How are legal fees so expensive ???!

[Stressheadmumma]

Everyone I speak to says their divorce legal fees have been between 15-25k each. I find that so upsetting and would not want to waste that kind of money.

how does it end up costing this. How do we divorce and agree finances without paying ridiculous costs. Are there any good online guides where you work out what is a ‘fair deal’. Him being the higher earner and me raising he children and working part time sacrificing my own career and pension etc. if there a general rule of thumb in this situation and a good percentage to split. I will be doing majority of childcare still and we have agreed child maintained and maintaining house and mortgage so it is more longer term finances and house equity and pension.

any advice to avoid paying these people for my misery and effectively taking my life savings 😭

Have you looked at mediation? Mediator tries to help you sort out an agreement you’re both happy with and then you get lawyers to draft it up into a consent order in the divorce.

I do not know their fees but if your financial situation is relatively straightforward, eg only in the UK and no complicated investments, and if you and your soon-to-be-ex both want to come to a fair financial settlement while minimising legal costs, you might consider working with amicable.io.

They are legally trained but would not represent either of you as lawyers - they give legal “information” but not “advice” - which also means you don’t need the normal expense of having to each hire a separate lawyer. So it can cost less in fees.

The 15-25K is more if you end up in court. If you agree a split and have an agreement drawn up it is a lot less.
My sister has spent 17K, but she has been to court 3 times, her ex is a shit who has hide money and was and is financially abusive so gave the wrong pension numbers etc. it was worth it for her as she has been fight over millions.
Me, we had a lot less we agreed a split my solicitor drew it up he signed it. Less than 2k.

There’s no calculator as each circumstance different

it depends on what there is in £ term rather than % eg people will say as primary carer/lower earner you deserve 70% ( example) but this will depend what assets there are and if your needs can be met with 50% eg if that would allow tiu to house yourself and children mortgage free as example

there are many tools and guides online to help you through the principles

they mediation

talk it through with each other

compromise and negotiate

there is a general expectation that someone not working or working pt will be required and assessed on their full time capacity and earnings

how high an earner is your husband and do you understand roughly what assets there are ?

No haven’t done anything yet as so scared by all the fees! And hard to know where to start

@millymollymoomoo thanks will check the guides. He earns 2.5 times what I do. I work 22.5hrs to do all the childcare/ school runs etc and would struggle to increase this and neither of us want our son to do childcare because of his health needs.

assets will be the house with about 4-500 equity. Need to get a valuation as not sure.

hie pension is worth a fair amount mine not so due to maternity leave twice and part time hours.

his car is asset as mine is lease through work.

then we have some money in savings which looks like it’ll be for legal costs!

@millymollymoomoo
i wouldn’t be able to afford this house on my own so would have to sell but to get new mortgage I would need greater equity share than him as he has potential to get much higher mortgage and I have the children 6/7 nights.

There’s a good guide here

www.advicenow.org.uk/file/2802/download?token=I7j0X6Hj

So part of your homework is to see a mortgage advisor and see what your borrowing capacity is. You’ll also need to look at how much a suitable house would be, so you’ll have a better argument for a larger share of the equity.

Staying married is more cost effective for the family wealth bucket for sure. Not just the legal fees of divorce but the cost of running two homes. But if you want out of the contract … it will cost you,

You’ll also be expected to work full time or top up with benefits and are unlikely to receive a higher share to offset your pt nature.

2.5 times your salary doesn’t guide us to how high an earner he is

if you start trading for more equity ( he’ll still be deemed as needing housing for him and children) you’ll lose pension and vice versa.

@millymollymoomoo
he wouldn’t want me to not be able to pick the youngest up from school as his health is important to us and he was off school unwell again yesterday which makes working more hours difficult as already juggling work when he has to be off. Until consultants can stabilise him more it’s tricky. But will be looking if I can take on some non contracted work but this won’t be able to be counted for mortgage. He is on over 80,000 and has a much greater pension than I do.

I'm with you OP. My ex and I are 'separated under the same roof' and I can't see a way forward. Note I'm in Australia so no doubt laws differ, but the exorbitant cost of lawyers is the same!

Mediation here costs only a little less than lawyers.

No advice I'm afraid, just a hand-hold. I've no idea what to do next. I really hope you find a way through it, it's soul destroying to live with

Because solicitors train for years to do this job. 5 years minimum.

We specialise in difficult areas of law, and are expected to run a huge case load. Law firms have insurance, wages, etc to pay. The larger the firm the higher the insurance bill because if something goes wrong it can cost millions to put right.

I’m in Ireland where it costs approximately 2-4k to divorce. Why is it so expensive in the uk?!

My divorce cost about £2k max. £550 for divorce form and the rest to a solicitor to look over the form e and submit consent order.

We did agree ourselves on financials.

Ive recently shopped around for one price if legal work

the prices were

£720
£1109
£1380

same job, it’s the same with undertakers, difference in cost when a friend shopped around 3/4 undertakes was £2000 fir exactly the same requirements

my advice is shop around

With the figures you have provided and your financial position it is worth getting a solicitor. I know it costs. But this is your children’s future. And your equity split will dictate your future too.

I can tell you it made all the difference to me. Money well spent.

80k is not considered high, certainly not in terms of a court ordering spousal and a v High share of assets. Of course if he agrees to these things fine, but he’ll be expected to have sought independent legal advise before any order is approved and his legal team will advise him of this.

something to be aware of, as you would be assessed based on full time earnings unless your child has significant medical needs ( which we don’t know here) . A desire to pick up from school wouldn’t be enough.

based on the assets you have what do you think is fair ??

And costs rack up if you can’t agree between you ( baring in mind the requirement to both have sought independent legal advise) and end up in court

I spent £3k total. We used a mediator and had solicitors sign it off.

You can file for divorce online, just the court fee no legal fees. If you can work out finances and child arrangements if applicable then get it written up as a consent order either using an online service (around £600) or a local solicitor (£1000 approx)

@Dustyblue sorry you are going through the same. It’s not easy is it and fear of how you will afford to live in the future is so hard. Balancing the kids needs and work and need to have a decent standard of living. Also a minefield. I am attending a free webinar today to see what that offers.

Thank you. Yes just keep reading as much as I can.

@ivykaty44 thankw that’s helpful to know