can you proceed without a lawyer?

[Whinfell10]

I am sure I could do some googling but when I do, I seem to get confused....

So today I've told my DH I want a divorce. I went to see a lawyer last week and she gave me a bundle of forms ( form e, something for a petition etc). However when I told DH today he was being totally reasonable and we agreed we didn't want to involve lawyers more than we have to due to cost etc etc. However , can you actually get divorced without the help of a lawyer? If you just agree a financial settlement between the two of you that you agree on, does it have to be drawn up and agreed by a lawyer or do you just email it to each other ?? But if we don't use a lawyer, could it be challenged in the future ie one of us has taken advantage of he other ?
Am just trying to work out how to keep costs down...

its very possible!
My DP and his ex have just finalised their divorce on grounds of 2 years and used no lawyers. Paid £410 divorce fee, 4 months start to finish and was easy. They had already split all finances and closed anything joint, sold marital home and split equity etc and agreed privately on support for children so did not need to pay lawyers.

I believe you can draw a financial agreement up which protects any future earnings etc and splits marital assets etc, but it does need to be signed by a lawyer to be part of the divorce proceedings, but this part can be done at any point prior to the Decree Absolute being awarded( you need to make sure any financial/consent order is agreed prior to applying for Absolute) so this is really the only part you would need to see a lawyer for.

My DP just downloaded all forms from the internet, used the guides to complete it and asked the local divorce unit about a few bits he didnt understand and saved him the thousands Lawyers try to get out of you for doing the same thing!

Thanks for this!

I think you should take some legal advice about the financial settlement even if you then decide to proceed independently. Without professional legal knowledge, you can miss something important e.g. pension splitting. Armed with full knowledge, you will then be expected to go to a mediator and then if you agree everything, you won't need to use lawyers. But make sure you are fully informed first.

I did, 2 years separation, no shared assets. Sorted child contact & maintainance. So straightforward

No solicitors I did divorce £410 and paid for consent order £150 through on line company which is all stamped by a judge.

Following with interest. I noticed more than one person mentioned 2 years separation, what's that about? Also can anyone recommend the online company they've used? And is mediation obligatory if you go down the online route? Sorry for hijacking. Thanks.

You can apply for divorce on the grounds that you have been separated for 2 years.

as long as you can prove you have lived 'in separate households' for 2 years (so you can still be under the same roof for some or all of this period but live separate lives) and list the date you split as 2 years prior, you can divorce on grounds of 2 year separation, but the respondent has to agree this.

also didnt use online - just downloaded forms off the government site and filled them in himself and submitted to court. No need to pay online company to do what you can do yourself?