Speaking to The Law Society Gazette, several lawyers have criticised the current divorce fee of £593 with the process set to change following divorce reforms planned for next month.
The “no-fault” divorce provisions contained within the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act aim to make the process quicker and less acrimonious. This, combined with it being possible to complete more elements of the process online, has led to calls to cut the current fee of £593 to file an application. The fee was just £410 as recently as 2016.
Speaking during a webinar co-hosted by the Law Society and Our Family Wizard, David Hodson, a member of the Law Society’s family law committee, said:
“That’s fine if a judge is going to spend time on it and there’s paper. For an online process, [the £593 fee is an] absolute scandal and should be reduced.”
Emma Nash, a family partner at Fletcher Day, said:
“£593 is a lot to pay to get divorced. For some people, it is prohibitively high. It is now even more difficult to see how this fee can be justified as the divorce process has moved online cutting down the work that needs to be done by court staff and judges to review and process the petitions.
When the [act] comes into force from 6 April the process will become even simpler as there will be no need to consider evidence of fault or separation and there will be no option for divorces to be defended. These changes should be reflected in a more appropriate, lower fee.”
David Lister, head of family law at Simpson Millar, said:
“There is a shortage of judges, waiting times are growing and those families affected by rising costs of living will now be put under even more pressure when separating, just as no-fault divorce comes into place and the system is supposed to be making separation less stressful.”
Peter Burgess, a partner at family boutique Burgess Mee Family Law, said:
“[Fee increases have] always felt like an arbitrary attempt to extract more from people going through a difficult period, and it is hard to see them coming back down again despite the welcome reform to the system to make it more streamlined and less acrimonious.”
Interestingly, one solicitor – Natalie Lester of Debenhams Ottaway – is not opposed to the recent fee increases:
“The divorce process has been online since 2019. During my practise in family law since 2010, I have seen a number of increases in the divorce court fee. Whilst there have been very significant delays with HMCTS in relation to contested proceedings, the online divorce process for straightforward matters has become speedier, easier and more accessible to the public. Parties on a low income or those who receive certain benefits may be eligible to apply for a fee exemption which means they are exempt from all or part of the fee.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson is quoted as saying:
“All of the money generated from the divorce fee is spent on our courts and tribunals system – minimising the burden on the taxpayer. There are no plans to reduce it.”
