Divorce Solicitors

If your marriage has broken down and you are looking to separate, you want the best outcome for yourself and your family. Our separation and divorce lawyers are right here to advise and guide you through the process.
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Our Divorce Lawyers Are Here For You

Divorce and separation can be a daunting and very emotional time and worry and anxiety are only natural. There are many things to consider when divorcing including child arrangements and financial settlements, but our experienced, empathetic and highly-rated divorce solicitors are here to provide you with support and confidence to help you move forward with your life and support every step of the way.

“The divorce team’s caring attitude gave me real confidence on the way forward and I am very appreciative of the help they have given both recently and over the last few years.”

Wherever you are on your journey, our legal advisors can help. Call us today on 0330 024 0333 or use the button below to complete our contact form.

Our Divorce team

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How Our Divorce Experts Can Help

Mediation, arbitration and collaborative lawyers

It is advantageous to settle differences out of court wherever possible – this can make things quicker and more cost-effective for both parties. Our divorce experts will help you to use alternative channels such as mediation, collaborative law and negotiation to reach a swift conclusion and a mutually-agreeable solution.

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Divorce financial settlements

The divorce process itself is not complicated but reaching a financial settlement that is right for you, your family and your future is so important. Our divorce lawyers can guide you through the division of assets and help you to achieve a successful settlement that works for you and everyone involved.

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Child law

Relationship breakdown is never pleasant and even more troubling and complicated if children are involved. Our divorce experts can help ensure you get the best outcome for your family.

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International divorce solicitors

Our international divorce lawyers can support you through complex, multi-jurisdictional divorce cases ensuring the best outcome for you and your family.

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Our Latest Awards

Why choose Shakespeare Martineau?

  • Our family solicitors have tier 1 rankings in the Legal 500 2022 and have ten top tier rankings in the Legal 500 & Chambers – these achievements are in recognition of our team’s strong capabilities in the area of divorce law.
  • We are winners of the Family Law Firm of the Year award, recognising our outstanding client services and the results delivered on complex divorce cases.
  • We are completely transparent with our pricing from the very start and once you have been assigned a dedicated team you will be provided with a breakdown of costs. This means you won’t have any additional financial stress or hidden fees added on to your case.
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Divorce frequently asked questions

You may not need the support and advice of a divorce lawyer if your situation is straightforward. The most complicated part of the divorce process is dealing with the financial matters surrounding it and also issues involving the children (i.e. where they should live and/or how often they should spend time with the other parent. We have a guide on child arrangements and what options are available to you.

So whilst you may not need a solicitor to deal with the process of obtaining a divorce, it is always advisable to seek advice to deal with the legal aspects surrounding financial matters and matters concerning any children of the family.

It is worth noting however that if the divorce application is not completed correctly, you may not be able to make a financial claim against your ex-partner further down the line and so if you are unsure how to complete the divorce application, it is always better to seek advice from a specialist divorce lawyer.

The costs for a divorce will vary depending on whether you are the applicant or the respondent within the divorce proceedings. The costs you pay will also depend on whether you reach an agreement with your ex-partner regarding splitting the costs of the divorce.

If you are the person who starts the divorce proceedings (i.e. the applicant) and you tick the box on your divorce application to state you would like your ex-partner to pay your divorce costs, you may not have to pay any costs at all.

As a general guide, an applicant’s divorce costs tend to be in the region of £1000 to £1500 plus VAT which included the £550 court fee to issue the divorce application. You can’t get a free divorce in the UK.

Following the introduction of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act legislation in April 2022, commonly known as no-fault divorce, there is now no requirement to give a reason for divorce or blame your partner – it is now largely on the basis of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. One party or a couple can jointly start, proceedings.

On Wednesday 6 April 2022, no-fault divorce became legislation. No-fault divorce is the common name for the Divorce, Dissolutions and Separation Act which came in in April 2022 and supersedes any previous divorce law. The legislation means that no reason now has to be given or any blame apportioned when a couple divorces. Proceedings can be started by one party or jointly by the couple.

More information can be found in our guide on how to get a divorce.

There are many companies online promising to get you divorced for as little as £37.00 and promising you a fast-tracked “quickie divorce”. As stated above, the court fee alone to lodge a divorce application in England and Wales is £550.00 and therefore you will most likely find that payment of £37 will not get you divorced.

Another thing to be mindful of when looking at companies on the internet promising a fast-track divorce is that quite often, your court paperwork will be drafted by somebody who is not even legally trained. A potential consequence of issuing a badly drafted divorce application could mean you are unable to make any financial application against your ex-partner. As such, it is really crucial that you ensure your divorce application is prepared by a suitably qualified divorce specialist – this could save yourself a lot of stress further down the line.

How the Divorce process works

Not everyone is aware of how the process of engaging Divorce solicitors works, so we’ve provided an overview below to give you some peace of mind

  1. The first stage is to get in touch with us using the button below – you will then be assigned to one of our Divorce specialists. Alternatively, you can reach us on 0330 024 0333.

  2. You’ll then receive a free 15-minute consultation within 24 hours via Zoom or telephone to discuss the issues you’re facing.

  3. You are then provided with a transparent breakdown of our costs and, if you would like to proceed, we send you a pack of onboarding documents

  4. Following this, we will guide and support you through the process of achieving a resolution that works for you and your family.

Wherever you are on your journey, our Divorce specialists are here to answer any questions you might have

If you’d like to speak to a member of our team, please fill out the enquiry form. We will aim to reply to your query within 2 hours

Need to talk to someone sooner? You can call use at the number below

Call Us: 0330 024 0333

Our latest Divorce updates

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Illustration made by Storyset from www.flaticon.com