Can you claim back the cost of a divorce from your ex if he was 'at fault'

[NamesNick]

Just that really.

I haven't started proceedings yet but my friend who is going through the same thing seems to think that if he agrees to the 'unreasonable behaviour' then I could claim the cost back from him?

Also, what are the terms/reasons for divorce?

If you petition based on unreasonable behaviour you will be able to claim your legal costs from him unless you have agreed something different between you. If he realises this he could decide to defend the divorce or cross petition based on your unreasonable behaviour, which would be a waste of time and money. I would therefore recommend agreeing between you who will pay the cost of the divorce if possible.

You can cite any unreasonable behaviour you want. It doesn't have to be particularly serious. Indeed, it is usually worth making the items cited fairly mild to avoid annoying your ex and potentially making other aspects of the divorce more difficult.

My Ex defended the divorce, was brought to a hearing where he swiflty changed his mind, the judge called him foolish for defending in the first place and ordered him to pay costs.

You can make a claim the court fees for the divorce, but not your legal bill (i.e. solicitor's and barrister's fees)

You can claim the cost for the divorce part of the divorce as long as you tick the right box. A judge when looking at your petition decides whether to award or not.

When it comes to financial remedy however each party usually bares own costs.

Anthropic is that correct? My solicitors fees were ordered to be paid as well, might be because the judge ordered it because he defended it though.

I think solicitors fees can be ordered. It is only for the divorce part.

The actual divorce part can be quite straight forward. It's the rest that can become complicated. (Ie financial and child arrangements)

There would be no need for barristers at this point.