You dont necessarily need a solicitor or lawyer to manage your divorce if it is uncontested, i.e. you and your spouse agree to the divorce, although if there is other issues that you need to decide upon, for instance maintenance or dividing up property, it may be helpful to have a solicitor draw up plans. Obviously if the divorce is contested, meaning that either you or your spouse disagree to the divorce or the grounds for divorce ,you will need to involve a solicitor to see if there are grounds for divorce.

You are not automatically entitled to a divorce, you need to be able to show one of five facts which have affected your marriage.

When there are children under the age of 18 involved, (known as minor children) the courts will be concerned about the decision that has been made for them. They will need to know that the arrangements you and your spouse have made are in the Childs best interests. You should ask a solicitor to approve the plans that you and your spouse have made for them.

You should be able to resolve easily the dividing of property in your home, but if you own substantial property it may be in your interest to have a solicitor make sure you receive a fair amount and that the property is divided up tax effectively.

If you will be financially dependant on your spouse after the divorce, you will need to get a solicitor to negotiate a regular payment amount and to get the amount legally protected.

If you can agree as much as possible with your spouse about the divorce, then it is possible that you can conduct the divorce yourself, only requiring the services of a solicitor when necessary. By conducting the divorce yourself, you can save you a great deal of money.