Expat "No Fault" Divorce Package

Expat Divorce (uncontested) Package

You may wish to Divorce using the legal system of England and Wales if you were born in England or Wales and have maintained links with your country of origin or your spouse is resident in England or Wales whilst you are not. If this is something you are considering please contact our Director, Miss Joanne Bennett either by email or telephone in order to explore whether you are eligible to Divorce in the courts of England and Wales.

If you can use the jurisdiction of England and Wales then the process of Divorce for you will, on the whole, be the same as for parties living in England and Wales.

It is very important to us that you understand at the start of your case that a Divorce will not deal with the division of your house, assets, income, pensions etc. or the future arrangements for your children.

To deal with your matrimonial finances you will need to instruct us to represent you in this regard. As lawyers, we call this process Financial Remedy. Work done with regard to financial matters is normally charged at our hourly rate.

As an Expat, if you have assets abroad it is possible to deal with the division of these by agreement. Matters are somewhat more complicated if a court application is required, as the court does not have the power to make an order in respect of assets which are not in England or Wales. Your lawyer will be able to discuss this with you once initial information has been provided.

What does "No Fault" mean?

From the 6 th April 2022 the law of England & Wales changed to take away the blame from our divorce system. Now a person applying for divorce is simply required to confirm to the court that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. There is no longer a need to provide supporting evidence of behaviour or separation.

This package is suitable for a person applying as a “Sole Applicant” or jointly as “Applicant 1”. Please note Applicant 2 in the case of a joint application should either be separately represented or representing themselves (litigant in person).

What your Divorce Package includes:-

• Legal advice and support. This includes up to one and a half hours remote attendance.
• The preparation of the Divorce Application and accompanying documentation, preparation of the application for the Conditional Order and the application for the Final Order (formally the decree absolute).
• Court fees for starting your application (the "issue fee")
• Telephone calls, emails and letters to/from you, your spouses' solicitor and the court.

Legal Fees £990.00

VAT £198.00 (if applicable)

Court Fees £593.00

Total £1,781.00 (£1,583.00 if VAT exempt)

What's not included:-

In the average case it will not be necessary for you to have the following items and it is for this reason that they are not included in the package. In the unusual circumstance that you do need to take an additional step your lawyer will advise you what you need and the cost of the action needed.

The possible "add ons" to your package are:

• Court Hearings

The scope for a court hearing is very limited in the new system, as it is no longer possible to defend a divorce. But if you get into a dispute with your spouse about the issue of jurisdiction, the validity of the marriage or whether or not the marriage has already been legally ended, the court may list the application for a hearing. If a hearing is listed, you will be provided with an estimate of our charges for the hearing and any preparatory work relating to the hearing, which is not covered by this package.

• Personal Service of the Divorce Application upon your spouse.

In certain circumstances your spouse may ignore/fail to Answer the Divorce Application. If this happens your lawyer may advise you to have your spouse personally served. We will obtain an estimate of charges from a process server local to your spouse, who will promptly locate your spouse and serve them with the papers. This can often cost between £100 - £250 + VAT.

• Application for Deemed Service, Alternative Service or to Dispense with Service

This is a court application, usually made by post, for an order stating that the court is satisfied that your spouse has received the Divorce papers or an order stating that it is not necessary to serve the papers on your spouse, because for example, they may be missing. This will only be applicable to certain cases. Again, you lawyer will advise you if this action is necessary and provide an estimate of charges at this time.

AND of course it is likely that you will need to have advice and assistance in formalising your financial position upon divorce. Even if you have no assets to divide it is important that you obtain a "clean break" from your spouse in a financial sense, simply divorcing is not enough.