Husband filed for divorce...what happens next?

[Bringthewave]

After a separation of 2.5 years, my husband has informed me that he started divorce proceeding and I should receive the divorce application within 4 weeks. He proposed to discuss finances, which I agreed to. He owns the property and has been paying for mortgage for the duration of the marriage (8 years). I have recently applied for child maintenance and was awarded the maximum payment. We share DS4 who he visits no more than 3 times a year. I'm yet to get legal advice, however not sure what to ask, any ideas please? Similarly to the meeting with ex, what are some good questions to ask? I am completely clueless and having a hard time processing everything as the news came through this morning..

I am also worried about solicitor fees, mortgage and bills. I am a contractor, although my monthly income has been stable and somewhat good, however this could change if there is no need for my service.

Very Generally speaking . It's a relatively short marriage and that may be taken into account: judges prefer clean break these days . So it's likely they will look at all going assets including pensions and split them 50.50, maybe slightly more for you given you have sole custody . You will then get child maintenance on top until your child is 18 and or full time education.

Are you a part owner of the mortgaged property? Are there any other assets that need to be split? Any other joint debts?

You should be thinking about what goes in the “pot” to be split between you. You should also be realistic about your housing situation and start to consider what happens if you are unable to stay in the home you are living in. If you are unable to work you should be claiming any benefits to which you are entitled, if you can work then you need to maximise your income going forward as child support may not be a reliable source of income.

You need legal advice but you will also need to consider mediation - the government is offering part funding for that in order to try and keep cases out of court.

When is the meeting?
Do not go to this without first taking some legal advice - even one of the free half hours
Gather all your info - earnings, house worth, pensions, savings etc.

A starter will be 50/50 split but then they will look at everything in detail to better understand what's needed

It's not nice to go through, even if you both agree

Where in the UK are you as things differ between Scotland & England/Wales.

What's the length of the marriage?

He has sole ownership of the property, however, I registered my home rights 2 years ago. No other assets, other than our relatively cheap cars. We have a joint council tax debt of around £1500 which as of last years, he's been paying for.

We live in England and have been married for 8 years.

I agreed for a meeting in 2 weeks time.

He expressed his wish for the divorce to be simple and free from complications.

One of the court's first concerns will be the need for your child to be adequately housed.

Did you DH own the property before you married? Does he own it outright or is there a mortgage on it? Do either of you have pensions?

He bought the house 4 months before we got married and it is mortgaged. Yes, both pensions, although my contributions are only of 2 years and him, 13 years.

Assuming you can’t afford to buy your DH property and because the court is likely to want a clean break given the relatively short marriage you now need to focus on your housing. You should start to look at rental property, speak to the council about social housing etc. Plan ahead because y unless your DH is willing to f7nd your housing for the long term you will likely have to move out.

If you're not sure what to do next see if this might help - https://www.iamlip.com/ it's a bunch of free help guides that take you through the entire divorce process. They might help make your life a bit easier as I had no idea what to do without these. There's a page on home rights (https://iamlip.com/you-and-your-matrimonial-home-rights/) and a help guide on dealing with finances too (https://iamlip.com/help-guides/the-court-process-of-dividing-your-marital-assets-finances-and-pensions/).

This might also help with what you need to sort out first too - https://iamlip.com/help-guides/pre-divorce/
Hope this can help!