Self rep - procedure for payment of costs

Hi.

I have been self representing myself as the Petitioner in a divorce based on the adultery of the Respondant. The process is going through okay and this week I shall apply for the ''Decree Absolute'', having allowed 6 weeks and 1 day to pass since the ''Decree Nisi''.

The query I have is that when the Decree Nisi was issued the court stated that the Respondant should pay the costs of the Petitioner. To date I have not received payment and there is no indication of a deadline nor do I know if the respondant knows how much the costs are. I have spoken to the local Court Office about this and they replied that the Court do not get involved with payments and if I do not receive payment then I can approach the court and pay for them to enforce it. He could''nt say how long I should wait before doing that!

Do I contact the respondant myself with a written demand to cover my costs? I am only looking for the £410 it cost me to commence proceedings and nothing else. Do I wait until the Absolute to be issued? Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The first thing you need to do is tell the respondent how much the costs are as they do not have a crystal ball and need to be told how much you are looking for.

Only asking the respondent for the issue fee makes things fairly straight forward - just write a letter asking for a cheque.

If no cheque is forthcoming you need an order specifying how much is owed to you. Let''s not get ahead of ourselves though - ask the respondent for the money first and if you don''t get this you will be at liberty to enforce the order once the decree Absolute is pronounced.

Charles