Service Description
For the first time ever in England and Wales - you can now obtain the services of an experienced family law firm to manage your divorce financial settlement at a fixed price.
In order to set a fixed price the process has been broken into four steps.
This service is Step 1 - Disclosure and Negotiation.
This service includes everything that you need to finalise a legally binding financial agreement, so long as you are able to reach an agreement with your spouse after having received their financial disclosure.
If at the end of Step 1 you are not able to reach agreement, then we offer a range of fixed price options to move forward including mediation and applying to court.
Who is the service for?
This service is suitable for the majority of people getting divorced. It is ideal if you want to use the services of a solicitor but want to remain in control of the costs. You must be in contact with your spouse or your spouse's solicitor.
It is not suitable if your spouse is extremely antagonistic and is unlikely to co-operate in financial disclosure. In these circumstances you may well be better to go directly to court. If you are in this situation then feel free to call us to discuss how we can help you with the court process.
What is included in this service?
Your chosen family law firm will provide you with all of the following:
We will manage voluntary financial disclosure: | |
 | OPENING DOCUMENTS Client engagement letter and a guide to the whole process |
 | INITIAL LEGAL ADVICE AND INFORMATION A family solicitor will provide initial legal advice on the process |
 | OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER PARTY Drafting and sending a letter to begin engagement with other side |
| | PREPARATION OF YOUR FORM E Assistance in completing your financial disclosure on form E |
 | EXCHANGE OF FORM E's |
We will advise and manage on financial negotiations: | |
| ADVICE ON OTHER SIDE'S FORM E Including request of further disclosure if applicable |
| | ADVICE ON AN APPROPRIATE FINANCIAL OUTCOME Guidance on what settlement you are entitled to based on family law |
| | PRODUCE OFFER TO SETTLE An offer letter drafted and sent to your spouse or their solicitor |
| | ADVICE ON OFFER RECEIVED Legal advice on offers/counter offers received from the other party |
If an agreement is reached we will: | |
| | DRAFT AND MANAGE A CONSENT ORDER If at any stage you are able to reach agreement then included in the fixed price is the drafting of a legally binding court order. |
If agreement cannot be reached we will: | |
| PROVIDE ADVICE ON NEXT STEPS We will explain your options to more forward which may include mediation, a financial evaluation or applying to court. |
You have a range of options (at an additional cost) to move forward: | |
 | Option 1: ATTEND MEDIATION National Family Mediation is a non-profit organisation with 48 offices across the UK. Read more about divorce mediation. |
| Option 2: FINANCIAL DISPUTE EVALUATION Coming soon: This innovative service will provide an early legal opinion from a highly experienced family law barrister on the likely outcome of court proceedings for ancillary relief. This will enable the parties to agree a settlement without actually going to court. |
| | Option 3: ANCILLARY RELIEF PROCEEDINGS If you feel that mediation will not work in your circumstances then the next step is to progress Ancillary Relief proceedings through the court. |
| NB: Options 1,2 and 3 above are optional additional services and are NOT included in the price of the "Disclosure and Negotiation" service. | |
What is not included in this service?
This service includes the management of a process of voluntary disclosure and the negotiation of a financial settlement on divorce.
The service does not include:
- mediation services
- applying to court for ancillary relief
- any work or advice on Children Act proceedings
- any work or advice on the divorce (decree nisi / absolute)
(This is available as a separated fixed price divorce service)
This fixed price package is only available to clients with combined marital assets below £350,000, and who do not have significant assets outside of England and Wales.
If between you and your spouse, you have over £350k worth of assets (including property value and pensions) OR significant overseas assets OR sizeable business assets then please call us first to discuss your case before ordering. Depending on your circumstances we may still be able to offer to take your case on a fixed price basis.
We will not be held responsible for any failure of the other party (your spouse and their legal representative) to engage in this process. If your spouse is not willing to disclose their finances voluntarily then you might wish to consider applying immediately to the court for ancillary relief.
The fixed price covers solicitor fees but does not include other professional fees that may be incurred such as: home valuation, pension valuation, barrister fees and court fees. A court fee of £40 is payable when the consent order is submitted to court. If you are on a low income you may qualify for an exemption from this fee. Please ask us about this.
What are the payment options for this service?
This is a fixed price service.
We accept payment in easy installments as follows:
- An initial payment of £500 to start the process
- A second payment of £500 on exchange of Form E
- A final payment of £450 following the advice on the other side’s Form E
Installments can be paid by credit/debit card, bank transfer or cheque. At each stage payment must be received before we progress the matter further.
If at any point an agreement is reached with the other side then we will happily settle your case by drawing up a consent order which is a court approved legally binding financial agreement, at no extra charge*.
( *you will need to pay the £40 court fee for the consent order ).
If at any point you wish to stop using our service then just let us know, you are under no obligation to pay the installments for work which had not started yet.
{mosmodule articleid=9931}
