Guides to Scots law
Most legal information online is written for England and Wales. These are written for Scotland, by Scottish solicitors, and they say where the difference matters.
Divorce and separation
How long does a divorce take in Scotland?
Simplified, ordinary and defended timescales, and what actually causes delay.
How much does a divorce cost in Scotland?
Court fees, what drives legal fees, and when legal aid is available.
What am I entitled to in a divorce in Scotland?
Matrimonial property, the relevant date, pensions and the family home.
After a death
What happens if you die without a will in Scotland?
Prior rights, legal rights, the free estate, and the six month cohabitant trap.
How long does confirmation take in Scotland?
Scotland’s equivalent of probate, stage by stage.
Buying and selling
Do I need a solicitor to buy a house in Scotland?
Why you need one before you offer, not after.
How long does conveyancing take in Scotland?
Offer to missives, missives to settlement, and where it stalls.
Injury and negligence
How much compensation will I get?
Solatium and patrimonial loss, and why online calculators mislead.
Solicitors, fees and complaints
What does a solicitor cost in Scotland?
Hourly rates, fixed fees, no win no fee, outlays and VAT.
Legal aid in Scotland
What it covers, whether you qualify, contributions and clawback.
How to complain about a solicitor in Scotland
The firm, the Commission, and the time limit.
How to choose a solicitor in Scotland
The questions that separate one firm from another.
Scotland and England
Scots law is not English law
The differences that change outcomes, area by area.
Scots law glossary
Pursuer, defender, interdict, decree, confirmation and the rest.
If you already know what you need done rather than what you want to read about, the areas of law index lists every subject we cover.
Why we write these
People do not usually arrive at a solicitor knowing what they need. They arrive knowing what has happened. These guides exist to close that gap: to explain how the Scottish system actually works, what the deadlines are, and what a case is likely to involve, so that the conversation you eventually have with a solicitor starts further forward.
Every guide is written and reviewed within the firm before publication and carries the date it was last reviewed. Where the law is about to change, we say so and give the date.
A note on this page
This is general information about how the law works in Scotland. It is not advice about your situation and it cannot be, because we do not know your circumstances. Nothing here should be relied on as a substitute for speaking to a solicitor about your own case.
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