As a Family Lawyer I would say that I am pretty un-shockable, but I must admit that the Government’s 34% increase in the Court fee on divorce has been quite a surprise.

We knew that it was being considered and was likely to take effect at some point; however even seasoned Family Practitioners have been taken a back that on a Thursday afternoon the Ministry of Justice can quietly announce that in 2 working days the fee for submitting a divorce petition will increase from £410 to £550.

Luckily for clients of John Hodge Solicitors we have taken a move to protect our clients from this significant increase in their divorce costs. We have done this by reducing our fixed fee for divorce from £600 plus VAT (£720) to £480 plus VAT (£576).  The Court fee still has to be paid but for John Hodge Solicitors’ clients the total amount payable by them remains more or less the same as follows:

Fees before 21 March 2016         

Fixed fee             £600

VAT                        £120

Court Fee            £410

Total                      £1,130

John Hodge Solicitors new fixed fee from 21 March 2016

Fixed Fee            £480

VAT                        £96

Court fee             £550

Total                      £1,126

At John Hodge Solicitors we put our clients’ best interests at the heart of everything we do.

We also offer an initial free appointment at a time and location convenient to you or you can call in to one of our Family Department Clinics