Increased Family Court Fees (May 2024)

With 60 court fee increases within the family courts, Jamilla Sabo and I wanted to provide some insight into the new fees and how this will affect you moving forward.?

Following the consultation period (which was the period after the fee changes were proposed, during which the public could offer feedback), the divorce court fee remains at ￡593! This is the small snippet of good news we have to report.??

However, the proposed 10% increase across other areas of family law, as I mentioned here, is still going ahead as planned.

So what does this mean?

In total, there are 172 court fee increases (60 of which relate to the family court) and I have included a table below of all the increases in the family court. However, the most “common” services (that Jamilla and I see most often) that are increasing are as follows:

Child Cases?

Regarding child arrangement orders, prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders (under Section 8 of The Childrens Act 1989), the current court fee sits at ￡232, and it has been confirmed that this is increasing to ￡255.??

This increase from ￡232 to ￡255 is happening across the board in children’s cases and extends to Parental Responsibility (PR), Enforcement, change of surname, special guardianship orders, schedule 1 applications (for financial provision) and many more.?

Finances?

For those grappling with financial matters amidst divorce/dissolution proceedings, the application fee to begin financial proceedings at court currently stands at ￡275 and is set to rise to ￡303.?

The trusty consent order? Currently, the fee is ￡53 and is set to rise to ￡58.?

To reiterate what I said in my previous article…. Don’t panic?

Given the increasing fees across the board, it’s crucial now more than ever that you consult with an expert family law solicitor when beginning your proceedings to ensure minimal costs throughout.?

Remember, Myself, Jamilla and Britton and Time Solicitors are here to guide you through every step of the journey.?

Table of increases (current fee, future fee and difference):