The government has indicated that it intends to press ahead with an increase in Court fees this autumn, in spite of objections that this is the wrong time to increase fees and complaints that the current levels of service from the Court Service does not justify an increase in fees. The government has responded that the proposed increases reflect historic inflation and promises that the income generated from these proposals will go towards the running cost of HMCTS. The government has also promised to offset the increase in fees by proposed extended thresholds for offering help with fees which will make the fee remissions scheme more generous.
The proposed increase in fees for filing an application for a divorce, nullity or civil partnership dissolution will increase from £550.00 to £592.00, with an application for parental order going from £215.00 to £232.00.
Given that the introduction on “no fault” divorce, expected towards the end of next year, is supposed to make the process for divorce simpler, it is, perhaps, surprising that the fees for divorce and civil partnership dissolution should be targeted at this time.
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