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Edit: At time of edit, in 2018, court fees have risen again to £550

When completing a divorce petition, the party applying for the divorce is provided with the opportunity to request that the court’s fees be paid by the respondent; something which generates a large volume of queries here at Quickie Divorce. As I’m sure you can imagine, many people get slightly carried away following them having encountered this section of the form and immediately assume that they are able to effectively order the court to demand that the respondent pay the relevant fees. In reality, the situation is a little more complex! In the event that the Petitioner states that the Respondent is to pay costs, the courts will try to recover the relevant fees from this party at a later date. In the event that the Respondent agrees, the matter is straightforward but, if they do not, a hearing will be arranged following the couple’s Decree Nisi having been pronounced During this hearing, the Petitioner will be given the opportunity to argue why they feel that it should be the Respondent and not themselves that pays the fees. A judge will then decide how much, if any, of the fees the Respondent should pay. Generally, Quickie Divorce would not recommend that a Petitioner try to claim the court fees back from a Respondent. Even if the parties have remained in contact and the Respondent has agreed to pay the relevant fees the fact that the court will accept a cheque from either the Petitioner or Respondent when the petition is filed means that it is far simpler for them to pay the fees directly.