Huge advice & support from a post I made on here 2 years ago was fundamental to giving me the strength to recognise and end a 15 year relationship and 11 year marriage to the father of my 3 children. I strongly suspect he has Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Despite taking every bit of help I can access - private counselling, domestic violence involvement, my own solicitor, huge pastoral support for the children via CAMHS and their school, the legal system is pitted against mothers in my position.
I am stuck on a decree nisi. I am running out of money to fund the financial agreement process. The children (12, 13, 15) live with me and chose to stop their already negligible overnight visits to their father several months ago due to emotionally damaging behaviour on his part. Form E’s have been completed twice by myself but my husband has failed to complete a full version himself. Capital needs have been submitted as monthly costs, bank statements and payslips not supplied. He left his first solicitor, then spent £15k on a barrister. Bullying and aggression is evidenced in almost all of the correspondence I receive from his solicitor.
Offers have been submitted and a FDR hearing is set in 6 weeks time.
I can scrape together enough to get through the FDR but his conduct to date suggests it is likely his revised Form E will be incomplete once again and that he will drag this out to render me financially unable to continue.
I am horrified at the lack of support available to individuals in this situation. It seems to go against everything the legal system ought to represent. It makes an arena where financial abuse can actually be nurtured rather than stamped out.
Are there any resources available to me at this point?
Also, I would like to add my voice to any organisations or campaigns working for reform of the legal system. Are there any?
Whilst coercive control became an offence post 2015 the divorce process, family courts and legal system seem to foster and even provide an environment in which it is encouraged to run rife.