Financial Arrangement holding up divorce?

[PetraArkanian]

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend.

She is in the middle of divorcing her STBX (I always thing that means stupid bastard ex)...apparently she has her decree nisi but can't apply for the absolute until they have agreed financials. He is being an absolute pain and hasn't even got started on his paperwork for the financial side.

Is there anything she can do to get the courts to force him to do this quickly? Or can he hold up the divorce indefinitely by just not doing it?

Hopeful bump???

I understand it is can be very risky legally to get a decree absolute before the financials are sorted out so she is best advised to wait although it is not legally essential. Her solicitor can advise on that. I think the court will set a time table and if he is being very slow her solicitor can apply to the court to hurry things up. Is there really a lot she needs to know? We knew 100% each other's earnings (most couples do) and savings so there was no need for financial disclosure at all. It always puzzles me why a couple would not know what the other earns or has in savings.

Why risky?

Part of the problem in this case is that he is going after assets that she brought into the marriage (that are actually tools of her trade). He's also taken a load of valuable stuff (like wedding presents) out of their ex-home and won't return any of them...

They were married 5 years, no kids, and probably similar incomes.

It sounds like they are not arguing over £400k equity in the house but just a few wedding presents (and no children) so I suspect their main aim should be a lot of compromise on both sides even if that hurts them and not much spent on lawyers. If they were arguing over £400k then it woudl be different.

Not sure there's any arguing as such - she's saying "please do the financial forms so we can get this over" and he's saying "I still love you and I don't want a divorce so I'm going to stall and stall and stall so that it doesn't happen, but if it's going to happen I'm going to go after all your really expensive assets that you need to do your job just to make your life hell" (to paraphrase!)...

I don't know where she can go from here to make him see reason...

Your friend has probably spent considerable time deliberating about ending the marriage and is in a hurry whereas the husband is having difficulty in coming to terms with his illusions of the marriage being shattered. Going to relationship counselling together and considering the dynamics of the relationship might help them communicate so that gradually more realistic views can be formed. When some time is taken to adjust to the emotional realities of divorce constructive progress may be made more quickly (and cheaply!) Otherwise going through the courts to "force" a financial settlement isn't quick, it can easily take 10 months or longer and cost each party £15k plus.