or undertaking work in your case. We charge in units of 6 minutes, so each hour is made up of 10 units and our charges are based upon the time spent.
Disbursements and timescales
We will incur expenses in your case called disbursements. These are usually fees of external parties for services provided on your behalf in the course of your claim. They include things like barrister’s fees, medical or other expert fees, court fees, interpreter fees, fees of agents or others for the production of reports in appropriate cases.
The fees vary considerably depending upon the level of material to review and expertise of the person producing the work. Expert fees can vary from a few hundred pounds up to several thousands of pounds for one report. Court fees usually vary from £232 to £2,215 for issuance of court proceedings dependent upon the type of proceedings being issued. We will seek funds on account of such disbursements from you in advance unless we agree with you otherwise. In a financial remedy cases, barristers fees can be between £1,500 plus vat for the first hearing and up to £10,000 plus vat in total if the cases run to final hearing. In children cases, barrister’s fees are around £750 per hearing plus vat for administrative hearings and assessed on an individual basis for final hearings.
The timescales for completion of family and relationships cases again varies depending upon the nature of the case. If you wish to pay a fixed fee for advice the matter will be completed the same day as your appointment. A straightforward divorce where all matters are agreed would take in the region of 7-8 months. A case requiring a consent order to be drafted in financial proceedings when a conditional order has already been pronounced may take around 3 months to conclude. A contested case after proceedings are instigated and requiring a financial remedy order may take a year to conclude. Some complex cases can take 2-3 years to resolve.
Children Act proceedings can be resolved within 6 months in some instances. Heavily contested matters can take over a year and some cases even longer. Each case will be advised upon separately.