Going through a divorce or a separation is a difficult and distressing time. Many relationship breakdowns also include children and financial issues that need to be considered. Getting the right legal advice at the earliest opportunity can help your divorce to go ahead faster and with less conflict, saving you time, money and stress.
Our specialist Family Law team will provide friendly, practical, confidential advice for all aspects of your divorce. We can help to reduce much of the emotional stress during what is likely to be a very traumatic period while making sure you can bring your relationship to an end in the best way for your interests and those of your loved ones.
If you own property or assets, you will want to ensure that any agreement or order reached about how to divide them is fair and reasonable. You will want to provide financial security for you and your children. Our highly experienced divorce solicitors can provide the best possible advice, assistance and support to help you achieve this.
If you have children, you will want to ensure that they are protected from the relationship breakdown as much as possible. You will want to know that they will be properly cared for and supported in the future. We offer empathetic, practical help and advice to help you get the best outcome for you and your children.
If there are problems or disagreements, we will try to ensure an amicable settlement is reached through options such as negotiation, mediation and collaborative law, allowing you to avoid Court proceedings wherever possible. If the Court’s assistance is necessary, we will support and advise you through the process, helping you to achieve the best available result.
The Divorce Finance Team at Wolferstans includes a number of accredited experts who have been specifically trained to handle cases involving businesses, pensions, shares or other substantial assets. The decisions that you make could affect the rest of your life.
How much will your divorce cost?
All clients are, of course, concerned about incurring legal fees. We can advise you fully about our hourly rates and the estimated cost of any work you wish to be carried out. Details of this will be discussed with you at your first appointment.
Please contact our new client services team now.
Nicholas Michie-Carr
Head of Client Services
Daron Christian
Client Services Co-ordinator
How our divorce lawyers can help you
We can provide clear, sympathetic guidance for every stage of divorce proceedings, including completing and submitting a divorce petition, responding to a divorce petition and representing you in divorce proceedings.
The sole ground for establishing that you are entitled to a divorce is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
In order to establish this, there are five facts, one of which must be relied upon, namely:
- Adultery
- Unreasonable Behaviour
- Desertion
- Two years separation with consent
- Five years separation
The same procedure applies, whichever fact you choose to reply upon.
The process is started by one party “the Petitioner” filing a petition for divorce with the court based on the fact they seek to rely upon. The Court serves other the party “the Respondent” with a copy of the petition. The Respondent must reply to the petition within 8 days of receipt of the document. The response is completed by filing an acknowledgement of service with the court. The acknowledgement filed by the Respondent sets out whether they agree to the grounds for the divorce or if it is their intention to defend the proceedings.
The acknowledgement of service is then sent to the petitioner or their solicitors. The next step in the process is for the Petitioner to complete and sign a statement in support of the petition confirming that the contents of the petition are true which accompanies an Application for Decree Nisi . The purpose of this application is to request that the petition is considered based on the paper application submitted with no need for either party to attend at court in person.
Following receipt of the Application for Decree Nisi, the District Judge will consider the papers and grant a certificate confirming that the parties are entitled to a conditional decree, known as a Decree Nisi. At this stage a date is allocated for the pronouncement of the Decree Nisi. There is generally no need for either party to attend court on the allocated pronouncement date, unless there is any dispute such as who is to be responsible for meeting the costs of the divorce, if this has not already been agreed in advance.
The Petitioner may apply for the final decree, the Decree Absolute, six weeks and one day following the pronouncement of the Decree Nisi. However, we regularly advise our clients not to apply for the Decree Absolute until any outstanding financial issues have been resolved.
The divorce process generally takes between six and eight months from the point of issue to the final decree.
Meeting the costs of divorce:
The Petitioner may include in the petition a claim for the respondent to pay the legal costs and court fees incurred in relation to the divorce. Orders are not common and parties are encouraged to agree the costs position before the acknowledgement of service is filed. This may involve one party meeting the other’s costs or costs being shared between the parties. If the position in relation to costs cannot be agreed, it may be necessary to attend court before the District Judge for the Judge to make a decision in relation to costs.
Problems with service of the petition:
In the event that a Respondent fails to file an acknowledgement of service, the Petitioner needs to establish that service has been effected. There are various ways of achieving this including Bailiff Service by arranging for the Respondent to be personally served or Substituted/Deemed Service, which involves establishing that there is evidence that the Respondent has received the paperwork but is choosing or neglecting to return the acknowledgement of service or is deliberately ignore the proceedings.
If the whereabouts of the Respondent is completely unknown it is possible to make an application to dispense with service of the Petition, although this application would be granted only in rare circumstances.
Defended proceedings:
On rare occasions the Respondent may defend the petition. If this happens a hearing will be listed by the court for the District Judge to consider how to progress the proceedings, which will ultimately lead to the court deciding whether the Petitioner should be entitled to a divorce based on the information in his or her petition.
If you have decided that your marriage or civil partnership has broken down and your husband/wife or civil partner co-operates with the divorce process a member of our specialist team can deal with the divorce proceedings on your behalf.
We will hold a meeting with you to advise you about the process, advise you of the documents and information we need from you, draft the application to start the divorce, liaise with your husband/wife or their solicitor before starting the divorce and send the papers to the Court. We will prepare further documents to progress the divorce when the Acknowledgment of Service has been received. We will advise you of the date for Decree Nisi and apply for Decree Absolute on your behalf.
Where divorce proceedings are started by your husband/wife, or your civil partner, you may wish to receive advice and support throughout those proceedings.
A member of our specialist team can meet with you, take your instructions and advise you about the court process. We can check the court documents and consider whether your husband/wife is seeking to claim costs from you within the proceedings and advise you about the consequences of any costs claim. We will complete the acknowledgement form on your behalf and liaise with the Court and your husband/wife’s solicitors throughout the matter. We will check and send to you the decree nisi and decree absolute.
Our divorce lawyers are highly experienced in achieving fair financial settlements during divorce and separation, with particular expertise in dealing with high-value settlements and complex assets. We can also advise on the application of prenuptial agreements during divorce.
Wherever possible, we will seek to agree a settlement away from the Court, but we are also very experienced in conducting Financial Remedy proceedings through the Court, so as to ensure the best available financial settlement for you, no matter what approach is required.
Divorce or dissolution proceedings will bring your marriage or civil partnership to an end but will not resolve your financial claims against each other. Future potential financial claims remain open unless they are formally dismissed by the Court.
Where there is no property or finances to resolve or you have already agreed how to divide your assets and you wish to prevent your husband/wife or partner from having financial claims against you in the future we recommend that you obtain a Clean Break Order.
A member of our specialist team can advise you of the implications of a Clean Break Order and the procedure to obtain one. We can prepare an application for a Clean Break Consent Order and summary of your finances, ask your husband/wife or partner to complete their financial summary and file the documents with the Court. We will send you the final Clean break Order.
Divorce or dissolution proceedings will bring your marriage or civil partnership to an end but will not resolve your financial claims against each other. Future potential financial claims remain open unless they are formally dismissed by the Court.
Where there are assets, property or pensions to resolve within the divorce proceedings and you have already agreed about how to divide those assets and you wish to prevent your husband/wife or partner from financial claims against you in the future you may wish to obtain a clean break order.
A member of our specialist team can advise you of the implications of a Clean Break Order and the procedure to obtain one. We can prepare an application for a Clean Break Order and summary of your finances, ask your husband/wife or partner to complete their financial summary and file the documents with the Court. We will send you the final Clean Break Order.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible for separating couples to reach agreement about how to divide their assets.
One of the most difficult aspects of a divorce is resolving the ownership of the family home, dividing savings and pensions and the payment of maintenance. This is often the most complicated part of the divorce process.
Where agreement cannot be reached the Court has wide powers to make orders about the family assets including maintenance, property, lump sum and pension sharing orders.
An order of the court can only be made following the Decree Nisi having been pronounced by the court and the terms of an order can only take effect following the pronouncement of the Decree Absolute. An order can be made following negotiations between Solicitors or at Court by agreement and is known as a “Consent Order”. If agreement cannot be reached an order can be made by the Court after a contested hearing.
We will meet with you at the beginning of your case to explore ways to try to settle your matter and we can negotiate on your behalf with your husband/wife or their solicitor. We can discuss your options which can include negotiations between Solicitors Mediation, and Collaborative Law before deciding whether to make an application to Court.
We will help you to deal with your financial disclosure on a voluntary basiswhich is often provided on the standard Court form called a Form E. The Form E is a financial statement which sets out all of your relevant financial information. If it is not possible to agree to provide voluntary disclosure or if negotiations do not lead to an agreed settlement, then your matter is likely to have to proceed through the Court.
Court proceedings are started by either spouse making an application for Financial Remedy with the Court. This is an application asking the court to consider both yours and your husband/wife’s or Civil Partner’s financial positions. Filing the application starts off a standard court process. After 16 weeks a First Directions Appointment (FDA) is listed. Prior to the first hearing, there is provision of the filing and exchange of the court financial disclosure Form E and there is also provision for the filing of additional supporting documentation which we can advise you upon and prepare on your behalf.
At the First Directions Appointment the court will give directions about the progression of your case, which may involve obtaining experts reports, such as a Surveyor to value the family home, or for an Actuary to report upon division of pension funds. It is likely that each party will have asked questions about the other’s Form E and the court will direct for responses to those questionnaires to be filed.
The Court will list the application for a further hearing known as a “Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing” (FDR). This hearing is listed with the intention of being able to settle matter in the hope of avoiding a final hearing, when the Judge will have to decide the outcome. At the Financial Dispute Resolution hearing, both parties summarise the most important aspects of their case to the Judge and set out their offers of settlement. The Judge should then give a view about settlement and will encourage the parties to enter into further negotiations at court.
If settlement cannot be achieved the application will be determined by the Judge at a final hearing. Both parties will give evidence at this hearing and the Judge will make a decision about how the assets are to be divided between the parties.
Settlement is encouraged throughout this Court process. If agreement can be reached a Consent Order can be drawn up and filed at any time during the court proceedings.
If settlement can be reached, this is a much more cost-effective way of resolving matters. However, there are some circumstances in which settlement cannot be achieved and, if this is the case, we will advise and support you throughout each step.
We recognise that making arrangements for children following divorce and separation is often the most emotionally challenging issue to resolve. With our skills and experience of non-confrontational dispute resolution, we can usually help you to agree a positive way forward that protects your rights as a parent and also considers what is in your children’s best interests.
We can assist with all of the issues involved in making arrangements for your children following divorce and separation, including:
• Child Arrangement Orders
• Parental Responsibility
Here are a some top tips to help minimise the impact of conflict on children whilst parents are separating. The video also explains the importance of why you should appoint a Resolution – first for family law member, to assist with your separation. Our Family Law team are all Resolution members, and are here for you when you need us.
If you are considering ending your relationship, but are unsure about starting a divorce immediately or in the near future, but want to sort out and define the arrangements for your finances and children, you may wish to consider entering into a Separation Agreement.
This agreement can specify what has been agreed between you and your husband/wife or partner in relation to income, maintenance and financial support for the children. It can also specify how any property, savings, assets or pensions will be divided to give you peace of mind.
The advantages of a separation agreement are that they are flexible and anything you agree together can be included so you both have certainty as to where you stand legally. A Separation Agreement can only be drawn up if you and your husband/wife or partner agree about the terms that are to be included. Please note however, that separation agreements are not legally binding in the same way as a Consent Order in your divorce.
We have a team of specialists who can advise you about the right agreement for your situation and guide you through the process to ensure you are protected.
Case Studies
Our client had been involved in divorce proceedings many years ago with other solicitors and had reached the decree nisi stage. She then resumed living with her husband. Her old solicitors assumed they were back together and closed their files.
Four years later the couple fell out again. She was told by her husband she could just apply for decree absolute and that as the house had been sold, the proceeds divided equally and there were no other assets , that nothing further could be done. She fortunately contacted Wolferstans.
How wrong her husband was. Firstly she could not just apply for decree absolute as she had been living back together again for more than six months. We had to dismiss the old Petition and she had to start again with a new Petition. In relation to financial matters, although the house had been sold, it had been a long marriage and the husband had built up a big pension. After issuing Court proceedings the Client received a pension sharing order of over £200,000 which would make a massive difference to her in her retirement.
The client initially instructed Wolferstans after moving back to the UK from Germany where they had been living with their two young children. She fled as a result of domestic violence and upon the husband’s return to the UK at Christmas that year a number of further threats were made against the client. Wolferstans therefore secured the protection of a non-molestation order for the client to ensure that her and the children were safe.
Divorce proceedings were issued and the husband indicated that he felt no need to instruct a solicitor. He was a litigant in person. He did not respond to letters and the client thought that the financial issues arising from the divorce would never be resolved. This included the family home which was in the parties’ joint names and which the Husband was refusing to discuss. The husband also had a pension, the value of which he was not willing to disclose. Wolferstans issued financial proceedings which went to final hearing. The husband failed to engage throughout and the Court awarded the client the house and a share of the husband’s pension.
The husband then refused to sign the house over to the wife and Wolferstans issued enforcement proceedings. Wolferstans invited the Judge to sign the transfer of the house in place of the husband and in doing so also obtained a costs order for the husband to pay the client’s legal fees for failing to comply with the court process.
A client instructed me after being divorced for more than seven years. He was previously in the army and received a gratuity and army pension. His ex-wife found out about this and made a claim to the court for a lump sum of money from his pension. This client thought that as they had been divorced financial matters had also been dealt with.
I asked him if he had a copy of the financial court order to which he replied “We didn’t do a financial agreement. We didn’t want to spend the money on mediating this or hiring a solicitor to draft the agreement.”
I advised him that financial claims do not end on divorce but on either the court dismissing them or when the ex-spouse dies or remarries.
I advised the client and got him a good settlement and all future financial claims against him dismissed.
It’s so important for people to know that although a do it yourself divorce may be cheap, it is no substitute for expert legal advice and you will not be protected against financial claims.
Our divorce fees
Fixed fee initial consultation
At Wolferstans we offer a fixed fee initial consultation for £150 plus VAT. This includes an initial meeting with one of our experienced lawyers which is followed up by a written summary of that advice.
We find that this structure ensures that we are able to give our clients full and detailed advice on their case from the outset, which really isn’t the case where free initial appointments are offered. Our structure means that from that meeting onwards, you become our client and also gives you the opportunity to meet your lawyer and make sure you are confident in them.
Hourly rates for our divorce law services
We can act for you in all areas of Court proceedings on the basis of a pre-agreed hourly rate. The overall cost for your divorce will therefore depend on how much time the matter takes.
We offer various hourly rates depending on the level of experience of the person who is doing the work with VAT added to the hourly rate. You will be asked to pay an amount up front before the work starts and will then be billed on a monthly basis. This helps you to stay on top of the costs of your divorce.
Speak to our Plymouth divorce solicitors today. For empathetic expert advice on any aspect of divorce and separation please contact our new client co-ordinators to arrange an initial consultation.
Nicholas Michie-Carr
Head of Client Services
Daron Christian
Client Services Co-ordinator