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Wikivorce is a respected national support organisation. We are sponsored by the government and funded by social charities. |
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Wikivorce |
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Traditional Solicitors
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Divorce Websites
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Wikivorce is a respected, trusted social enterprise, our mission is simply to help people through a break-up. |
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Lawyers and solicitors are in business to make profits for the law firm's partners.
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Commercial divorce websites are in business to make profits for their shareholders.
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Wikivorce is a well respected national organisation. We are sponsored by the UK government and have received funding awards from two leading social charities.
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Trying to find a reputable local solicitor is very difficult: some are good, others are either indifferent, incompetent or charge ridiculously expensive fees. |
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Commercial divorce websites are unregulated, some use misleading adverts, offer poor customer service, refuse to make refunds and add-on hidden charges. |
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Our services are provided by a reputable
family law firm who employ experienced and specialist family law solicitors. |
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Local solicitors are a "Jack of all trades" who take on all cases that walk through the door: property, employment, personal injury etc.
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"Quick Divorce Online" websites do not employ solicitors, can't offer legal advice and use unqualified case managers. |
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Wikivorce offer a complete professional solicitor divorce at a low fixed price. We explain all the costs upfront. We also include VAT (unlike most solicitors). |
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Solicitors typically charge £200 per hour (plus VAT). Most refuse to commit to a fixed price and often charge much more than their initial estimate for your divorce. |
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Some divorce websites offer bargain prices but then use the "hard-sell" over the phone to persuade vulnerable clients to buy their overpriced services.
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Wikivorce was created by people who have personal experience of divorce. Our advisors will be happy to take the time to fully explain the divorce process to you.
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Many lawyers still speak in legal jargon, they don't have the time, patience or communications skills required to fully explain the divorce process to clients. |
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Unlike Wikivorce, most other divorce websites have sales consultants paid on commission to sell you the most expensive services regardless of your needs.
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Wikivorce provides advice and support to 50,000 people every year.
That means we now help people in 1 in 3 of all UK divorces. |
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The Divorce Process - a quick divorce takes 3 to 4 months to complete. |
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Step 1 - The Divorce Petition (Weeks 1 to 2) |
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You provide personal details and send in your marriage certificate. You also complete a Statement of Arrangements for children (if applicable).
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The solicitor completes the divorce petition. You need to pay the petition fee of £340. The solicitor then sends the forms and fee to court.
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The court registers your divorce, opens a case file and assigns a case number. |
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Step 2 - The Acknowledgement of Service (Weeks 3 to 4) |
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The court sends the petition, Statement of Arrangements and Acknowledgement of Service forms to your spouse. |
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Your spouse has 7 days to respond, but may take longer, typically 2 to 3 weeks. |
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Step 3 - The Affadavit and Application for Directions (Weeks 5 to 6) |
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The solicitor, on your behalf, completes the Affadavit in support of the petition and the Application for Directions form.
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The court sends the solicitor the Acknowledgement of Service and an updated copy of the Statement of Arrangements.
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Step 4 - The Decree Nisi (Weeks 7 to 8)
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You have reached the Decree Nisi milestone.
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Your solicitor notifies you that you of the Decree Nisi. |
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A judges reviews the documents and if satisfied, sets a date for the Decree Nisi. The Decree Nisi is pronounced and the court notifies your solicitor.
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Step 5 - Consent Order [Optional] (Weeks 9 to 14) |
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If you and your spouse can reach an agreement over finances it can be made legally binding in a Consent Order. |
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Your solicitor can draft a Consent Order based on your requirements and submit it to court. |
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A judge will review the Consent Order and as long as it is reasonably fair then it will be approved and made final and legally binding. |
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You spouse must agree to and sign the Consent Order, and you both have to provide a short financial disclosure.
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Step 6 - Apply For Decree Absolute (Week 14) |
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You need to pay a final court fee of £45 for your Decree Absolute
You receive your Decree Absolute and are finally legally divorced.
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Six weeks after the Decree Nisi the solicitor applies to court for the absolute
The solicitor forwards the certificate on to you.
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If everything is in order, the court will issue the Decree Absolute.
The court sends the Decree Absolute to your solicitor.
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Do not believe websites that promise a "quickie" divorce in only 4 weeks, it is simply not possible, a quick divorce takes 3 to 4 months, these misleading promises just result in disappointed customers. |
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Thank You For Booking An Appointment |
One of our Divorce Advisors will call you on the date and time that you selected.
If you need to cancel or amend your appointment please call us on 0808 2255 9454 or email us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Our divorce advisors have in-depth experience of divorce. There is no charge for talking to our advisors and we will do our best to help you whatever your question or issue.
Please note that our advisors are not legally qualified. We can therefore provide information and guidance but we do not offer legal advice. If we cannot answer you question we can arrange a free appointment with a solicitor who can offer legal advice.
Rule 9 notice: Wikivorce has a financial arrangement with a selection of family law firms under which they agree to pay a referral fee
of 10% of client fees to Wikivorce. This referral fee is paid from the solicitor's marketing budget and will not be added to your bill.
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Divorce Costs
Common myths about the 'cost of divorce' and 'quickie' divorces
We believe in being upfront and open about the true cost of divorce, that way you can make an informed choice about which service is best for you.
Myth #1: DIY online divorce costs just £20 saving a fortune on solicitor fees
 Every year, thousands of people buy cheap DIY divorce services from websites that promise a quick divorce at a bargain basement price. Only after they have purchased the service do disappointed customers discover that:
1) the forms they receive are available free from your local court
2) the cheap website doesn't reply to their emails or complaints
3) the "money back guarantee" isn't worth the paper it is written on
Customers also find out too late that there are hundreds of pounds in court fees and that their divorce is not really complete without a clean break agreement which adds further to the costs.
Reality: A DIY service isn't much cheaper than a professional solicitor divorce
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Typical Cost Of A DIY Divorce |
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Our Solicitor Managed Divorce
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DIY Divorce Fee
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£20 to £70
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Solicitor Divorce |
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£179
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Clean Break |
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£100
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Clean Break
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£100
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Court Fees
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Court Fees
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- Divorce Petition fee
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£340 |
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- Divorce Petition fee
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£340
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- Decree Absolute fee
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£45 |
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- Decree Absolute fee
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£45 |
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- Consent Order fee
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£45
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- Consent Order fee
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£45
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TOTAL COST
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£550 to £600
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TOTAL COST
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£709 |
As you can see from the table above, our FULLY MANAGED, professional solicitor service costs just a little more than a basic 'cheap' DIY service and offers all of the following benefits:
- Legal Advice included (this is very important - DIY services do not legal advice)
- All the forms will be completed and checked by qualified lawyers
(to avoid forms being rejected by court which can result in additional court fees payable)
- The divorce process involves several forms and letters being sent to the court, our managed solicitor service includes all this work, with a DIY service you have to do all of this work yourself
- Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitor Regulatory Authority with a strict code of conduct
- We have a fair refund policy unlike DIY sites that use legal loopholes to avoid laws about refunds
- If you are unhappy with a solicitor service you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (the ombudsman will not help with complaints about unregulated DIY websites).
- Unlike cheap websites - our legal partners carry professional indemnity insurance to protect you in case of issues arising from problems with your financial clean break order.
Note about conveyancing: As another example of our openess on costs, we feel customers should be aware that if your clean break agreement includes the transfer of a property from joint ownership to sole ownership then you will also need a conveyancing service that will cost around £300. When you add the court fees and conveyancing costs - your "bargain" £20 divorce can end up costing £900. Wouldn't it be nice if they told you that up front?
Note about court fees: If you are on benefits or a very low income you may be exempt from the court fees. This downloadable leaflet form EX160 details who can claim and how.
Myth #2: Celebrities and online sites can do a "quickie" divorce in a few weeks
 Hardly a week goes by without the tabloid papers reporting on the latest celebrity couple to be granted a "quickie" divorce. They give the impression that these celebrities somehow get special treatment and a faster service. A number of divorce websites highlight the speed of their divorce and claim to be able to offer you this star treatment at a bargain price.
Reality: Uncontested divorce takes 3 to 4 months whichever service you use
The amount of time it takes to obtain a divorce is set by the mandatory court process. This process cannot be "fast-tracked". It takes around 6 to 8 weeks to get to the decree nisi stage, and then, by law, you have to wait 6 weeks before you can apply for the decree absolute. The "quickie" divorce is just a myth - perpetuated by lazy journalists.
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