Solicitor free consultation

[treasure47]

Please could someone tell me what happens at these? What kind of information they ask for and what info they provide you with? Was it helpful for you?

Are they impartial or do they give opinions on the reason for the divorce? In my case it would be a "no fault" - growing apart/out of love but because we have a young DS I'm worried about being judged. Maybe this is just my fear of the reaction from everyone else though! I'm so nervous to even book a consultation!

There is really no such thing. You can talk to a solicitor about your divorce circumstances (eg what grounds) and what they can help you with …they’ll not offer you anything more than an explanation of the process, their charges etc. you don’t get 30 mins for “free” of their time to talk about your particular circumstances…why would they do that?

I would strongly advise that you read the following to understand the processess involved and inform yourself. Then decide exactly what pieces you want the solicitor to do and what you will do yourself. Find your solicitor and use the free 30 mins to talk through 3xactly what you want them to do for you and any specific questions you have about the process. After that they will charge you at around £200 per hour- make sure you don’t waffle, moan to them, not get to your point quickly otherwise they’ll be quite happy as you wrack up massive chargers just for them to listen to you.

So sit3s to go to to inform yourself are

1. The governments self service divorce portal. Read through process. Print off forms to look at closely and info you need. Understand how to submit this yourself- you do not need a solicitor to petition for divorce. It is simple, cheap and quick as a process itself.
2. Read up on financial settlements and how to do this via mutual consent (a consent order)+vs through mediation (more expensive as needs more time with solicitors to sort your problems for you) or god forbid a court ( all the solicitors fees plus more plus court hearing fees). Best sites for this are Mediate and Advice now (look up their sites around how to make financial agreements). You do need a solicitor for some parts of these. At very least to write your draft financial consent order. Make sure you and your Stbx understand and accept the 10 or so criteria a court looks for when approving financial settlements. 50:50 is not a default as many people think- the courts want to ensure those 10 or so criteria are met first.
3. Read up on similar sites about child arrangements. This is probably area you will need most help from solicitor if you can’t agree.

@MayMorris

There is really no such thing. You can talk to a solicitor about your divorce circumstances (eg what grounds) and what they can help you with …they’ll not offer you anything more than an explanation of the process, their charges etc. you don’t get 30 mins for “free” of their time to talk about your particular circumstances…why would they do that?

I would strongly advise that you read the following to understand the processess involved and inform yourself. Then decide exactly what pieces you want the solicitor to do and what you will do yourself. Find your solicitor and use the free 30 mins to talk through 3xactly what you want them to do for you and any specific questions you have about the process. After that they will charge you at around £200 per hour- make sure you don’t waffle, moan to them, not get to your point quickly otherwise they’ll be quite happy as you wrack up massive chargers just for them to listen to you.

So sit3s to go to to inform yourself are

1. The governments self service divorce portal. Read through process. Print off forms to look at closely and info you need. Understand how to submit this yourself- you do not need a solicitor to petition for divorce. It is simple, cheap and quick as a process itself.
2. Read up on financial settlements and how to do this via mutual consent (a consent order)+vs through mediation (more expensive as needs more time with solicitors to sort your problems for you) or god forbid a court ( all the solicitors fees plus more plus court hearing fees). Best sites for this are Mediate and Advice now (look up their sites around how to make financial agreements). You do need a solicitor for some parts of these. At very least to write your draft financial consent order. Make sure you and your Stbx understand and accept the 10 or so criteria a court looks for when approving financial settlements. 50:50 is not a default as many people think- the courts want to ensure those 10 or so criteria are met first.
3. Read up on similar sites about child arrangements. This is probably area you will need most help from solicitor if you can’t agree.

Thank you, that's really helpful!