What to expect?

[EllenandBump]

I have an appointment with a solicitor on jan 4th regards of divorce and custody of our son. Was wondering what will happen at the appointment, and what questions i should be asking. Also what do i do about the overdraft on the joint account? The account was solely in his name when he got the overdraft so will i have to pay half or not? Any help would be gratefully received?

at your first appt you should be assessed for Legal Help (basic legal aid) so take with you recent bank statements showing tax credits etc and payslips as proof. sol should advise you on divorce procedure including what grounds you can divorce on, finances will not be discussed in detail until both sides have given full disclosure but the solicitor could give you a rough idea what you would be looking at, his overdraft if used for matrimonial purposes will be taken into account regarding finances as a whole. everything you have is written down in a table, what you have, he has and you both have jointly and then deducted off the assets is any liabilities, credit cards etc and the end figure will be "split" between you.

re your son it will again be basic advice regards sorting it out between the two of you, mediation and in the last resort court procedure (but probably wont go into any detail about court procedure as it IS a last resort).

His overdraft although while got was used for beer harldy matrimonial purposes. I feared he's be entitled to half my savings (just got a sum from benefits for the last ten weeks), but i dont see how he has any right to it. Have withdrawn it as the majority was money i had borrowed off of other people to live on so needed to pay it back. Does that mean any money i save i need to take out the bank and not declare. There is only a council tenancy and debts. The overdraft is only £100 so not a major amount, but there are various phone contracts and pay day loans in both his and my name. I assume i will not have to pay for his court fine for litter? As i see it having nothing to do with me. Its so complicated really isnt it? How long will all this take?

There are no savings on his side neither, as i know, and we do not own any property etc, so nothing there. Dont see there is any money to slit just debts.

if there is no savings and no property to use to pay off debts then it would seem that he will be responsible for debts in his sole name and you would be responsible for debts in your sole name. a court cannot make someone pay for someone else's debts. joint debts you will both equally be liable to pay. You may want to consider taking your name of the joint account (although the bank wont do this until the overdraft has been paid so you may both want to concentrate clearing that first)

Ellen have you checked that the solicitor you have an appointment with does public funding (legal aid)? Unfortunately not many firms have franchises anymore. If not, you may find you will be expected to pay upwards of 150 pounds per hour depending on the status of the person representing you. Make sure you check this out asap to avoid any nasty suprises

It is a legal aid solicitor and they have agreed to take on my case. I made sure of that when i phoned them up. I went onto the law society website to find them, took me ages to find a solicitor local who accepted legal aid and was taking on cases. I phoned 4 legal aid solicitors before finding one that was still taking on cases. The overdraft is £100 and i havent got that sort of money nor will i have as have to find myself somewhere to loive and have absolutely bloody nothing! If i save money out of my benefits, do i have to then split it with him when we get a divorce? Or i will just buy things like irons etc in preparation for having somewhere to live as i know he will only spend it on cocaine and beer. x

Excellent, that is good news Ellen, sadly there are very few firms around anymore that have public funding franchises.

In the meantime, contact the bank and tell them not to increase the overdraft on your h's sayso, otherwise you'll be jointly liable for the increased amount.

They wont increase the overdraft he tried but failed as has a VERY BAD credit history. He also has three mobile phones on contract costing between 30 and 45 pound per month and they were back in october chasing for payment, he has never paid a single one, glad they arent my responsibility. x