Edinburgh charges most for divorce advice, survey finds

A UK-wide survey of solicitors has found Edinburgh to be the most expensive city in Britain to get a divorce.

At £285 per hour, Scotland's capital came ahead of both London and Leicester, which took joint second place with an average rate of £280 per hour. Glasgow was not far behind, ranking eighth out of the 50 cities surveyed, with an average hourly rate of £266.67. 

The research, which was carried out by Lawhive, is on average based on 3.5 quotes per city. And, it seems, the separation business is booming, with the survey also finding a number of the solicitors questioned were fully booked for divorce work.

Rates in Dundee were marginally lower than Glasgow, at £256.67, which saw the city come in at 17th place.

However, quotes from solicitors in Aberdeen produced an average hourly rate of £211.67, placing it fourth lowest in the survey.

Sunderland stood out as the most affordable city for divorce in the UK, with an average hourly rate of £195.

Hiring a solicitor in Edinburgh for 15 hours would set clients back by a total of £1,350 more than in Sunderland. 

Flinn Dolan, co-founder and chief data officer of Lawhive, said: "The opportunity to save a considerable sum by selecting a solicitor in Aberdeen instead of Edinburgh highlights the importance of working with solicitors remotely in alternative locations for cost-effective divorce services.

"The substantial cost differences between cities emphasise the importance of shopping online for affordable remote solicitors."