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Legal matters

Husband accusing me of lying about when I started divorce and other stuff-can my solicitor do anything?

13 replies

StableButDeluded · 04/02/2012 15:40

Luckily, by chance I have a solicitor appt on tuesday anyway, but just wondering if there's anything he will be able to do to stop this, as it's very hurtful & upsetting.

We separated last may, at his request. I didn't want to. WE agreed we would wait for two years separation before starting divorce. He then very quickly met someone else, they now wish to marry ASAP so he then told me he was goingto issue divorce proceedings against me this january.

I consulted solicitor at that point (early december) and we decided that I would be the one to be the petitioner. Solicitor wrote to H advising him of this, pointing out that I wished to keepthings as amicable as possible and advising him to obtain legal advice. All normal stuff.
Two days after that, I saw H as he was bringing our son home, and decided that rather than let him read it in a letter, it would be fairer to tell him myself that I would be petitioning for divorce, and that solicitor was writing to him.

He seemed to accept it, said nothing more about it and that was that. I didn't see my solicitor again till 13th January because of xmas/new year. that day he showed me a letter from H's solicitors, saying they accepted the divorce would proceed that way, etc. So solicitor and I filled in divorce petition. Later that same day I saw H to take DS to him for weekend, H asked me how it went at the solicitors and I told him i had filled in the divorce petition. I distincly remember telling him this & his new GF was there too, because we discussed the stiff, formal wording, i said it wasn't my choice of words, it's just 'legalspeak' & I didn't want them to be upset when or if they ever saw the petition, etc.

Prior to my starting the divorce H had agreed to pay the court fees as I am not working due to a chronic illness & disability. About a week later-20th Jan- I asked him if he was still willing to pay them even though I was the one starting the divorce, not him. Initially he said no, as that was said when he thought HE would be the petitioner, but when I pointed out the court fees would still be the same he then agreed, and asked how I wanted the money, was he supposed to give it to me etc, cos he couldn't really afford it, blah blah. I said no, I didn't want it, I didn't know how it would be done but I expected that my sol would write to him or his sol about it.

I then rang my sol to confirm for certain H had agreed to pay court fees, and sol said he would write to him.

Last night out of the blue I had abusive text from H, accusing me of lying, deliberately delaying the divorce by over a month and messing him about!

Says he's received letter yesterday from my sol asking for fees to file the petition, and that he's really annoyed as I 'told' him i had filed the petition in december!? and that he did not agree to pay the fees?! Says he 'doesn't trust me to do this properly and is taking control from now on' I tried to ring him to tell him he had it all worg but he jusy shouted over me & hung up. I then asked my sister to try, as I didn't think he would hang up on her. Gave her all the above info, the dates everything was said & done. She's a social worker & used to dealing with shouty, angry people. He wouldn't listen to her either. So I had no choice but to send a calm, factual email to H, setting out all the dates, and who said what, etc. I really thought this would show him I was not lying about anything, and would jog his memory.

I also said that it had upset me a lot being accused of these things, the lying especially, and that as a result in future I would not talk to him in person about the divorce proceedings, or when I had seen my solicitor, or what was said at these meetings. I said that I would conduct all correspondence through the soliciotrs as that way there could be no further accusations or misunderstandings about who said what and when, as it would all be on record.
. Then this morning had text from GF, saying she agrees with him, and that I deliberately misled them, and also that that I never told them on 13th jan that i had filled in the divorce petition that day, I simply 'implied that it was a general meating with my solicitor'!!!!

This has really, really upset me. I suffer from anxiety attacks and it has made me ill this weekend. NONE of what they are saying is true, I NEVER told him I filled in a divorce petition in December-how could I, when it was my very first meeting with my solicitor, and we hadn't even written to H at that point? All I said was that I was going to be the one to start divorce proceedings as the petitioner- I never said that we had filled in or submitted the actual petition.

GF was not even PRESENT when I told him this in december, so she has only H's word of what was said. So how she can accuse me of lying and say that I DID say I had started the divorce proceedings in december is beyond me, as she wasn't even there to hear what I said!

She also agrees with H that I am lying about telling them on 13th Jan that I had filled in the divorce petition that day. she stated in her text that i misled them and 'implied' it was only a general meeting nd that I didn't fill the divorce petition out that day 'as you didn't say you had done it'. BUT I DID! It was the first thing I told H when he asked 'how it went' at the solicitors, she was there when I said it & that's why we talked about the wording! I have explained all this in the email last night, pointing out the dates everything occurredand what was said, but from her text this morning, it's clear they simply do not believe me.

It's obvioss to me that H has no understanding of what I have told him verbally about what is going on with the divorce, or what his solicitors have told him. I'n not entirely surprised as he never listens to anything i tell him, but I thought he would understand what his solicitors must have told him of the procedure!They must surely have explained to him the procedure when he recieved that first letter from my sol, and he found his own solicitor to act for him & reply to the letter.

And to be honest, I thought GF would remember what I said on 13th jan about me filling in the divorce petition that day, and would correct him. Because she has stuck up for me in the past in little conflicts I have had with H. so I was astonished that she says she agrees with everything H says, and that I am lying when I say I told them on 13th Jan I'd filled in the petition that day.

So sorry this is so long. I am just rfeally really upset & angry that thay have accused me of LYING, deliberately holding up the divorce, messing H about, AND that he never said he would pay the court fees!
Being accused of lying is the worst, when I have NEVER lied about anything to do with the divorce, and I have not done any of the things they are saying. It was only 3 weeks to the day yesterday that I filled in the divorce petition-how on earth have I delayed things by a MONTH?

I am going to show my solicitor the texts I have received from them both, accusing me of lying, and misleading them. And I am also going to show him the email I sent in reply, in which I calmly set out all the dates that things were done and said.

Can my solicitor do anything about these accusations? Can he write to them and give them some sort of warning or something, or is there any action I can take legally for accusing me of lying, or something? I have enough stress dealing with H and his unreasonable demands generally, and to be accused of all this seems so unfair.

Also, since H said he doesn't trust me to do this properly and is 'taking control' himself, can he do that? Surely he can't just become the petitioner himself instead of me at this point? I decided to be the petitioner, even though he is the one wanting the divorce, because I wanted some control over the procedure, and it is slightly in my financial interests to do so-should there be any disagreements over financial matters, I as the petitioner can delay applying for the Decree Absolut up to a point until matters are sorted.

Sorry again for how long this is. I am just so anxious, and upset and worried that he can just take everything out of my control and get away with accusing me of sll this stuff, simply because he doesn't listen to what he's been told and because he's too stupid to understand the divorce procedure.

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Flibbertyjibbet · 04/02/2012 15:56

I have not been divorced myself but have a friend in a similar situation to yours.

If the grounds for the divorce are his adultery then he cannot 'take charge' itas he cannot divorce himself. He is the respondent, you are divorcing him.

If he decides to now divorce YOU then that would presumably be for unreasonable behaviour or something, which is a horrible path to go down,.... but if the petition has already been filed then he can't suddenly 'take charge' and speed things up, as the wheels are already in motion.

Is the OW pregnant or something, or have they told her family that he is single?

If you try to get a solicitor to 'take action against them for lying' then it will just cost you a ton of money. If I were you I'd just ignore them. It sounds like he has lost face with her and is knee jerking against you. Rise above it.

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StableButDeluded · 04/02/2012 16:45

I don't know for certain if the petition has actually been filed with the court.

I and the solicitor filled in the paperwork on 13th jan, but I'm assuming that the fact H is ranting on about me 'delaying' the divorce, and that he's been asked for money to file the divorce, probably means it hasn't been submitted to the court yet- and that my solicitor is asking H for the fees so that they can accompany the petition when it is submitted. It is three weeks yesterday since I filled in the petition, but I don't think that's a particularly long time in legal proceedings, surely?

H was originally wanted to use unreasonable behaviour to divorce me- he wanted to use my anxiety condition as the 'unreasonable behaviour' but I was really, really unhappy about this. I didn't even WANT to do a 'blame' divorce, I wanted to wait for two years separation, but he was determined to get divorced ASAP, so I decided that in that case it wasn't going to be me taking the blame.

So when my solicitor pointed out that in fact I could divorce HIM for adultery, as he is married & in a relationship with another woman, I decided I wanted to do that instead.

No, she isn't pregnant, they are just stupid. she is 'uncomfortable living with a married man'!!!

Her family know he is separated, as they drag my DS round all her various relatives when he is staying with them on weekends.
They are already living together, I don't see what the rush is for a divorce and a marriage, especially as he has moaned before to me about how much the solicitors will cost him, and how he hasn't got any money. ( I felt like saying 'well why the hell are you rushing into a divorce and a marriage you can't afford, then?' but I kept my mouth shut)

What makes me laugh is that she is a practicing Christian, she believes in Adam & Eve, doesn't believe in evolution ( I had to listen to her talk for an hour about her beliefs one day because I didn't know how to say I wasn't really interested)
And that's fine, she can believe what she likes but I think it is very un-Christian behaviour, not to mention hypocritical to start a relationship with a married man two weeks after he's separated, start living together and then have the cheek to force a divorce on me ASAP because she then chooses to say she is 'uncomfortable' with him being married. Not to mention this latest stuff, all these accusations.

With regard to solicitors costs, I am getting legal aid (public funding) because I get a small amount of Income Support. So I'm not worried particularly about fees, I just want to to stop them saying these things. I hate people getting away with unfairness.

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StableButDeluded · 04/02/2012 17:35

You are probably right, I should just rise above it. In reality, there is probably little my solicitor could do, as H is not going round telling all and sundry that I am lying, or publishing it somewhere, so it's not damaging my reputation etc.
It's just so hurtful as I know it is all untrue and it makes my anxiety so much worse when I have to deal with upsets from him.

I will probably just show the texts and my email replies to my divorce solicitor on tuesday, just so he knows what's going on. Maybe he'll suggest contacting H's solicitor to tell them what's been said and get them to explain what's going on with the divorce, since H is being a simpleton and clearly has the wrong end of the stick about everything that has been said and done. best thing for me then is to just stick to my decision not to discuss divorce with H or GF and direct any attempts from H to discuss the divorce to my solicitor.

Less stress for me in the end.....and breathe!

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Kladdkaka · 04/02/2012 19:13

He's probably got the hump because his 'Christian' girlfriend has found out that no reputable church will marry them if you divorce him for adultery with her being the other woman. Oops.

Sorry I can't be of any actual help, but perhaps that little titbit will make you giggle.

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wheredidiputit · 04/02/2012 20:00

Kladdkaka

I thought the same. Funny how christen beliefs didn't stop her from having an affair with a married man.

Could they have booked the wedding and now can't go ahead as his divorce won't be finalised.

OP I don't think you solicitor will be able to do anything, but keeping them aware of what STBX is doing/sending you is a good thing.

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Kladdkaka · 04/02/2012 20:07

Or the vicar has cancelled now he knows what's going on.

Not that long ago no divorcee could marry in church. Now they can but all the churches I've ever known will still not do if the person they wish to marry was a contributing factor to the divorce.

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StableButDeluded · 05/02/2012 00:44

Thank you all for your replies. I have no idea whether they had arranged a wedding, I don't think so. I have pondered how in fact they will marry, as she doesn't attend a 'proper' church. Forgive me, I don't mean to offend any church-goers by saying it's not a proper church, I simply don't know what you call a church that has been set up by someone and doesn't seem to be related to the Church of England, Wales or any 'officially' recognised church body. the Pastor who set it up is an ex-convict. I am not sure that they can even marry people in that church.

Within weeks of meeting her, H has gone from being completely anti-religion and a non-believer for the 22 years I've known him to going to church with her and completely believing everything her church believes. I know people can change their beliefs, but that he could go from saying things like 'religion is ridiculous' 'people who believe in God are nuts' and laugh at anyone who went to church, calling them 'God-botherers', to believing on God, never mind the type of conservative Christian beliefs her church holds practically over night still astounds me.

I hate the fact that she says she is a Christian, is very active in the church, her religion is obviously a big part of her every day life (even the solicitors my husband is using call themselves ' XXX and Co, Christan Solicitors' on their letterhead!) and yet when it comes to me, the divorce and H, she appears to pick and choose which bits of her 'faith' she wants to apply.

I've been looking at her church website- have not done this for months, but I find it unbelievable that her church would condone their behaviour towards me.
It does seem to be a very conservative form of Christian belief, they state 'We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed'. Also 'We believe that those who reject Jesus Christ will be punished eternally in a literal place called ?Hell? Hmm Those who believe and accept his atoning work will enter the paradise of God known as ?Heaven?

I've a good mind to just turn up at a service one morning-as I have a right to do- and ask to have a quiet word with the pastor afterwards. That would knock the wind right out of their sails!

Failing that, I would absolutely love to just throw a few choice Bible quotes at them both next time they start accusing me of things that are not true.

Such as, 'Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight' or 'Be not a witness against your neighbour without cause, and do not deceive with your lips'.

Or my particular favourite at the moment 'For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues' Grin

Alas, I shall probably do nothing in the interests of keeping the peace. but I can dream!

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Kladdkaka · 05/02/2012 09:30

Keep your dignity and leave them to it.

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nocake · 05/02/2012 11:03

Take Kladdkaka's advice and leave them to it. An amicable divorce is always better but if he's turned nasty then that's his decision but it's better if you remain civil and non-confrontational. Arguing back will only make the situation worse and can easily backfire on you.

You don know that assets gained in a divorce can be taken to pay back legal aid costs, don't you? So don't get too blase about your legal costs.

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olgaga · 05/02/2012 12:23

Yes, best to ignore it all. Email your solicitor and attach your reply. He is nuts if he thinks he can "take control". You have to divorce him on grounds of adultery - there's no other way. If he wants a quick divorce (not that there's any such thing, really) he will just have to suck it up. It is also usually the respondent (him) who pays the court fees anyway.

Also, as I understand it, if there are children there will have to be an agreed statement of arrangements for them, and finances, before a court will grant the divorce anyway. So the pressure's all on him if he wants it to go quickly and smoothly.

Your solicitor, and his, can put him right about the danger of sending you abusive communications. Until then, keep your dignity as others have suggested. Keep all records of his and the GF's communications, don't respond, except through solicitors, and try not to let it bother you too much.

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olgaga · 05/02/2012 12:39

Yield ye not to the temptation...of engaging in a bible quotation slanging match, you'll only end up sounding as bonkers as they obviously are .

Don't worry OP, just don't engage in it all, however wound up you feel it won't do you any good to respond in kind - there's really no satisfaction in it. It will only increase your personal stress.

Rise above it - in a celestial kinda way Grin!

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StableButDeluded · 05/02/2012 13:00

Yes, I know legal fees paid by public funding have to eventually be paid back in some way. Ironically, we actually have a mediation appointment set for tomorrow, as before this happened we were going to at least consider using them to sort everything to do with finances, and child issues, etc-in fact everything other than the divorce process itself, which is the one thing mediation can't do.
This was to help remain on amicable terms, and to considerably ct the cost of using solicitors for everything. The other advantage to me of using mediation is that any legal aid I receive for mediation-and that includes the advice of my solicitor during the mediation process and to draw up any agreements made in legal form-does NOT have to be paid back.

I am dreading going tomorrow and seeing H. Had yet another email from him last night, quoting things I had said in texts way back in december & early jan, nit picking about the fact I'd used the phrase 'start' the divorce, and he took this to mean that I had submitted a petition, blah blah.

He's trying to say that because his solicitor told him at their first meeting that in legal terms, the divorce proceedings are only said to have 'started' when the divorce petition is filed, every time I have used the words 'starting' or 'start' etc about the divorce, i MUST mean that I have submitted the petition

Not my fault he misunderstood me, and didn't bother to ask what I meant. I,m not trained in legal terms, I didn't know that all this time what he and I meant by the words 'I'm starting the divorce' were completely different things, and I was only discussing it with him in the first place out of courtesy-I didn't think it was polite somehow to not tell him in person what was happening, and to just leave him to find out in a letter. Mor fool me.

This only convinces me even more that it is better to not talk to him directly about the divorce proceedings-so that he cannot get hold of the wrong end of the stick.

Anyway, I will go to the meeting tomorrow, if only so that he can't turn round and say I'm refusing to stick to what was agreed. If he tries to talk to me about my 'lies' etc or the divorce, I'll just remind him again to contact the solicitor.

He's not as clever as he thinks he is though. In last night's email. he said that when he first saw his solicitor, she explained this thing about the divorce only being legally 'started' when the divorce petiton is filed and the respondent is sent a copy to be returned within 14 days. That's why each time I talked about the divorce being 'started', he thought I meant I had filed the petition.He also said that his solicitor 'offered' at that meeting to file a petition for HIM.
I took great pleasure in calmly replying , stating once again that I have not lied or misled him and that if he REALLY thought I had filed a divorce petition in december, then
1- why has he not asked me or his solicitor where HIS copy is, since it has to be reurned within 14 days, and it's now feb?
2- if his solicitor was offering at that first meeting to file a petition for HIM, then it should have been obvious to him that I couldn't POSSIBLY have filed one in December, or told him I had-since if I had already done one, his solicitor couldn't have offered to do one for him!

Complete idiot.

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olgaga · 05/02/2012 14:04

This meeting tomorrow, is it just with him?

It sounds as though you might benefit from mediation - I'm surprised your solicitor hasn't recommended it. He will have less chance to browbeat you and make wild accusations in front of a mediator.

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