Back in December 2013, the Ministry of Justice announced proposals to increase the court fee for a divorce from £410 to £750. The plan to hike the cost of the divorce petitions was criticised at the time by Resolution, an organisation of 6,500 family lawyers and other professionals in England and Wales, which trains and accredits mediators and campaigns for improvements to the family justice system: “The proposed divorce petition fee is disproportionate to the actual cost and where there is no apparent commitment to that revenue being spent on under-resourced family court services.” The group went on to argue that the increased “fee will be beyond the reach of many and fees exemption is not widely available.” It has now been reported that the government has decided to shelve its original plans to increase the fee.
A quiet u-turn
Whether the government buckled in the face of criticism or chose to back out of the proposals for other reasons, the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling appears to have tried to keep this reversal under the radar. If the cost increase had gone ahead, it would have raised about £30 million and helped reduce the £150 million annual deficit of the Civil and Family Courts. However, the actual cost of an uncontested petition is reportedly only £270 which translates to an estimated £16.8 million profit which the Government already makes out of the divorce process.
“We don’t want to trap people in unhappy marriages”
According to a Whitehall source, Liberal Democrat Justice minister, Simon Hughes, was furious about the initial proposals and had supported concerns raised by Resolution that spiralling costs could end up forcing people to stay in broken marriages for longer, affecting both partners and children. Although a government source denied there was a row between Mr Hughes and Mr Grayling, it noted: “We don’t want to trap people in unhappy marriages. It’s a battle that Simon Hughes has won.”
Keeping the costs of your divorce down
Here at Crisp & Co, we understand that going through a divorce is expensive enough without prohibitive legal fees. We believe that access to the best legal advice for all aspects of family law should be available to everyone regardless of individual financial circumstances, and we offer a unique fixed fee scheme for clients of limited means. To find out more about how we can help you, get in touch today.