Absolutely. In short, you can change your divorce solicitor at any stage throughout the process – divorce suit, financial remedy, or child arrangements.

At McAlister Family Law, although you will have a solicitor appointed to overlook the work on your case, we very much work as part of a team, and it is therefore equally important that you not only have a good relationship with the solicitor with conduct of your matter(s), but also the wider team including paralegals, legal assistants, and any other person that may assist you with your matter. It is important that you feel supported, and guided, by your team given that family law matters are not only complex, but they are also extremely emotional in nature. Each family law matter is completely unique and therefore you will likely want a solicitor who fits your unique situation. That being said, it is possible for the relationship between a solicitor and a client to deteriorate due to the high pressure, and high stress, of family matters.

If at any point you wish to change your solicitor, team, or firm, it is important to highlight this to your current solicitor so that steps can be taken to make the necessary changes for you. If the relationship with your current solicitor has broken down irretrievably, but you still wish to instruct the firm for continuity, then it is usually possible to transfer your matter(s) to another solicitor within the firm. This is usually easier than transferring your matter(s) as your current solicitor will be able to easily bring your ‘new solicitor’ up to speed with your matters and assist you both in ensuring that the transition is as seamless as possible.

If you wish to transfer your matters to a new firm, then this is also fairly straightforward. You do not need to justify why you wish to change firms, but it is important that you communicate your wish to change to your current solicitor as soon as possible so that they do not continue to work on your matters and incur any further legal costs. If your matter is within court proceedings (either Divorce, financial remedy, or child arrangements) your current solicitor will also have to notify the court of the change, via a document signed by you, and signal whether you have instructed a new solicitor or whether you wish to act as a litigant in person. When changing firms, it is also essentially that any outstanding invoices are settled so that your current solicitor can transfer your file to your new solicitor as soon as possible. Solicitors are able to hold property (a file or original documents for example) on ‘lien’ until payment of outstanding invoices have been resolved. Matters around a lien are complex and it is therefore important to discuss any outstanding invoice, or change in representation, with your current solicitor as soon as possible.

Should you wish to change solicitors, at any point, when instructing McAlister Family Law, then it is advisable to have a conversation with your current solicitor.

The legal costs involved with divorce are, rightly, a concern for many people when considering whether or not to get divorced. In terms of the actual divorce suit, there is usually a court fee of £593.00 payable on filing the application, unless parties can claim an exemption from paying the costs. This fee is either paid directly to the court by a person filing the divorce petition or, if that person is instructing a solicitor, then the solicitor might often pay the divorce fee using monies from their client that are held on account.

In terms of legal representation for the divorce suit, solicitors offer a wide range of options from fixed-fee divorce packages to charging based solely on a solicitor’s hourly rate.

At McAlister Family Law, we offer a fixed fee divorce package of £550 plus VAT (£110) and the Court fee of £593. As such, our Divorce fixed fee package will cost £1,253. We also offer discounted rates for Police officers of £400 plus VAT (£80) plus the court fee of £593. As such, our discounted Divorce fixed fee package for Police officers (serving or retired) will cost £1,073.

It is important to note that the divorce suit, and matters around the matrimonial finances (i.e. the family home, cash savings, pensions etc.) and arrangements for any children of the family, are entirely separate to the divorce suit and will not automatically be resolved when filing an application for divorce. Issues around the matrimonial financial element of the case, arrangements for children, or other issues, will also not caught within the aforementioned fixed fee structure. Usually, matters involving the matrimonial finances and/or arrangements for children will be charged at the respective hourly rate of the solicitor who has conduct of the file(s) / matter(s). There are ways that you can minimise how much a case involving matrimonial finances, or arrangements for children, will costs.

The easiest, and most simple, way to do this is to ensure that you have communicate the instructions to your solicitor clearly and that you are organised when gathering and preparing any documents that have been requested by your solicitor, the court, or the other side. It is also possible to minimise the legal fees that you might incur by dealing with matters as amicably, and sensibly, as possible. It may be both beneficial in terms of maintaining a level of amicability, and minimising your legal fees, to attempt mediation before seeking the assistance of a solicitor when considering the division of any matrimonial assets.

Essentially, if it is possible to reach some form of agreement with your spouse in relation to the matrimonial finances and/or arrangements for any child(ren), prior to instructing a solicitor to act on your behalf, your legal costs will usually be lower than if you are instructing a solicitor to make the first suggestion of negotiations to your spouse.

Unfortunately in litigation there are no guarantees on timescales, the amount of time necessary to resolve a claim is very much based on the facts of any given case. This will depend on which court the application is issued in, it can range from between 9 to 18 months to resolve unless there is an earlier settlement