How to afford a divorce?

[Stressed2death]

Hello,
Hoping someone could help me, I am finally seeking a divorce after being separated a few years.
I know , I know I should’ve done it before now but the separation hit me and the kids hard, without going into details Dad was on supervised contact for a while, but this was lifted a while back.
I work full time, receive some UC top up but seriously how do people afford a divorce, we have a house, kids contact arrangements are in place (he has them every other weekend) but how do people afford the cost of a divorce.
I could take on the mortgage on my wage (I have been paying this for 5 years on my own) but it’s the initial outlay of a divorce and if ex was to fight for things that worries me the most.
any advice would be appreciated, shaking as I write this so please be kind x

Maybe release money from the property through extra borrowing? If you’ve been paying the mortgage without him for a while then just release what you’ve paid off on the capital so he can’t get any of that when you come to do the financial order.

@DorisDoesDoncaster thanks, god I’m so financially stupid I don’t think I would even know how to do this.

If the mortgage is in both our names I don’t even know if this is possible.
maybe seeing a financial advisor and then a solicitor for a free 30 mins is the way forward. I wonder if I would get help with solicitors fees considering the reason we split, I suppose it is worth asking.
Maybe a loan or credit card would be a possibility
or actually staying married 🤢 but being separated as I can’t financially afford to divorce.

What part of the divorce are you envisaging costing the most money?

When you get solicitors involved great cost can be incurred but it's not impossible to do most of it yourselves and keep costs down low.

@FatfunandADHD
im assuming as there is a house and some pensions involved this would cost the most? In an ideal world i would like to speak to my ex and try and sort finances between us but this won’t be an easy thing to do, hence the need for solicitors.

Mine cost about £550 but I think the court fee has increased to £590 now. It was straightforward and we both agreed, it was an easy split and we didn't go after each other's money or assets and we'd already agreed that our daughter would live with me (a private arrangement). I didn't have a solicitor and neither did he. You'll pay more if you need/want a child arrangement order, a financial order etc, as other court fees will apply. But for a bog standard easy divorce, you only need to pay the court fee (ps, you don't attend) and don't pay fancy solicitors' fees. You can find easy to follow DIY divorce instructions/procedures online. Good luck.

@EileenCuisine thanks for the advice.
I’ll look into it but even if the ex said I could keep the house (he once voiced he would sign over to me if I would be nice to him) I don’t know if a judge would agree to that.
it’s all so confusing and easier to bury your head in the sand at times x

If your ex is fine with you keeping the house and no financial order is made, it's nothing to do with the judge. If it's a clean break divorce, the judge just has to be satisfied that you're past reconciliation. It'd be worth reading up about it online and then having a factual conversation with your ex about it so you're both clear with how to proceed.

@EileenCuisine oh I must have misunderstood this. I thought the judge could change things in a split.
I’ll do some (scary) research and see if I can approach a conversation with my ex.
thanks for your advice x