A recent article in the Mirror reported that Tess Daly and Vernon Kay are considering using online lawyers because they do not want to spend thousands on solicitors for their divorce.
According to the article, they do not see that there is anything to fight over and believe they can agree everything fairly.
And that raises a really important question for a lot of separating couples.
If you both agree the marriage is over, and you both want to deal with things fairly, do you really need to spend thousands of pounds on solicitors?
The honest answer is: not always.
If there is a serious dispute, hidden money, domestic abuse, pressure, or one person is refusing to be fair, then independent legal advice may be needed.
But if you are both amicable, both willing to be open about the finances, and both broadly able to agree what should happen, you may not need a long, expensive solicitor-led divorce.
You still need to deal with things properly.
But dealing with things properly does not have to mean turning your divorce into a legal battle.
Do you need solicitors if you both agree on divorce?
You do not always need separate solicitors if you both agree on divorce and finances.
If you both agree the marriage is over, you are both willing to provide financial information, and you can agree what should happen with property, pensions, savings, debts and other assets, a fixed-fee online divorce service may be a better option than paying thousands for solicitors to negotiate against each other.
If you want to deal with the divorce together rather than instructing separate solicitors, our amicable divorce for couples service is designed to help both of you move through the process with one expert-guided approach.
The key is choosing the right level of support.
Some couples need solicitors because there is a dispute.
Other couples do not need a battle. They need expert guidance, clear documents, and a properly prepared financial consent order.
That is a very different thing.
Why do people assume divorce has to involve solicitors?
For years, divorce has been seen as something that automatically involves two solicitors, letters going back and forth, rising legal costs, and months or even years of stress.
For some couples, that is still the right route.
If one person is hiding assets, refusing to disclose financial information, applying pressure, or there is a serious disagreement about what is fair, then getting independent legal advice can be important.
But that is not every divorce.
Many couples separate without wanting a fight.
They may be upset. They may be disappointed. They may have gone through a difficult period. But they are still able to speak to each other, make sensible decisions, and agree what should happen next.
For those couples, spending thousands on solicitors can feel unnecessary.
And in many cases, it is.
If you both agree, what do you actually need?
If you are both in agreement, the main things you usually need to deal with are:
✅ The divorce application
✅ The financial agreement
✅ Making that financial agreement legally binding
The divorce application is the legal process that ends the marriage.
But the financial agreement is separate.
This is the part people often misunderstand.
You can get divorced and still leave your financial claims open.
That means even after the divorce is finalised, one person could potentially make a financial claim against the other in the future.
So if you have a house, pensions, savings, debts, investments, a business, or you simply want a clean break, you should not just get divorced and assume everything is sorted.
You need a financial consent order.
What is a financial consent order?
A financial consent order is the legal document that records the financial agreement between you and your spouse and asks the court to make it legally binding.
It can deal with things like:
✅ What happens to the family home
✅ How savings are divided
✅ What happens to pensions
✅ Whether either person pays a lump sum
✅ How debts are dealt with
✅ Whether there is ongoing maintenance
✅ Whether there is a clean break
✅ Whether future financial claims are dismissed
If you have no major assets to divide but still want to prevent future financial claims, you need a clean break order.
Once approved by the court, the agreement becomes legally binding.
That is the protection most couples are really looking for.
It is not enough to simply agree between yourselves.
An informal agreement might feel fine now, but it may not protect either of you properly in the future.
Does divorce automatically sort out finances?
No. Divorce does not automatically sort out finances in England and Wales.
Divorce legally ends the marriage, but it does not automatically divide property, split pensions, deal with savings, clear debts, or stop future financial claims.
This is why a financial consent order is so important.
Without a financial order, your financial claims against each other can remain open, even after the Final Order has been granted.
That is why the question is not just:
“Can we get divorced?”
The better question is:
“Are our finances properly protected when we do?”
“We have nothing to fight over” does not mean “we have nothing to sort out”
This is the key point.
A lot of couples say:
“We are amicable.”
“We have agreed everything.”
“There is nothing to fight over.”
“We do not want solicitors involved.”
That is completely understandable.
But it does not mean there is nothing to deal with legally.
If you own a home, there needs to be clarity about what happens to it.
If either of you has a pension, that may need to be considered.
If one person is keeping more of one asset and the other is keeping something else, the agreement needs to be clear.
If you want to stop future claims, that needs to be included in a court order.
Being amicable is a good thing.
But amicable does not mean informal.
The best divorces are often the ones where both people stay calm, agree the outcome, and then make sure the agreement is properly considered, clearly drafted and legally protected.
When solicitors may not be necessary
You may not need separate solicitors arguing over the divorce if:
✅ You both agree the marriage is over
✅ You are both willing to provide financial information
✅ You can agree what happens to the house, pensions, savings and debts
✅ Neither person is being pressured
✅ There are no hidden assets
✅ You both want a fair outcome
✅ You want to avoid unnecessary conflict and legal fees
In that situation, an online fixed-fee service can often be a much better option.
It keeps the process simpler.
It keeps the costs clear.
And it avoids turning an amicable separation into a fight.
That is not cutting corners.
That is choosing the right level of support for your situation.
Why expert guidance still matters when you both agree
Being in agreement is a great starting point.
But it does not always mean the agreement is ready to send to court.
A judge will still look at the financial information and consider whether the agreement appears fair. That does not mean everything has to be split 50/50, but the agreement needs to make sense based on the circumstances.
This is where expert guidance matters.
At Easy Online Divorce, we are not just filing forms.
We help couples understand what needs to be considered, how the court looks at financial agreements, and whether the key issues have been properly dealt with before the order is submitted.
That can include looking at things like:
✅ Has the family home been dealt with clearly?
✅ Have pensions been considered properly?
✅ Are savings, debts and other assets included?
✅ Does the agreement include a clean break where appropriate?
✅ Is the agreement clear enough for the court?
✅ Does the outcome appear fair based on the financial information?
✅ Will the order actually achieve what both people think it will achieve?
For many couples, this is the missing middle ground.
They do not need two solicitors arguing against each other.
But they also do not want a basic form-filling service that leaves them to work everything out alone.
They want proper guidance, fixed fees, and a process that helps them get the agreement legally protected without creating unnecessary conflict.
That is where our guided approach can be so valuable.
What does the court look at in a financial consent order?
The court does not approve a financial consent order just because both people have signed it.
A judge still has to look at the financial information and decide whether the agreement appears fair.
The court can consider things such as:
✅ Each person’s income
✅ Each person’s financial needs
✅ The family home
✅ Savings and investments
✅ Pensions
✅ Debts
✅ The length of the marriage
✅ The standard of living during the marriage
✅ Any children of the family
✅ Whether a clean break is appropriate
This does not mean the court expects every agreement to be equal.
There may be good reasons why one person keeps more equity, why pensions are offset against other assets, or why one person receives a lump sum.
But the agreement needs to be clear, properly explained and supported by the financial information.
That is why expert guidance matters.
What if you broadly agree but still need help working out the details?
Many couples are not in a fight, but they are not quite ready to submit a consent order either.
They may agree in principle, but still need help with questions like:
✅ Should we split the house equally?
✅ Should pensions be shared or offset?
✅ What happens if one person is keeping the property?
✅ How do we deal with debts?
✅ What does a clean break actually mean?
✅ Will the court think our agreement is fair?
✅ Are we missing anything important?
This is where our Guided Consent Order service can help.
It is designed for couples who want to stay amicable, but need more support understanding the financial issues before the agreement is drafted.
You do not always need two solicitors taking opposing positions.
Sometimes you need one expert-guided process that helps both of you understand what needs to be considered, so the agreement can be dealt with properly.
When should you consider independent legal advice?
Online divorce is not right for every couple.
The important thing is that both people understand what they are agreeing to before anything is submitted to the court.
If you are unsure what the agreement means, you should get clear guidance first. In many amicable cases, that guidance can come through a fixed-fee online service like Easy Online Divorce.
However, you should consider independent legal advice if:
✅ You feel pressured into agreeing
✅ You believe assets are being hidden
✅ There is domestic abuse or coercive control
✅ Your spouse will not disclose financial information
✅ You cannot agree what should happen
✅ There are complex business structures or trusts
✅ There is a serious disagreement about what is fair
In those cases, it may be better to speak to a solicitor before agreeing anything.
The important thing is to choose the right route for your circumstances.
Not every divorce needs to become a solicitor battle.
But not every divorce is suitable for a simple agreed process either.
What about pensions?
Pensions are one of the most commonly overlooked parts of divorce.
Many people focus on the house because it is the most obvious asset.
But pensions can be worth a significant amount of money, especially after a long marriage.
If you are agreeing that one person keeps their pension and the other keeps more equity from the house, that needs to be carefully recorded.
If you are splitting a pension, you will usually need a pension sharing order as part of the financial consent order.
If you are not splitting pensions, the court may still want to understand why pensions are being left out, especially if they are a significant asset.
This is another reason why simply “agreeing between yourselves” is not enough.
The agreement needs to be properly considered, drafted and approved by the court.
Does online divorce mean the court is not involved?
No.
This is another common misconception.
Even with an online divorce, the court is still involved.
The divorce application goes through the court system.
If you apply for a financial consent order, a judge still reviews the agreement.
The difference is that you do not usually need to attend court, and you do not need two solicitors sending letters back and forth if you are already in agreement.
The process can be handled online, but it still has to be done properly.
Can online divorce save money?
Yes, it can.
Traditional solicitor-led divorce can become very expensive, especially if communication breaks down and every point is argued through legal letters.
For couples who are already in agreement, that can feel like a waste of money.
A fixed-fee online service gives you a clearer route.
You know what you are paying.
You know what is included.
And you avoid the fear of open-ended legal bills.
That is why more couples are looking for a simpler way to divorce.
They are not trying to avoid the legal process.
They are trying to avoid unnecessary cost and conflict.
The real question is not “do we need solicitors?”
The better question is:
“What level of support do we need for our situation?”
If you are fighting, you may need solicitors.
If one person is hiding money, you may need solicitors.
If there is pressure, coercion or a serious disagreement about what is fair, you may need independent advice.
But if you are both broadly in agreement and want to deal with things fairly, you may not need two solicitors arguing your case.
What you may need is clear guidance on how the court looks at financial agreements, what needs to be included, and how to turn your agreement into a properly drafted consent order.
That is very different from paying thousands of pounds for a solicitor-led battle you do not actually need.
How Easy Online Divorce helps amicable couples
At Easy Online Divorce, we help couples who want to separate without unnecessary conflict, but who still want things dealt with properly.
We are not just a form-filling service.
And we are not here to turn an amicable divorce into a solicitor battle.
Our approach is simple: one couple, one expert-guided process.
We help you understand what needs to be considered, how the court is likely to look at the agreement, and what information is needed so the consent order can be prepared properly.
We can help with:
✅ Online divorce
✅ Clean break orders
✅ Financial consent orders
✅ Pension sharing orders
✅ Guided consent order support
✅ Divorce and financial order packages
For couples who already agree, our fixed-fee service can help turn that agreement into the correct legal documents.
For couples who are broadly in agreement but need more guidance, our Guided Consent Order service gives you extra support to understand the issues, consider the options, and reach an agreement that can then be drafted and submitted to the court.
We are SRA regulated, our work is completed by an expert UK-based team, and our fees are fixed, so there are no surprise legal bills.
For many amicable couples, this gives them the balance they are looking for: expert guidance and properly prepared legal documents, without spending thousands of pounds on two solicitors fighting a battle they do not need.
Final thoughts
If you and your spouse are in a serious dispute, solicitors may be the right option.
But if you both agree the marriage is over, you both want to be fair, and you both want to avoid wasting thousands of pounds on unnecessary legal fees, there may be a better way.
You can keep things amicable.
You can keep costs under control.
And you can still deal with the legal side properly.
The key is not just getting divorced.
The key is making sure your financial agreement is properly considered, clearly drafted and legally protected.
Need help working out the right option?
If you and your spouse are broadly in agreement and want to avoid spending thousands on solicitors, we can help you work out the right next step.
A member of our team can explain whether you need a clean break order, financial consent order, pension sharing order or our Guided Consent Order service.
You do not need to turn an amicable divorce into a legal battle.
But you do need to make sure your agreement is properly considered, clearly drafted and legally protected.
Book a free consultation today and we will point you in the right direction.
Prefer to speak to someone now? Call us on 0204 530 8101.
