Barrister at divorce first financial court hearing - is this usual?

[whatwillhappen2]

First divorce financial court hearing coming up in December. I asked my solicitor if she would be coming with me. She said no, they would be instructing a very good barrister who is really worth the money.

[FAINTS]

Why would a barrister be needed at this stage?

Does this not make the whole thing even more adversarial than it already is?

My furious H has so far only recently got an online solicitor. I don't know who he will be bringing with him if anybody. There is going to be an imbalance and my H, who already feels victimised, is going to feel even more victimised. My solicitor said that courts are kind to people who are not represented. I had read the opposite. Of course I don't know for sure that he will be unrepresented.

My barrister (faints some more), whom I haven't met, is good at negotiating with the other side. If this is just my irrational and furious H, who seems to have a sketchy grasp of the process and a chip on his shoulder (partly due to his first divorce), how is this even going to happen?

Plus my solicitor is great and I wanted her to be there.

Thanks summerbreezer, that's very helpful. You are totally right about the emotional ties and yes it is very hard. And I do come away from talking to my solicitor feeling so uplifted (for a bit, until I have to go home) - she manages to present everything as doable.

I've got to find a way of telling H that in fact we are not going to go to a mediator but are going to still with the court schedule - so I will share some of the information about the first hearing that I have learned on this thread - to present it as what it is - with the advantage of a judge who can give advice.

I think he is scared yes. And he doesn't want to be involved in this process at all. But how can I tell him "what I want" at this stage - it's more what will we both need in any case and can we get it from what is available.

I think he feels that I am playing a ridiculous game and that there is no need for it.

stick not still

I used to be a family solicitor before I emigrated to Canada. I was on the Family Law Panel and a Resolution Specialist. I would represent my clients at the first hearing (fda) and the second (fdr). If the case went to a final hearing I would usually instruct a barrister then.
If he doesn’t fully complete his Form E before the fda then it’s likely that not a lot will happen - he’ll be given a date to file his replies to your questionnaire and it will be listed for the fdr.

I am a practising family law Solicitor and would usually do the first hearing (FDA) and second hearing (FDR) myself and usually only instruct a barrister for the final hearing. If your ex has not filed his Form E it is extremely unlikely a great deal of progress can be made at the first hearing.

I would ask how much the barrister is going to charge for the hearing before agreeing to their instruction. In addition to their fee the Solicitor will likely charge you a fee for preparing the 'brief' .

It is definitely worth comparing the cost before making a final decision.

A good barrister will be worth every penny. My ex had a decision making disorder and my barrister at the second hearing pretty much bullied her barrister into an agreement, which saved a lot of legal fees. I only wish I'd had the same barrister for the first hearing and we might have got an agreement even sooner.

i only went to court once and i had a barrister because my x kept changing his mine about what he was going to give me and then in court he went back to the original agreement didn't really need the barrister and cost me a lot of money

Anyone on this thread been encouraged to take out or taken out a litigation loan by their solicitors to pay for the costs of divorce and lived to regret it - or if you know of anyone in that situation, please PM me or get them to PM as soon as poss.....! HH