Using a divorce solicitor

Date : 23 October 2008

Choosing a divorce solicitor is one of the most important aspects of getting a divorce. Your divorce solicitor is not simply required to reach a financial settlement but to do so in relation to emotionally sensitive issues. This is especially important when children are involved.

To help you pick the right divorce solicitor and give you an idea of what to expect from the service, TakeLegalAdvice.com has asked a panel of divorce solicitors about the advice they offer.

What to look for in a divorce solicitor

All of those interviewed emphasised the importance of working with a divorce solicitor you can feel confident in. The divorce solicitor must also be supportive in the advice given. This relationship is important, says divorce solicitor Naim Qureshi (right), a partner at law firm Child & Child, as the "work involves sharing personal information - so your divorce solicitor needs to be someone you like and get on with."

Finding a divorce expert is also critical and can be done by checking out the organisations your divorce solicitor is a member of. The divorce solicitor association, Resolution, is one such organisation.

Chloe Burrows (left) of divorce solicitors Dawsons LLP says Resolution members are likely to be “more conciliatory and less litigious”. Such a divorce solicitor will help deal with cases proactively and constructively -- indeed, Burrows warns that “rushing off to court isn’t necessarily the best option.”

Working with an experienced divorce solicitor is important, particularly, Burrows suggests, if your case has specific requirements. Check a divorce solicitor's web site to see how user-friendly the firm appears, Qureshi suggests.

Many firms offer free half-hour consultations that can be helpful for learning all you need to know about a divorce solicitor. But don't use a divorce solicitor¹s hourly rate solely as a means for comparing cost, says Qureshi. He points out that prices between different law firms can vary dramatically so such considerations must be balanced against the divorce solicitor’s experience. One divorce solicitor may charge a lower rate than another, but if the latter is inexperienced it will take longer to do the job meaning that there may be no cost saving, he says.

How you can help your divorce solicitor with your case

Divorce solicitor Sarah White (right), of Dawsons, emphasises the importance of consulting a divorce solicitor as soon as possible after deciding on a divorce, so that the divorce solicitor can help your case get moving quickly. She also suggests that providing your divorce solicitor with background to the situation before your first meeting can help get the wheels in motion faster. Divorce solicitor Rachael Smethurst (left), of Henmans LLP, agrees. She says that a divorce solicitor will appreciate the details of the case, such as the “history on how you have built up your assets over the course of the relationship, information on these assets, how much they are worth and people¹s income details and liabilities”.

Naim Qureshi suggests collating the documents that your divorce solicitor will require to demonstrate these figures, such as bank statements and pay slips.

In advance of appointments with a divorce solicitor, Smethurst also suggests preparing questions to help make the most of the meeting.

What your divorce solicitor should be able to tell you

All the divorce solicitors interviewed emphasised that it is hard to give a precise prediction of the cost, duration and likely outcome of a divorce matter. Equally, however, they insist that your divorce solicitor should set out a range of possible scenarios and how much they should cost.

Obviously the longer you retain your divorce solicitor the more it will cost and Naim Qureshi says “there is a huge range of possibilities with a time scale that can vary from months to years.”

Rachael Smethurst explains that if you are instructing a divorce solicitor simply to formalise an arrangement you have already agreed on with your estranged spouse, then it will not take much time or expense. On the other hand, it will take longer and cost more if you require a divorce solicitor for litigation.

At a preliminary meeting your divorce solicitor will not be able to predict factors thatinfluence cost, such as whether your case will be acrimonious or whether it will be settled. But there are measures available that can keep costs down, such as mediation and collaborative law.

To get a better idea of how much your divorce solicitor will cost, Smethurst advises that you get a breakdown of your divorce solicitor¹s hourly rate into units. A unit is often six minutes, so you can, for instance, get an idea of the cost of a short telephone call. Often you will also be able to get the unit price for an e-mail or letter as well.

How to pay for your divorce solicitor

Qureshi says that the traditional way to pay your divorce solicitor is by a retainer at the outset and then further sums when the original fundshave been exhausted. Divorce solicitors will sometimes defer payment until a settlement is reached, but this is less likely in the current economic climate.

In terms of funding there are fewer options available for paying for a divorce solicitor than there are when dealing with a personal injury solicitor or employment solicitor, for instance. In addition, not everyone is eligible for legal aid and not all practitioners accept legally aided clients.

If you cannot pay for your divorce solicitor straight away -- for instance because your money is tied up in assets -- then a litigation loan can sometimes be obtained from a bank.

Click here to read 'Divorce advice: the alternatives to court proceedings