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What happens if I can’t afford divorce legal fees?

Personal Debts

Sharon McDougall - Updated - 1st May 2024 - 2 minutes to read

Fees apply. May not be suitable in all circumstances. Your credit rating may be affected.

MoneyHelper is a free independent service available to customers offering debt counselling, debt adjusting and providing of credit information services.

What financial support is available to pay for my divorce?

*Please note we can't assist with marriage counselling or legal advice relating to divorce. We can help if you are based in Scotland and struggling with personal debts due to divorce or financial recklessness from your partner.

The emotional strain of divorce can be overwhelming, and further exacerbated by uncertainty over money. Divorce is typically an expensive process, so what happens if you can’t afford to pay your divorce legal fees?

Is Legal Aid available in Scotland?

Although Legal Aid has been largely phased out in England, except for such cases as domestic violence, it’s still available for people living in Scotland. Assessment for Legal Aid is based on your income, levels of savings/investments, and the value of your assets apart from your home.

Legal Aid is essentially a loan, however, and if you receive a settlement in your divorce case the Legal Aid Board will aim to recover some or all of the Legal Aid payment. You’ll qualify automatically for Legal Aid in Scotland if you receive any of the following benefits:

Universal Credit
Income Support
Income based Employment and Support Allowance (not contribution-based)
Income based Jobseekers Allowance (not contribution-based)

You can check whether or not you qualify automatically on the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) website.

Scotland Debt Calculator

Get a rough indication of what your repayments might be under each of our different debt solutions.

What should I consider for litigation loans?

Borrowing money to pay for a divorce isn’t the best option, but if you’re likely to receive a significant financial settlement or high value assets from the divorce, specialist lenders may be willing to sanction a loan to pay for your legal fees.

This would typically be secured against an asset, possibly your home, so the lender reduces their risk. Further considerations when taking out a litigation loan include the interest rate, whether this is applied for the entire loan or only on the amounts drawn down, and the level of administration charges.

Award of expenses

In some divorce cases one party is made liable for the other person’s divorce fees. Clearly, divorce is a complicated situation and every case is different, but your partner could potentially be made liable to pay some or all of your divorce legal fees.

Free consultation with a professional

Some solicitors offer free initial consultations during which time you can find out more about the potential costs of your divorce case, and the payment options that might be available to you.

It’s important to seek advice from a range of professionals prior to making any decisions, however, and licensed insolvency practitioners can provide vital information on money and debt before and after your divorce.

They’ll explain the implications of taking out a loan or using a credit card to pay your legal fees, and the different debt solutions that could help if necessary. These include the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS), for example, which is backed by the Scottish government.

A Scottish Trust Deed is another debt remedy that helps you escape debt over a period of time. You repay your unsecured debts within a formal agreement, and debts remaining at the end of the term are written off.

Our partner-led team at Scotland Debt Solutions are debt specialists, and can offer you a same-day meeting free-of-charge at one of our offices around Scotland. We’ll explain the options that might be available to you, and offer reliable guidance and support.

Sharon McDougall

Manager

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Sequestration is the Scottish version of bankruptcy and may be suitable for you if you do not have the money to pay back your debts

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Trust Deeds in Scotland

A Trust Deed involves making a monthly contribution to your debts for up to four years. After this time any remaining debt included in the Trust Deed will not need to be paid.

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A Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) lets you pay off your debt through a series of manageable instalments over a reasonable length of time.

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Our Insolvency Practitioners are regulated by ICAS or the IPA and our firm is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

We have FCA authorisation for advice relating to Debt Arrangement Schemes and we are regulated by the ICAS and IPA when giving advice as an insolvency practitioner leading to our appointment in formal insolvency proceedings

Fees and Information: There are fees associated with our services. These will be fully explained before entering into any of the personal debt solutions referred to on this website. Full details of our fees and how these are charged are fully explained to you prior to you committing to any particular service.