Online divorce services

[BestDaysAheadOfMe]

Hi all, i wonder if anyone has used online divorce services such as amicable.io (there are many others it seems).
I was going to go down the usual route, e.g. use a divorce lawyer but DH expressed an opinion that getting solicitors on both sides is aggresive and not amicable (in reality he doesnt have any money right now so that is the real diver but whatever). He suggested we use the same lawyer and go with one of these online services.

Have you used any of those services, what’s the difference? Is that a better option? I personally don’t think it makes things any more amicable but would love to hear some pros and cons.

[iamthrough]

I used Amicable when I divorced. If I were to have my time again I probably wouldn't as there are still loose ends years later. There may still have been those loose ends if I'd used a solicitor of course but if I had - at least I'd have some recourse or help to resolve the ongoing issues. Maybe try a collaborative lawyer? You and your husband would not be able to use the same one of course as that would be a conflict of interest. A solicitor will purely look after YOUR interests - Amicable work with both parties and assume your STBX and you agree on everything - in our case that led to a lot of giving in on my part.

[MrsT1405]

If it's all amicable just do it yourself. About £80 all in . Exdh and I did that....28 years ,2 kids ..just agreed and did it . My new Dh just copied the forms and did theirs for £80 as well. Solicitors cost lots for very little actual work and scare people onto using them.

[BestDaysAheadOfMe]

@iamthrough can i ask what those loose ends are? My priority is dividing equity and having childcare arrangements sorted out. Is there something i should be aware of?

[iamthrough]

I have sent you a PM :)

[Whatonearth2020]

@iamthrough I’m currently going through the process and using amicable. As it’s rapidly becoming less than amicable may I ask what I should watch out for with the service? Thanks

[millymollymoomoo]

As above you can’t use the same solicitor
You’d need to ensure you get a signed and sealed consent order to ensure no future come back
If you can agree on splits ( and you know all assets and debts ) you can simply have solicitors to draft, costs only pile in in the event of dispute
Again if you are amicable and agree child arrangements you don’t need a formal order

[BestDaysAheadOfMe]

@Whatonearth2020, we haven’t even started divorce yet and things went from super amicable to heated and stressfull in the space of a few weeks. I’m hoping we remain amicable but i kind of need to safeguard myself against the possibility that it will all go tits up.
Another thing, Dh has a limited company and has quite a bit of debt related to working on building the business up. It’s his personal debt so i suppose it will go in the pot to be divided between both of us? Any ideas on that? I had little say in that, he decided to stop well paid contracting jobs and for the last year has been working on building his business up, no income for a year and i think about £25k or so in debt by my estimation. It terrifies me and is part of the reason why we are divorcing...

[iamthrough]

@Whatonearth2020 I would say if you're concerned things are declining and not remaining amicable I would say have a word with your "divorce coach" privately - share your concerns and they should be able to recommend a solicitor. Or find your own separately. Don't be afraid of changing to a traditional solicitor part way through the process.