Key Takeaways
- Your first no-fault divorce consultation is mainly a fact-finding conversation about your marriage, where you both live, your finances and any children.
- Since 6 April 2022, divorce in England and Wales has been no-fault, so a solicitor won’t ask you to prove your partner did anything wrong.
- The court fee to apply for a divorce is £628. Your finances and child arrangements are dealt with separately from the divorce itself.
- You don’t need a full set of documents for the first meeting. Key dates and rough figures are enough to get useful advice.
You’ve probably gone over the decision a hundred times already. Even so, booking that first meeting with a divorce solicitor can feel like a bigger step than the decision itself, because it makes everything real.
Plenty of people worry about the meeting too. Will I be judged? What if I don’t know what’s in my partner’s pension? Should I bring paperwork? Do I need a reason for wanting out? These worries are completely normal, and most of them fade once you know what the solicitor is going to ask.
The questions are fairly predictable, and knowing them in advance means you get far more out of the time. This guide walks through what a solicitor will ask in a no-fault divorce consultation, why each question matters and what to bring. If you’d like to talk your own situation through, Osbourne Pinner offers a free 30-minute consultation with our divorce and family law solicitors.
What is a no-fault divorce consultation actually for?
Think of it as a structured conversation rather than an interview. The solicitor needs a clear picture of your situation so they can explain your options and the likely route, plus what it might cost. You’re not expected to arrive with a plan.
One thing you won’t be asked is who’s to blame. Under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, which came into force on 6 April 2022, the only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. You simply confirm that it has. There’s no need to list your partner’s behaviour or prove adultery, so the conversation stays on practical matters.
What you tell a solicitor is confidential. You can speak openly about money, the relationship and any worries, and it’s far better that you do. A solicitor can only advise on what they know, and a detail that seems minor to you can change the advice completely.
Can you get divorced in England and Wales?
The first questions check that a divorce is possible at all. Expect to be asked:
- When and where you got married, and whether you have the marriage certificate or a certified copy.
- Whether you’ve been married for at least a year, since you can’t apply before then.
- Where you and your partner live now and where you’ve lived recently.
- Whether either of you has started divorce proceedings in another country.
The questions about where you live are about jurisdiction. The courts in England and Wales can only deal with your divorce if at least one of you has a strong enough connection here, usually through where you live or where you’re domiciled. If your partner lives abroad or you married overseas, the solicitor will want more detail. A marriage certificate that isn’t in English, for example, will need a certified translation.
If you’ve been married for less than a year, the solicitor can talk you through what you can do in the meantime, such as putting a separation agreement in place.
Will your partner agree to the divorce?
Next comes your partner. The solicitor will want to know whether they’re aware you’re planning to divorce and how they might react, plus whether they already have a solicitor of their own.
The answers shape whether you apply alone as a sole applicant or together as joint applicants. A joint application usually runs more smoothly because there’s no need to serve papers on the other person and wait for them to respond. A sole application works just as well when your partner isn’t on board. You’ll need their current address, and an email address if you have one, so the court can send them the papers.
Can they stop it?
Lots of people ask whether their partner can stop the divorce. Under the current law, they can’t simply refuse. A divorce can only be disputed on narrow legal grounds, such as whether the marriage is valid or whether the court has jurisdiction. A partner who drags their feet can still slow things down, which is exactly why the solicitor asks.
Whichever route you take, there’s a built-in wait. It takes at least 26 weeks from the date the application is issued to the final order, including a 20-week reflection period. Our guide to how long a no-fault divorce takes explains the timing, and our complete guide to the divorce process sets out each step.
What do you own and what do you owe?
This is usually the longest part of the conversation. The solicitor will ask about:
- The family home, whose name it’s in and roughly what’s left on the mortgage.
- Savings, investments and any other property.
- Pensions for both of you, which are often worth more than people expect.
- Any business either of you owns or has a share in.
- Debts, including loans and credit cards.
- What you each earn and roughly what you spend each month.
Rough figures are fine. Nobody expects you to know the value of your partner’s pension at the first meeting, and the solicitor will explain how full financial disclosure works later on.
Crucially, the divorce ends the marriage, but it doesn’t divide your money. Your finances are a separate process, and an agreement only becomes legally binding once the court approves it in a consent order, which carries a £62 court fee.
Without a financial order, claims can stay open even after the divorce is final. That’s why a solicitor will usually advise having a financial plan in place before you apply for the final order. Our financial settlement solicitors deal with this side, and our free Divorce Settlement Calculator can give you a rough starting point before the meeting.
What arrangements do you need to make for the children?
If you have children, expect questions about how old they are, where they live now, how much time they spend with each of you and whether you and your partner have agreed anything about the future. If you’d like a rough idea of the figures involved in supporting them, our free Child Maintenance Calculator is a useful place to start.
The solicitor will also ask whether you have any concerns about the children’s safety or wellbeing. As with money, child arrangements sit outside the divorce itself. Many parents agree arrangements between themselves. Where that isn’t possible, our child arrangement order solicitors can explain how the court decides, always with the child’s welfare as the priority.
Is anything urgent or unsafe?
A good solicitor will always ask whether anything needs dealing with straight away. It’s tempting to play this down out of embarrassment, but it’s one of the most important questions in the whole meeting.
Tell the solicitor if:
- You feel unsafe at home
- You’re worried your partner might move or hide money
- You’ve already received court papers or if a hearing date is coming up
Some of these situations call for fast action, such as a protective order or an application to stop assets being moved. Papers you’ve received can also come with deadlines.
What should you bring to the consultation?
You don’t need a folder of documents for your first meeting. These will help, though:
- Your marriage certificate, or a photo of it.
- A note of key dates, such as when you married, when you separated and your children’s dates of birth.
- A rough list of assets, debts and income for both of you.
- Any letters, emails or court papers you’ve already received about the divorce.
- A short list of your own questions.
Writing your questions down matters more than people think. Thirty minutes goes quickly, and it’s frustrating to remember the one thing you really wanted to ask on the way home.
What will the solicitor tell you in return?
By the end of the meeting, you should have a clear sense of your options plus the likely route and what happens next. You should also get a straight answer on costs.
The court fee to apply for a divorce in England and Wales is £628, and it’s the same for sole and joint applications. If you’re on a low income or receive certain benefits, you might be able to get help with the fee. Solicitor fees are on top, and we offer fixed fees for the divorce itself so you know the cost from the start. For a fuller breakdown, see our guide to what a divorce costs when both of you agree.
You might also hear about changes on the horizon. The government’s A fairer end to relationships consultation, which closed on 14 August 2026, proposed writing the principles courts use to divide finances on divorce into law. These are only proposals for now though. The current law still applies, and your solicitor will advise you on that basis.
Book your free no-fault divorce consultation
Going into a divorce without advice can mean agreeing to things you don’t fully understand, or missing something urgent like money being moved or a deadline on court papers. A short conversation early on gives you the full picture before you make decisions that are hard to undo.
At Osbourne Pinner, our divorce and family law solicitors help clients through every stage of a no-fault divorce, from the first application to financial settlements and child arrangements. We’ll listen, explain your options in plain English and give you a clear view of costs before you commit to anything.
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We always recommend speaking to a qualified solicitor for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your situation, Monday to Friday. You can speak with us via video call or visit our offices in Piccadilly Circus, Canary Wharf, Wimbledon, Harrow or Manchester. To arrange your consultation, call 0203 983 5080, email [email protected] or complete the form below. We do not offer Legal Aid.
