I don't want to give much away as this is someone else's life, but a close friend is going through a divorce and is having a lot of problems.
Her husband controlled the finances and owns businesses but she more or less has no idea what their assets are. She didn't work (he wouldn't let her). It smacks of financial abuse as he tracked her spending forensically to see where she'd been and so on.
They have three children, but two of them are over 18 and at university. She is living in the family home and he has left.
He left her for a woman almost 20 years younger and is off on luxury holidays every few months but has left my friend with only £600 a month to live off - her previous "allowance" was £4000 a month but he cut it to £600 when he left.
She is 59 with no savings, no pension, hasn't worked for 25 years, and half the equity in their house isn't enough for her to buy a new house. She has no idea about pensions or what his businesses are worth.
He refuses to cooperate with anything, and sent back total fiction on the financial disclosure form, trying to pass off his income as about 5% of what she knows it must be based on their expenses when married.
She wants to fight him, but has racked up debt with her solicitor and has been rejected for litigation loans and is feeling very frightened and doesn't know what to do.
She understand she needs to take him to an FDR but things like valuation of his businesses and checking his disclosure is accurate will cost money, as well as all the court and solicitor fees and she hasn't got it.
He is pressuring her to settle but she hasn't a clue what she's agreeing to as she's no idea what he's got. They were together for 26 years.
Is there any practical advice?