Advice re DIY divorce

[Mrsgorgeous]

I had posted on relationships but have been advised to post here.

Although I had already decide to divorce my husband,matters came to a head last night when I received a call from a debt collection agency asking to speak to him about his account. I told them that he no longer lived at this address and have followed that up with a recorded delivery letter confirming this. I have also sent the same letter to his bank.
Because I cannot afford them£1400 I have been quoted by a solicitor, I was wondering how to go about a DIY divorce.
There are no dependant children, all are over 18 and we do not own any property.
Any advice gratefully received, thank you

There will still be £385 of court fees to pay.

The dorms are on the court service website - you'll need a DIV1 form (divorce petition) and a statement of arrangement for children form too to get started.

Or for us lay people you'll need D8 (divorce petition) D8 A(statement of arrangements) and leaflets D183 and D184. -;)

Quite right! DIV1 only on the oyez forms.

You don't have to complete a D8A Statement of Arrangements for Children if they are over 18.

You will find this step-by-step official guide useful as it also provides a link to form D8. With regard to court fees, if you?re on specific benefits or have a low income you may be able to get a discount.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Divorceseparationandrelationshipbreakdown/Endingamarriageorcivilpartnership/Gettingadivorce/DG_193735

This is where you can download all the forms and guidance leaflets:

hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForms.do

There is plenty of information on the website links here which you might find useful although not all of it will apply to you. Don't forget you can get free advice from the CAB, Women's Aid and Rights of Women, all of which can be contacted through the links below:

Relationship Breakdown and Divorce ? Advice and Links

General

Read everything you can get your hands on. Get familiar with the language of family law and procedure and try to get an understanding of your rights BEFORE you see a solicitor. Get word of mouth recommendations for family lawyers in your area if possible. If you have children at school, ask mums you are friendly with if they know of anyone who can make a recommendation in your area. These days there are few people who don?t know of anyone who has been through a divorce or separation ? there?s a lot of knowledge and support out there!

If there are children involved, their interests will always come first. It is the children?s right to maintain a meaningful relationship with the non-resident parent (NRP) ? not the other way around. Children are not possessions to be ?fairly? divided between separating parents. Parents have no rights, only responsibilities. A divorce will not be granted where children are involved unless there are agreed arrangements for finance, and care of the children (?Statement of Arrangements for Children?). It is obviously quicker and cheaper if this can be agreed but if there is no agreement, the Court will make an Order (?Residence and Contact? regarding children, ?Financial Order? or ?Ancillary Relief? in the case of Finance)

Many family lawyers will offer the first half hour consultation free. Make use of this. Don?t just stick with the first lawyer you find ? shop around and find someone you feel comfortable with. You may be in for a long haul, so it helps if you can find a solicitor you?re happy with.

If you can?t find any local recommendations, always see a solicitor who specialises in Family Law. You can search by area here:

www.resolution.org.uk/

You can also find family law solicitors here:

www.lawsociety.org.uk/areasoflaw/view=areasoflawdetails.law?AREAOFLAW=Family%20law&AREAOFLAWID=36

Check your eligibility for Legal Aid here:

legalaidcalculator.justice.gov.uk/calculators/eligiCalc?execution=e1s1

Some family law solicitors publish online feedback from clients ? Google solicitors to see if any recommendations or feedback exists.

Mediation

You will be encouraged to attend mediation. If there has been violence or emotional abuse, discuss this with your solicitor first. Always get legal advice, or at the very least make sure you are aware of your legal rights, before you begin mediation.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Divorceseparationandrelationshipbreakdown/Endingamarriageorcivilpartnership/Planningadivorce/DG_194401

Married or Living Together?

This is a key question. If you are married, generally speaking you have greater protection when a relationship breaks down.

Legal Issues around marriage/cohabitation and relationship breakdown are explained here:

www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/relationships_e/relationships_living_together_marriage_and_civil_partnership_e/living_together_and_marriage_legal_differences.htm#Ending_a_relationship

static.advicenow.org.uk/files/benefits-and-livingtogether-2010-11-1161.pdf

DirectGov advice on divorce, separation and relationship breakdown:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Divorceseparationandrelationshipbreakdown/index.htm

Legal Rights are further explained here:

www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/legal.php#children_relationship_breakdown

I found these guides from law firms quite informative and easy to read ? there are others of course:

www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/uploaded/documents/Surviving-Family-Conflict-and-Divorce---2nd-edition.pdf

www.terry.co.uk/hindex.html

Finance

Before you see a family law solicitor, get hold of every single piece of financial information you can, and take copies. Wage slips, P60s, tax returns, employment contracts, pensions and other statements ? savings, current account and mortgages, deeds, rental leases, utility bills, council tax bills, credit statements. Are there joint assets such as a home, pensions, savings, shares?

Handy tax credits calculator:

taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/Qualify/DIQHousehold.aspx

Handy 5 Minute benefit check, tax and housing benefit calculators:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/

Child Maintenance Calculator:

taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/Qualify/DIQHousehold.aspx

Further advice and support

www.maypole.org.uk/

www.womensaid.org.uk/

www.gingerbread.org.uk/

england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/families_and_relationships
(Re Shelter, if you are not in England follow the link at the top)

When I divorced my ex hubby we used one of those online divorce places. I think it cost about £500 in total including the clean break element (if your ex has major debts this may be good for you). It mainly covered court costs. Was very easy for us though as we had no children.

Actually the forms are now available to download from the Ministry of Justice website rather than HM Court Services;

www.justice.gov.uk

You need to aware that the finances are treated separately and unless there is a court order dismissing future claims either party can make claims in the future even though they are divorced.

The problems with some online services is that there are no solicitors involved and sometimes people are left to sort out difficulties themselves. For example, some online services submit the divorce applications to courts local to them and that means the divorcing couple would need to travel hundreds of miles or pay solicitors travelling expenses for any financial proceedings or there might be delay in children's proceedings because the case has to be transferred to a court local to where the children live.

If you are prepared to research a bit and fill in forms doing the actual divorce part yourself isn't too difficult. The Which? guide to divorce (whatever it is called these days) is a good source of basic information. However, the finances are more tricky and most people will need a solicitor at least to draft a court order. If the finances are relatively straightforward you can use an online service but I would check they are led by a solicitor. On the other hand you only get what you pay for and if the finances are more complicated you may be better off with a more personalised service from a high street solicitor even though it costs more.

or even

www.justice.gov.uk

Thank you for all the information. I can see I shall have to do quite a bit of reading!
Finances should be straightforward as we do not own any property,however he is not working as far as I know. Would he be able to claim off of me? My budget is very tight and I am struggling to make ends meet as it is.
Also, what if he doesn't sign the papers? Apparently he is drinking again and he would probably try to be awkward.
How long should it take?
Thank you!

Other assets (pensions, savings, etc) held in joint or sole names are a consideration if there are any. Unless you earn above average it's unlikely your husband would be able to claim spouse maintenance.

If he doesn't return the acknowledgement of service you would need to get a process server to serve the papers. Then a statement from the process server can be used as evidence the papers were served and the court can grant the divorce.

Can I suggest you use a local solicitor, not an online company, to prepare the financial paperwork. A friend used an online company and ended up with a document that was badly written so she couldn't legally enforce it. It cost her a lot more than she saved by using an online company.