However if that is the case you can just as easily do the divorce work yourself and save the £60 these companies charge you for emailing you a form, which you can download free of charge from the court website anyway. Others complain of hidden costs or having to pay for forms that are freely available at courts.Ī cheap online divorce can work for some people, if you are on excellent terms and agree on everything. One unhappy customer complained that she had been sent the wrong forms: ‘I was sent an apology email offering no money back, but a £25 discount on my next divorce!’ They are on the whole a completely unregulated business and most don’t even have a lawyer able to offer the most basic legal advice. Many of the online divorce companies advertise what appear to be very cheap fees only to fail to deliver after they have debited your credit card. There have also been complaints about some online divorce firms - the sector is a magnet for fraudsters. ‘A solicitor would have spotted that, and we’ve now had to go back to court.’ ‘Since then, it has come to light that we don’t have a pension sharing order, which we need if I am to get any pension. ‘It was cheap and easy, because everything was amicable. ‘ I myself divorced online four years ago,’ she says. Paula Hall knows from personal experience that there are pitfalls to online divorce. ‘ Fear of lawyers and the cost of divorce can help some people to continue working at their relationship.’ ‘ These companies could make divorce too appealing,’ she says. Paula Hall, a relationship psychotherapist at Relate, says that while she supports easy divorce she worries that making it so accessible will prevent unhappy couples from attempting to patch up their differences. ‘The cheapest option is not always the best option,’ she warns. Linda Lee, president of the Law Society, is quoted as saying: ‘ Divorce can be a highly complex issue and it would be difficult for any case to receive a full and thorough analysis without a client having had the benefit of at least one face-to-face meeting with a family law solicitor.’ She says that an online divorce is not suitable where there is an imbalance of power between the parties, or if one side is being obstructive or withholding information. Have a look on the HMCS website and see what they say about the forms as well.The Daily Mail has a very interesting article about the dangers and pitfalls of using online quick divorce companies which are nothing more than divorce factories. I will say, I am very sorry that it has come to this for you, and please note that it is never to late to try again, if it is worth saving at all. Either grounds can cause strong feelings as the divorce progresses and when people get upset it can get very difficult.Īlso, when it comes to the finances, if there is a pension for one person then the other will have a claim and you would be best getting a solicitor involved then - but you may be able to do all the rest yourself. If you are only separating now you will need to use the first two. There are five grounds for divorce - adultery, behaviour, desertion, separation for two years with consent of both sides, separation for five years if no consent from both sides. You will need to find the fees for the applications, but if you are on a reduced income these can be waived. The court staff can advise on procedure (although not legal matters) and it is quite a simple process. Just go to the local county court, fill in the forms to the best of your ability and then if it does get silly, then get a local solicitor involved. If all is amicable (and that is a big if!)
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