It can be easy to lose perspective about costs when litigating; even for lawyers in their own divorce cases.
In a recent case in the High Court a couple where the husband was a partner in a well known US firm, were warned by the Judge against committing “financial suicide”. They had each spent £430,000 on worldwide legal costs in England, Singapore and India which equated to nearly a quarter of the value of the matrimonial assets of £4 million. This was merely in relation to a fight over which country the divorce should actually take place in – with the actual divorce and financial battle yet to come.
Will there be anything left if they carry on at this rate and with this degree of acrimony?
This case is an extreme example of how parties in family cases can lose sight of the need to protect the matrimonial assets for division by racking up unnecessary litigation costs.
At Morrisons Solicitors, we can offer cost-effective methods of negotiating settlements. Malcolm Martin, the family Partner at our Wimbledon office, is a family law arbitrator. They would be pleased to discuss the costs and procedure involved further with you and the other benefits that can be offered in terms of saving time and reaching an amicable settlement which would benefit your family as a whole.
We consider it our job keep costs to a minimum. Morrisons bill clients monthly and provide regular costs estimates so that our clients are always aware about how much their cases will cost and they don’t get any nasty surprises. We also have one eye on the bigger picture and will advise you when it is worth litigating and when it is not i.e. when the costs would outweigh the end result.
For further information about how our Family Team can help you, please contact us.