Government plans to increase the cost of filing for a divorce petition have been quietly dropped.

It was planned that the cost would almost double, from £410 to £750, in order to alleviate the Civil and Family Courts’ annual deficit of £150m. There is already a profit being made from the charge however, as the actual cost of the petition is currently £270. The cost of filing for a divorce has been steadily rising; the fee was set at just £40 in 1990.

The Ministry of Justice announced the rise last year, which was widely criticised by family law organisations in the UK. The Judiciary of England and Wales for example, highlight that the majority of those who apply for divorce are women, and of limited means. They argued that the fee rise affected women disproportionately, and may result in women who cannot afford to divorce cohabiting with their new partners rather than remarrying, losing out on the financial protections of marriage.

Couples in the UK are already postponing divorces due to financial restraints, charity Relate reported earlier this year. The increase would have been financially overwhelming for struggling couples wishing to divorce; head of the family department at Macks, Elizabeth Gallagher, says that “many clients find it difficult to raise funds to cover the divorce petition fee and if the proposed increase had taken place it could have meant that couples became trapped in difficult marriages, in circumstances that would have a detrimental impact upon children”.

“A higher fee could have also had a wider financial impact,” she says, “a person in a difficult marriage in a weaker financial position than their spouse may need to bring the marriage to an end to obtain financial security”.

“The divorce petition is a bit like a “key “that unlocks the door of the court to enable an application for financial remedy to be issued’.