Questions

1. Do I need my own solicitor if my ex’s is drawing up the Consent Order? And if so, what do they need to do, considering an agreement has already been reached, and we’ve had legal advice. Apparently his solicitor will not deal with anyone except a solicitor? Surely I’m just signing it at the end of the day?

2. is it cheaper to use a solicitor to transfer house deeds, or a conveyancer, and is the latter ok where the divorce assets are concerned?

Surely you want to check that what is in the order matches what is agreed and that all your expected clauses are in there. For the sake of getting them to overlook a single document that will be legally binding in my eyes I'd be making sure. Errors can happen, and clauses can be sneakily changed or re-worded

It's always advisable to have your draft consent order checked over by a solicitor before you sign it to make sure it reflects the agreement you have with your ex, and to ensure there aren't any clauses in it that may cause you difficulties. Wikivorce have a fixed fee consent order advice service with a solicitor for just £99 - www.wikivorce.com/divorce/index.php?page...rtuemart&Itemid=2707

I didn’t see an answer to either of my questions, but thanks for responding.
I had hoped, since most people here are DIY ing it, someone would know.

1. Your ex's solicitor is wrong to insist that they will only deal with a solicitor. They should be able to send the Consent Order and D81 statement to you for your signature and then send it to court.

When you ex's solicitor is drafting the order and managing the process of submitting the CO to court then the only role for a solicitor on your side is to provide legal advice on the document before you sign it. Which is what rubytuesday was mentioning.

2. I suspect that a licenced conveyancer might be slightly cheaper than a solicitor. Implementing a property transaction as part of a divorce settlement is a specific niche with some particular legal implications (for example around Capital Gains Tax which has special rules for divorcing couples) - and so ideally you would use a law firm that have a good family law department and a strong conveyancing department and so are able to advise you on both areas of law.