What divorce actually costs

I kept a spreadsheet. It started as a tax-tracking habit and became, by month four, a ledger of grief. Every Westpac line item that began with the name of a law firm went into a column labelled DIVORCE. By the end I'd spent $14,200. That was a 'cheap' Australian divorce. Most aren't.

Money is the single most under-discussed dimension of separation. People talk about kids, dating, identity. They don't talk about how much it costs, partly out of embarrassment, partly because the numbers genuinely shock. Here's what 'normal' looks like in 2026.

The fixed costs

These are the line items you can't avoid.

• Divorce application filing fee: around $1,100, reduced to roughly $370 for concession holders
• Consent orders filing fee: around $200
• Service of documents: $100 to $300 if you can't serve personally
• Decree absolute certified copy: small, around $30

Total non-negotiable cost just to get divorced and lock in a settlement: roughly $1,500 to $1,800. That's the floor.

The professional services

This is where the variance lives. The same matter can cost $5,000 or $80,000 depending on the path you take and the cooperation you get.

Solicitor hourly rates in 2026, broadly:

• Junior associate (1-3 years): $300 to $450 per hour
• Mid-level (4-7 years): $450 to $650 per hour
• Senior associate / special counsel: $600 to $850 per hour
• Partner: $700 to $1,200+ per hour

Most matters are billed in 6-minute units. A 5-minute phone call gets billed as 6 minutes. A 1-hour conference where the partner brings a junior gets billed at both rates simultaneously.

Mediator rates:

• Family Relationship Centre: free to low-cost, often subsidised
• Private accredited mediator: $200 to $600 per hour, sometimes session-based ($1,200 to $3,000 per session for two parties)
• Solicitor-mediator: $500 to $900 per hour

Expert reports

Where contested issues exist, experts are engaged. Costs add up fast.

• Single expert valuer (real estate): $500 to $2,500 per property
• Single expert business valuer: $5,000 to $25,000 depending on complexity
• Forensic accountant (for tracing, hidden assets): $300 to $600 per hour, often $10,000+ engagements
• Family report writer (parenting matters): $4,000 to $8,000
• Independent children's lawyer (court-appointed): typically $5,000 to $20,000 per side
• Psychologist or psychiatrist report: $3,000 to $6,000

Add valuations of vehicles, art, collectibles, super interests if there's a defined-benefit fund involved. The bills accumulate.

Path-by-path totals

Bringing it together, here are realistic combined cost ranges for the whole matter (property and parenting):

• Kitchen-table agreement formalised by consent orders: $2,000 to $5,000 (mostly legal fees to draft and file the orders)
• Mediation plus consent orders: $5,000 to $12,000 combined
• Lawyer-led negotiated settlement: $15,000 to $40,000 per side
• Court proceedings settled before final hearing: $30,000 to $70,000 per side
• Full trial through to judgment: $80,000 to $150,000+ per side

These are 2026 Australian numbers and they assume no significant complicating factors. Add a contested business valuation, a relocation dispute, or interstate proceedings and they grow.

Hidden costs

The bills that don't come on legal letterhead but still hit:

• Time off work for mediations, conferences, meetings (often unpaid leave)
• Therapy or counselling for you (typically $150 to $250 per session, possibly Medicare-rebatable under a mental health care plan)
• Therapy for kids if needed
• Emergency rental bond and moving costs ($3,000 to $8,000 to set up the new place)
• Furniture and household basics for the new place ($2,000 to $10,000)
• Higher insurance premiums (single-person policies are often pricier per head than couple policies)
• Lost bargaining power on big purchases (refinance fees, breaking term deposits early)

A standard estimate: budget another $5,000 to $15,000 in non-legal divorce-adjacent spending in the first year.

Who pays who

A common (and naive) hope: the court will make my ex pay my legal costs because she behaved badly.

Reality: in family law, the default position is that each party pays their own costs. Costs orders against the other side are made only in narrow circumstances, typically where one party has acted unreasonably, refused reasonable offers, or wasted court time. Don't budget for a costs win. Budget for paying your own bill in full.

If your matter settles via consent orders, costs are usually noted as 'each party to bear their own'. That's the norm.

Keeping it under $20k

It is genuinely possible to come out the other side of an Australian divorce with all-in legal and adjacent spending below $20,000. The pattern that achieves it:

• Both parties commit to mediation up front
• Full and frank disclosure on day one (no chasing, no subpoenas)
• A clear shared view of the asset pool (no contested valuations)
• Consent orders drafted by a single solicitor or by collaborative-trained solicitors on both sides
• No litigation filed
• Kids agreement reached without an independent children's lawyer
• Direct communication between parties for routine logistics, lawyers reserved for documents and final review

The single biggest determinant is whether you and your ex can operate as adversarial cooperators rather than active enemies. If you can, you save tens of thousands. If you can't, the system will eat your money.

Funding the spend

Common funding sources for divorce costs:

• Cash savings (the obvious one)
• Drawing down on offset accounts or redraw facilities
• Personal loan (be careful, interest rates are high)
• Litigation funding (specialist lenders advance funds against the expected settlement; expensive but legitimate for asset-rich/cash-poor parties)
• Borrowing against the eventual property settlement (some firms offer deferred payment for clients with a clear settlement on the horizon)
• Family loan (document it, treat it like a real loan, be honest about it in disclosure)

Avoid putting legal costs on credit cards if at all possible. The interest stacks fast and you end up paying for the divorce twice.

The 'fight on principle' tax

Most expensive single decision in any divorce: choosing to fight a battle on principle when the dollar value at stake is smaller than the cost of fighting it.

Examples I've seen:

• $40,000 in legal fees to argue over a $25,000 difference in valuation
• $15,000 in fees over which parent gets the dog
• $30,000 in fees over a Christmas changeover time variation

The decision tree before any escalation: what is the maximum I can win on this point, what is the realistic likelihood of winning it, what will it cost me to fight it, what does the expected value calculation say. If the expected value is negative, take the deal. Save the money. Move on.

What 'good' financial behaviour looks like

• Track every dollar spent on the divorce in a single spreadsheet
• Get fixed-fee quotes for discrete pieces of work where possible
• Demand monthly itemised invoices and query line items you don't understand
• Have a hard cap in mind ('I won't spend more than X on this matter') and stick to it
• Decide which battles are worth fighting before you fight them
• Settle on commercial logic, not emotion

Money you spend on lawyers is money you don't spend on kids, retirement, or the next chapter.

Spend deliberately. Settle quickly. Keep the rest.

Further watching

• The Hidden Costs of Divorce You Need to Budget For Now
• How Do You Split Assets After Divorce in Australia Without Losing Your Mind