Divorcees over here please!

[StewPots]

I'm seriously thinking about divorcing DH. Things have gone too far for us now and there's no way back BUT I can't afford the court fees. I am just over the threshold for help.

So if he agrees (he's currently ghosting me so sure he will!) can he pay half towards the fees?

Then we each just pay for our own solicitor? Or has anyone used an online divorce service? For context, the only assets are a car (I took out a loan to buy it for £1300, but I don't drive so obviously he keeps that) and we have 1 DC (4). No other assets as the house is rented and mine on a long term tenancy.

Sorry posted too soon... thanks for any advice given.

You can divorce without the need for solicitors etc , that's what costs. If you can agree on the divorce (rather than contest it) then the only fee is the court fee of £550. However if there are child arrangements or contentious financial decisions to be made, then consulting a solicitor is a good idea.
Here's a good place to start with understanding the process.
www.gov.uk/divorce

As I said, if it's a relatively straight forward divorce, doing it yourself is not hard. However, most solicitors will do you a half hour consultation for free before deciding whether to engage them or not, so it might be worth checking that out.

He should give you half of the loan for the car if he is to keep it. You need a Statement of Arrangements for children, stating what maintenance he will pay and outlining contact, and the main residence of the child.

You will need to consider finances, shares of pensions, savings etc. If you have any joint accounts they will need to be frozen. Make sure you have a sole account.

For clarity, you may choose to divide items such as furniture and other possessions between you and it held to have a written record of who will keep which.

I did all my divorce myself online. Cost me 550 plus 110 for the bailiffs to serve papers on him. I sold our house after a few challenges with the dickhead and my kids are teenagers. I gave up on his pension and any child support when he assaulted my kids - scary stuff.
Without knowing how complex your position is it's impossible to make a judgement. I went to a local solicitor for a 20min appointment which cost just shy of 90 pounds I think. Might be worth getting a heads up from a pro as to your best course of action. Good luck.

Good advice from girly about the bank account stuff - make sure you know everything financially and have your own current account. Pensions, credit cards, savings, loans, household bills, account log ins etc - get copies of everything and check out your position legally. Try to extricate yourself from additional liabilities, take care with council tax too.