Partner still married - please help.

[as29267]

Me and my partner live together - he has 3 children all under 18. I have a young daughter from a previous relationship.
He and his wife have been separated for 2.5 years...
He has a separation agreement in place through a solicitor, has bought her out of the house, they share 50/50 custody, if he inherits money ect she has no claim over any of it ect.
They have been separated for 2.5 years.... My partner wants to wait until his youngest is 16 before he files for divorce, which is two more years away.. His reasoning behind this is that he believes his children would have to go to court if he divorces before they are 16... Is that true? He also wants to wait so that it's cheaper after his youngest is 16... So he can get a DIY divorce and it's not as expensive...is this true also?
I've never been married so I'm not sure on the legalities of things.... I just have a feeling he's dragging his feet.... Like if it's all legally in place why can't they divorce now instead of later?
If he were to die am I right in thinking that his wife would have a say over life support/funeral arrangements ect her being next of kin?
Im under the impression that if they have a separation agreements legally agreed then it would be relatively simple to get divorced?
Would his kids have to go through court even if everything is already prior agreed?
Also how much does it actually cost to divorce?
Any thoughts or opinions would be really helpful.... It feels really uneasy living with my partner but he's married to someone else, legally it feels very insecure for me.
Any help would be really appreciated.

@pinboard yes

It is correct. It is much cheaper to divorce in Scotland once your children are 16.
It is also correct that if you have a legal separation agreement in Scotland that the ex-wife is no longer next of kin and has no financial or legal claim over anything.

I certainly waited til my child was 16 before filing for divorce, much much easier as there is no contact to be considered as in Scotland the child is actually considered an adult at 16. My ex was a lazy fucker and I knew he'd probably not bother to fill in any forms or whatever.

I can see why he's waiting. I waited and certainly didn't consider myself to be 'having an affair' or my ex-husband to be 'having an affair' or whatever else nonsense just because we weren't divorced. All the finances had been solved and signed at the time, as had the house and everything else.
We'd been legally separated for almost 10 years when our child turned 16.

Pressed enter too soon! Once the children are 16 you can do a DIY divorce using a form you can download. If you've been apart for 2 years the other partner doesn't even have to agree to it.

Thanks everyone - looks like he's doing the right thing by waiting. Thank you

I’m in Scotland, child under 26. Cost £550.

*16

@moobar - are you a lawyer? I don’t think separation would change the inheritance position in itself. If they had a will with the separated spouse excluded, the separated spouse could still claim legal rights. They would otherwise get prior rights on intestacy. See:

brodies.com/divorce-and-family-law/blogs/till-death-do-us-part/

It’s not a big deal (the idea that spouses separated or not get to have power of life and death over their spouse is nonsense anyway) but on intestacy the ex would get more than if they were divorced.

I got divorced in Scotland with children under 16, had been separated more than two years, it took two half hour appointments and a phone call with my lawyer, four months later divorce was done and it really didn’t cost much.

@zsazsajuju yes I am. Or was, on maternity break.

Separation agreement specifically removes all inheritance rights as standard, including legal and prior rights. Couple of problem areas if interested, survivorship destination on title. That must be removed and recorded separately or will still apply. Wills not being changed.

@zsazsajuju I think that article is a misrepresentation of separated. I've left my husband, we are separated. As opposed to I've left my husband and we have entered into a formal separation agreement.

Also, that firm want clients to redo their wills using them!