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Separate well with one lawyer - One couple, one lawyer

Separation and divorce is one of the most stressful life events, so ensuring the process is as smooth as possible is a priority to many couples, especially those parting amicably.

Our separate with one lawyer service offers a clear, cooperative and cost-effective way to manage your separation or divorce, aligned with the Resolution Together approach.

What is the one couple one lawyer approach?

With the one couple one lawyer service, or separate well with one lawyer, as we call it at Mills & Reeve, both of you work with a single lawyer to receive the same legal advice. 

With this process you can reach an agreement about all of the legal issues arising from your separation and have that agreement recorded in legal documents by your lawyer and approved by the court where necessary.

Benefits of using one lawyer

Using one lawyer to separate has many benefits, including:

  • You pay for one lawyer, not two 
  • You get the same legal advice together, avoiding conversations such as “My lawyer said this…..” “Well my lawyer said differently….”  
  • Your lawyer has a vested interest in helping the two of you reach an agreement without going to court 
  • You won't usually need to go to court  
  • You can involve other professionals in your process if we all think it will help; eg financial adviser, pensions expert, accountant, counsellor, mediator 
  • The legal advice will be directive, ie your lawyer will tell you what order (or range of orders) that they think the court would make if needed, although you may choose to agree something different if it is still workable and reasonable 

What should you consider?

However, there are some things you should consider:

  • You won't have your own lawyer  “on your side” (although you can take separate advice if you wish) 
  • The process relies on there being reasonable communication and co-operation between you both, and it may not be suitable for you (for one of the reasons set out below)

If you feel your interests aren't aligned, there is a level of conflict between you, or if you want to work on your future communication and co-operation as well as sorting out practical legal issues, mediation might be a better option. 

Is the one couple, one lawyer approach suitable for you?

You're likely to be suitable to use our separate well with one lawyer service if you're both:

  • Wanting to work towards a workable outcome amicably together  
  • Emotionally able to work together and solve problems
  • Willing to be open and honest with sharing all relevant financial and factual information 
  • Seeking legal help so that you can both reach a fair agreement about money and/or the arrangements for your children 

When might the one lawyer approach not suitable for you?

Our service might not be appropriate if...

  • There are concerns about whether your relationship has been abusive 
  • There are safeguarding concerns in relation to an adult or child  
  • Emotions are running too high  
  • Conflict has been a significant feature of your relationship 
  • There is a significant imbalance of power that cannot be managed 
  • One or both of you will not provide all the relevant information needed and/or will not confirm that you have done so 
  • One of you is, or feels, unable to make decisions freely  
  • There is any actual or perceived concern that either or both of you may be involved in unlawful activity 
  • There are legal or other complexities that will be difficult to address together with one lawyer

How does the one lawyer service work and how much does it cost?

Please see our diagram to see how our separate well with one lawyer service works.

For each couple, we will agree a case plan following the initial consultation. This will depend on the circumstances of the case and the assets. We have provided some illustrative examples below (the cost of which is in addition to the cost of the initial individual meetings with each of you before the process is started):

  • You and your ex-partner have reached a complete agreement and have discussed all of the details. You simply need help to implement the agreement and draft the necessary court documents. The cost for this is £3,500 plus VAT and court fees. This doesn't include any pension expert advice and assumes that no joint meetings will be required.
  • You and your ex-partner have agreed some principles for your settlement but you need advice on how to refine the agreement and/or to understand your assets e.g. you have agreed in principle to a percentage split but you have not yet agreed what should happen to a specific asset or how a pension share should be calculated. We can help you consider your options and implement the agreement. In this scenario, the cost would range between £6,000 and £12,000 plus VAT, court fees and experts' fees. This assumes that between 2 and 3 joint meetings will be required.
  • You and your ex-partner have agreed that you would like to work together with one lawyer but have not yet agreed any principles. You don't know or have limited knowledge about the financial assets of the other person. This process would require us to take you through all the steps in the diagram above. The cost for most cases varies between £10,000 and £25,000 plus VAT, court fees and experts' fees, depending on the complexity of the case. This assumes that you will need between 3 and 5 joint meetings.
  • You and your ex-partner’s case is particularly complicated or your assets are of particularly high value. In this instance we will discuss your costs with you and may offer you a bespoke fixed fee, staged fixed fees or to carry out the work on an hourly rate basis.

Please note, these cost estimates are all the total cost for working with both of you and not per person. 

Case study 1

Jane and Julia began their relationship in their 20s and got married in 2015. They separated and worked with their joint independent financial advisor to understand their assets.

Case study 2

Sarah and Tom met at university in Manchester and got married a few years later. They moved to Oxford for Sarah’s job and had three children.

Our family and children law teams

Our lawyers

We now have experienced and specially trained professionals offering our Separate Well with One Lawyer service in every one of our offices.

Our expertise

Why choose us?

We are recognised as one of the leading family and children teams nationally for family dispute resolution outside court. Unlike family law teams who do not include mediators, collaborative practitioners and arbitrators, we can work with you in whichever way will best assist you to achieve your objectives; whether you both work with one of our lawyers together or need to proceed in a different way.  

Our specialist family law mediators are very experienced with working with separating couples and with children, so have the skills and experience to assist you both. With offices across the country, we are likely to be able to support you wherever you are. 

If relevant for you, we also have extensive experience working with international families and we can also call upon the expertise of our colleagues who specialise in other areas of law, for example, corporate, real estate, and tax.  

One couple one lawyer FAQ's

By using one lawyer, you can save time and money, reduce stress, and help maintain a more amicable relationship between you and your ex-partner.

What our clients say about us

  • A regional superpower, Mills & Reeve is very effective in high-value divorce cases with complex financial elements... the client care is second-to-non and it continues to provide an amazing Rolls-Royce service.
    Legal 500
  • One of the best firms practising in family law.
    Chambers & Partners High Net Worth Guide
  • It is a standout firm
    Chambers & Partners

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