At top of this page is link to ADVICE NOW.
USE IT. READ . Read all their guides before you do anything else.
you must understand how to do petition. You can do this yourself.
you must understand about full legal financial disclosure you both need to make. D81 and form E. You mustn’t agree to anything, and indeed you can’t sell house till this is done well you can, but youd be the idiot he’s trying to take advantage of. Or maybe he’s the idiot 🤦♀️. This includes all assets, including pensions, savings, inheritances, cars,property - the lot. He will break the law if he fills it in incorrectly. 2 laws in fact potentially. Courts don’t like that,
you then need to get your financial order in place and legally drafted for court to seal (approve) at final point of divorce. Mostly people try to use the “consent order” process. You agree between you, solicitor “legally drafts “ it and it’s submitted to courts for approval. if you can’t agree, it’s mediation to try to get to consent order point. If that’s not working it full out solicitors, court hearing and months and thousands of pounds- unless you qualify for legal aid. You need to do everything you can to park anger and get consent order
you need to read ADVICE NOW to understand how “fair settlement “ law works. These are 10 or so criteria that are embedded in law with which courts must comply to approve any and all financial agreements, consent or not. “Fair settlement “ is based on future needs only. Doesn’t take into account passed behaviours. It doesn’t start with 50:5O, or even necessarily end with 50:50, but if 59:50 meets “fair settlement “ then courts like it. The law lords who wrote the law on “fair settlement “ (the mighty Lady Hale) called it “shared misery” which is about right. You will BOTH come out of divorce worse off. No matter what money you have. It is the inevitable outcome of reversing a marriage which makes both parties better off.
ADVICE NOW, also has guides on child arrangements- if that applies
These guides will tell you what parts of processes you need solicitor for, where you absolutely don’t need solicitor, and where you might.
Read before you go to see solicitor. Be in position to tell solicitor exaclty what tasks you need them to do. Be realistic about how “fair settlement “ criteria apply to you, and what your likely outcome will be. It’s painful. But you will waste £1000s and months trying to push for something that you’re just not likely to get.
your dh is a ignoramous. A conveyencing solicitor will not help with divorce financial orders. Nor should they. Really not. And no, you don’t walk out of a marriage without putting a legal contract in place around how to severe your financial arrangements. That way lies disaster. He could come after you years later for an inheritence from a new spouse for gods sake, or a lottery win or anything. And so could you to him. Maybe that would focus his attention- to say that you could come after his pension years down the line, when he’s more wealthy and has bigger saving pot.
unfortunately if he’s in debt, it is marital debt. You will need to include that in financial declaration and you’ll both be worse off for it. There’s nowt you can do about that. The settlements are based on future needs only. It doesn’t matter what his behaviour was, how he ran debts up, whether you knew etc, courts cannot do otherwise, it’s the law.
go to link. Urgently. is power.