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