One in five divorcees left with a lower standard of living

Spiralling legal costs are forcing divorced couples to make rushed and ill-informed decisions, according to new research conducted by Co-operative Legal Services.

Twenty per cent of those who paid legal fees said divorce costs meant they were left with a lower standard of living. Thirty-eight per cent said their divorce cost more than they expected, in the study conducted by the Co-op and YouGov.

Launching its 'Stop the Clock' campaign today, Co-operative Legal Services is calling on providers to embrace fixed fees and leave behind hourly rates. The campaign comes after a recent damning report on divorce complaints by the Legal Ombudsman, which said that 18 per cent of complaints made were relating to divorce, with 27 per cent of those relating to costs.

Co-operative Legal Services offers a fixed-fee quote for a fully-managed divorce of 450 plus VAT, totalling 540. Fixed fee prices for financial negotiations are 1,500, 500 for children negotiations and 500 for children services preparing for court.

Christina Blacklaws (pictured), director of policy at the Co-operative Legal Services said: "It's alarming that so many people (27 per cent) felt unable to ask their solicitor questions or chase them in case it would increase the fee.

"These individuals are going through major life changing decisions and it's vital they get the advice they need without worrying about costs spiralling."

It came as no surprise, Blacklaws continued, that 83 per cent of divorcees would like all legal service providers to offer fixed fees.

Nearly a fifth of the 1,020 divorcees surveyed said they made decisions too hastily, as they were concerned about mounting costs. "Costly" was the word used to describe their divorce by 31 per cent, while 23 per cent felt their bill spiralled out of control.

One in five divorcees paid over 2,500 in legal costs, while 4 per cent paid over 10,000.

"With the changes to legal aid coming in today, it's now more important than ever that consumers are able to access legal advice and control the cost while doing so," said Blacklaws.

The Co-op Legal Services offer free initial legal advice and fixed fees, "to ensure customers don't feel pressurised by costs", says Blacklaws.

National Family Mediation is backing the Co-op's campaign for fixed fees. Its CEO Jane Robey said: "There aren't many situations where you don't know the price of something you're buying, so why should legal advice be any different?"