Divorce-Online Launch Petition Against Proposed Court Fee Rise

Divorce-Online has been on the side of consumers since our Managing Director, Mark Keenan pioneered ‘online divorce’ in 2000.

Over the last 23 years, we have helped over 180,000 clients save £150m in legal fees.

Court fees are often a sticking point for couples wanting to divorce.

For those who want a fresh start and to move on quickly, this can involve using credit cards to pay the £593 court fee; putting financial stress on couples at an already stressful period of life.

The court service should not be subsidising the rest of the system on the back of broken relationships, it is obscene.

The introduction of no-fault divorce in April 2022 has streamlined the divorce process and made it simpler for courts to process by making it 99%  ‘online’.

The finances of HMCTS should not be put on to couples seeking a divorce. The previous increase to £593 was too much, and the proposal of £652 would be a step too far.

That’s why we have launched a petition to stop this proposal from going ahead.

Help us get the message across to the Ministry of Justice by clicking here and signing our petition.

An anonymous user on LawGazzete said: Hopefully the good people at the MOJ are reading these comments.

Have they factored in how much they will be refunding in fee remissions? They can’t have done. They wouldn’t be able to make that projection. Therefore their projected increased revenue is far from accurate.

Unfortunately, this is just like most other “big businesses” now….the fees get hiked and the service levels drop.

Our latest research indicates that as many as 35% of all cases involve fee remission.

A table highlighting the proposed increase in divorce fees

The plans announced by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), involve application fees for divorce going from £593 to £652, an increase of £59.

This comes at a time when no-fault divorce has been simplified and made online.

Reflecting on the proposed increase, Lara Davies, family law partner, at Online Legal Services Solicitors, said: ‘The government is seeking a 10% hike in court fees to subsidise the rest of the court system on the back of broken marriages, while managing an increasingly broken system, beset by delays and mistakes.”

Before starting a divorce, it’s worth using our court fee calculator to find out if you can get help with paying the court fees.