Family and Divorce Solicitors in Wembley and London
Clear, practical family law advice when your home, finances or children may be affected.
Separation or Divorce
The breakdown of a relationship can be emotionally and financially difficult. You may be worried about where you will live, how your assets will be divided, arrangements for your children or what will happen next.
The family law team at The Legal Practice Solicitors will listen to your concerns, explain your options in plain English and help you take the next step with confidence. We advise clients throughout England and Wales, with appointments available at our Wembley office, at our Rickmansworth meeting room, by telephone and by video call.
Call: 020 8903 7017 | Email: tlp@thelegalpractice.co.uk, or complete our enquiry form.
How Our Family Solicitors Can Help
Our family law services include:
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divorce and civil partnership dissolution;
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separation advice;
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financial settlements following divorce or dissolution;
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consent orders and clean-break orders;
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financial remedy proceedings where an agreement cannot be reached;
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arrangements for children, including Child Arrangements Orders;
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cohabitation and property disputes between unmarried couples;
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domestic abuse matters; and
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non-molestation orders, occupation orders and other protective injunctions.
We will explain the available options, likely costs and possible timescales before you decide how to proceed.
Divorce in England and Wales: The Current Law
England and Wales operate a no-fault divorce system. There is one ground for divorce: that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
You do not need to prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or a period of separation. Instead, one spouse or both spouses make a statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. That statement is treated by the court as conclusive evidence of the breakdown.
A divorce application may be made:
- solely, by one spouse as the sole applicant; or
- jointly, by both spouses as applicant 1 and applicant 2.
In a sole application, the other spouse is called the respondent. A respondent cannot prevent a divorce simply because they do not want the marriage to end. A divorce can only be disputed on limited legal grounds, such as jurisdiction, the legal validity of the marriage, fraud or a serious procedural issue.
We can advise you whether a sole or joint application is appropriate. A sole application may be more suitable where communication has broken down, the other person is unlikely to cooperate or there are domestic abuse or safety concerns.
The Divorce Process
1. Preparing and submitting the application
We check that the courts of England and Wales can deal with the divorce, obtain the necessary information and prepare the application. Solicitors ordinarily submit and manage divorce applications online through the MyHMCTS service.
2. Issue and service
The court checks and issues the application. In a sole application, the respondent will normally receive the application from the court and will be asked to complete an acknowledgement of service. If service becomes difficult, additional steps and costs may be necessary.
3. The 20-week waiting period
The applicant or applicants must wait at least 20 weeks from the date the application is issued before applying for a conditional order. This period is intended to allow time for reflection and for practical arrangements to be considered.
4. Conditional order
The conditional order confirms that the court sees no legal reason why the divorce cannot proceed. It was called a decree nisi under the procedure that applied to cases issued before 6 April 2022.
5. Financial arrangements
The divorce itself does not divide property, savings, pensions or income, and it does not automatically bring financial claims to an end. Financial matters should usually be considered before applying for the final order. We explain this in more detail below.
6. Final order
The applicant can normally apply for the final order 43 days—six weeks and one day—after the conditional order. The final order legally ends the marriage. It was called a decree absolute under the former procedure.
Even a straightforward divorce normally takes at least seven months. It may take longer if there are difficulties serving the application, court delays or other complications. Financial and children matters follow separate processes and may continue after the divorce itself.
Fixed-Fee Divorce Service
For a straightforward divorce application, our legal fee is:
£500 plus VAT
This is £600 including VAT at 20%.
The court currently charges the applicant a separate divorce application fee of £628. No VAT is added to the court fee. The court fee was correct on 31 August 2026 and may change. Some applicants may qualify for full or partial assistance through the Help with Fees scheme.
For an applicant paying the full court fee, the combined legal fee, VAT and court fee will ordinarily be £1,228, provided the matter remains within the fixed-fee scope.
We will confirm in writing whether the fixed fee applies and precisely what is included before you instruct us. The work required is different depending on whether you are applying for or responding to the divorce.
What is included when we act for an applicant
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An initial discussion about the divorce process;
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Advice on making a sole or joint application;
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Preparing and submitting the divorce application;
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Routine correspondence concerning issue and service;
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Monitoring routine progress and keeping you updated;
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Preparing and submitting the application for a conditional order; and
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Preparing and submitting the application for a final order, once appropriate.
When we advise a respondent
We can review the divorce application, explain its effect, advise on the acknowledgement of service and deal with routine correspondence. We will confirm the applicable fixed fee and scope after the initial consultation.
What is not included in the fixed fee
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The £628 court application fee or any other court fee;
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Advice or negotiations about finances, property, pensions or maintenance;
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Preparing a consent order or starting financial remedy proceedings;
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Advice or proceedings concerning children;
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A disputed divorce or a dispute about jurisdiction or the validity of the marriage;
- Tracing a respondent or applications for alternative, deemed or dispensed service;
- Bailiff or process-server fees;
- Amendments to an application;
- Court hearings;
- Obtaining or translating documents, including a replacement or foreign marriage certificate;
- Civil partnership dissolution, unless expressly included in our written quotation;
- Additional or non-routine correspondence and work
Financial Arrangements on Divorce
A final order ends the marriage, but it does not automatically resolve financial claims between former spouses.
Financial arrangements may cover:
- The family home and other property;
- savings, investments and debts;
- pensions;
- business interests;
- lump-sum payments;
- transfers or sales of property; and
- spousal maintenance.
If you reach an agreement
An informal agreement is not automatically legally binding. To make an agreement enforceable, it should normally be recorded in a consent order and approved by the court.
The court cannot approve a financial consent order before the conditional order has been made. It is usually sensible to deal with the consent order before applying for the final order because ending the marriage can have financial consequences, particularly in relation to pensions and inheritance rights.
A clean-break order may dismiss future financial claims where that is fair and appropriate. It may be worth considering even where there are currently few assets, but the right approach depends on the circumstances of each case.
If you cannot reach an agreement
We can advise and represent you in financial remedy proceedings. Full and honest financial disclosure is normally required. Before making a court application, attendance at a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting is usually required unless an exemption applies—for example, in certain domestic abuse or urgent cases.
The court considers all the circumstances when deciding what is fair. Relevant matters include the needs of any children, each person’s income and earning capacity, property and pensions, financial needs and responsibilities, age, the length of the marriage, standard of living, health and contributions to the family. There is no single formula that produces the right result in every case.
Arrangements for Children
Divorce does not automatically decide where children will live or how much time they will spend with each parent.
Where it is safe and possible, parents are encouraged to agree arrangements directly or with the help of mediation. We can advise on:
- where a child will live;
- time spent with each parent;
- telephone, video and other contact;
- specific decisions concerning a child; and
- prohibited steps where a proposed action needs to be prevented.
If an agreement cannot be reached, an application may be made for a Child Arrangements Order or another order under the Children Act 1989. A MIAM is normally required before applying, unless an exemption applies. The child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration, and the court will only make an order where doing so is better for the child than making no order.
Cohabitation and Unmarried Couples
There is no legal status of “common-law marriage” in England and Wales. Couples who live together do not automatically acquire the same financial rights as married couples or civil partners, regardless of how long they have lived together or whether they have children.
Disputes may involve ownership of the home, beneficial interests, financial contributions or arrangements for children. The applicable law can be complex, so obtaining advice at an early stage is important.
Why Choose The Legal Practice Solicitors?
- clear and practical advice tailored to your circumstances;
- an experienced family law team;
- transparent information about fees and the work included;
- appointments in person, by telephone or by video call; and
- local appointments in Wembley and Rickmansworth, with advice available throughout England and Wales.
Our family law team includes Kalpana Shah, Senior Consultant Family Solicitor, who has over 30 years of family law experience, and Reena Patel, Consultant Family Solicitor, who has more than 25 years of experience advising individuals and families.
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