Who pays for Divorce

[WhereamI]

A friend's husband wants a divorce (he has a job, she has been a SAHM for 11 years). Who pays for the costs of divorce - does anyone know? Does it matter who serves the divorce papers?

[SarahBumBarer]

If you serve the divorce papers you have to pay the court fee up front but you can apply to the court to make the respondent liable for costs in which case the court will decide who pays (if the respondent objects). You may also then need to apply to the court to enforce the recovery of the costs too as the fact that the court awards costs to the petitioner does not necessarily mean that the respondent will just pay up.

So there is no guarantee as to who will pay, but yes - at least initially the petitioner (ie the one serving the papers) has to pay.

[JeffTracy]

I think the petitoner pays for the cost of the divorce, but the costs are minimal. So it is not really significant.

Its not the divorce, but the Ancilliary Relief where the money gets sorted out can be very expensive and each side will pay their own costs. So it is better to try to sort the money side out with minimal legal action (though that isn't always possible).