Which of you keeps the house in St Leonards, and can either of you afford to? That is usually the first real question in an Exeter divorce, because the city's house prices have pulled away from Devon wages, and a couple who bought comfortably fifteen years ago may find that neither can buy alone today. A divorce solicitor in Exeter will start there, with a realistic picture of what each of you needs to be housed, before anyone talks about percentages.
The divorce itself is now a largely administrative process. Since April 2022 there has been no need to blame anyone; the application is made online, alone or jointly, and at least twenty weeks must pass before the conditional order, then six more before the final order. Exeter's family court, part of the Combined Court Centre at Southernhay Gardens, approves consent orders on paper when couples agree and hears financial remedy cases when they do not, and most applications must be preceded by a mediation information and assessment meeting.
Local assets have a particular shape. Public-sector pensions from the university, the NHS, the Met Office and County Hall are often worth more than the house and need a pension sharing order and sometimes an actuary's report. Royal Marines and other service pensions from Lympstone have their own rules. Farms in Mid Devon and the Exe valley, holiday homes on the East Devon coast and family businesses in the city all need valuing, and inherited wealth, common in a county where many people retire, raises arguments about what counts as matrimonial property.
Fees are generally fixed for the divorce application and charged hourly or in stages for the finances. Legal aid is only available where domestic abuse can be evidenced, though the family mediation voucher scheme can contribute to the cost of children cases.
Below are the divorce solicitors serving Exeter, verified firms first. For the steps and the costs, read the divorce process and how much a divorce costs; see the general divorce solicitors guide, and for children matters the family law solicitors in Exeter page.
