Taking the financial pain out of divorce

By Jennifer Hill, Personal Finance Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Valentine's Day might be upon us, but it is a sad reality that half of first marriages and around a third of all marriages end in divorce.

High profile divorce cases -- not least the bitter battle between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills -- have propelled the financial pitfalls of divorce into the public arena.

Over and above the obvious emotional trauma associated with a break-up, the financial consequences of divorce can be disastrous.

In legal fees alone, divorce is an expensive business: Mills is representing herself in the court hearing, expected to last five days, after sacking her lawyers -- but the firm which represented her for 18 months is taking legal action against her over alleged unpaid legal bills totalling some 2 million pounds.

According to legal services firm Epoq, the average cost of legal fees for an undefended divorce is, thankfully, somewhat lower at 1,000 pounds.

A do-it-yourself divorce can have an even more modest price-tag. Supermarket giant Tesco sells a "separation and divorce kit" -- a "comprehensive kit packed with the forms and advice you need to conduct your divorce ... without the expense of a solicitor", according to its www.tescolegalstore.com Web site -- for a mere 14.99 pounds.

Other sites, such as www.quickie-divorce.com and www.managed-divorce.co.uk, claim to take the hassle out of -- and cut the cost of -- the actual mechanics of legal separation.

But add to this cost the splitting of assets and the fact that the taxman could add insult to injury by twisting the knife unless you get it right, and the cost of divorce can soon add up to a pretty penny.