How can I find out what I might be entitled to in divorce?

[FluffieBabies]

My marriage is over, but we still live in the same house. I have seen it said that if a couple can agree between themselves how to divide things instead of getting a solicitor involved it would be better /cheaper. I have practically no income so couldn't afford an ongoing solicitor anyway.
How do I get advice on what I would be entitled to? Can I hire a solicitor just for an hour to get advice so that I can tell DH what I should be entitled to?

There is a divorce board on here where you’ll get better advice from people who’ve been through it. But if you are a SAHM with little income the place you can start is ensuring your housing situation remains stable particularly if you have DC. How much equity you have, pensions you both have, etc will all factor in.

@FluffieBabies yes you can hire one for just an hour. Prices for an hour in my area range from £120-300.

Tbh in my experience solicitors are always wary of suggesting what you might receive as a settlement.
Basically it depends upon the length of marriage, are you still working..did you sacrifice your career etc?
When I was going through divorce several years ago in the North West you could get a free initial half hour free with most solicitors. Perhaps see if you can get that.

Do you know how much you both have in assets? Home equity, savings, pensions, shares etc?

Assuming you have been married for more than 5 years, will continue as the main carer and gave up work to look after children, you MAY be entitled to 50% or more of the assets. This could be in any combination so you may agree more home equity but zero pension for example.

Some assets could be excluded if they were not marital assets. E.g. he has an inheritance received before you married that he has always kept in separate savings.

Impossible for anyone here to advise and you would do well to gather as much information as possible before talking to a solicitor.

Could CAB help you?

You will need to try mediation, there are some Charities which offer this at pretty much cost. The legal costs come out of the joint assets. There are some good free resources that some lawyers produce online, a google search can help.

Factors do change outcomes but if you are looking for general advice - 50:50 split of assets including pensions. These are assets you can prove. 3 years spousal maintainance to allow you time to earn. CMS you can work out in a calculator.

Variations to settlements depend on income of both parties, equity in house, ability of each party to get a mortgage, health, job security, children's ages, length of marriage etc.

Both parties will need to have a housing solutions and spousal support is rarely past 3 years now. You would be expected to maximise your income and claim benefits if able to.

Obviously if you can agree with your H that is much better and could be more generous.

Spousal support is also unlikely unless he is a very high earner. He will need enough to pay child maintenance and house himself.

Thanks so much everyone, really helpful.

Although you might be able to agree verbally it would be in your best interests to have a financial order agreed by the court. Otherwise if you have an inheritance or win the lottery for example post divorce he might make a claim on your assets. You might be able to represent yourself but you need to make sure that the agreement is reasonable and suitable for you. And that it covers all corners. Eg you will probably want a clean break in the order.
And as others have suggested you need to make sure housing, investments, car, pensions, child maintenance , loan agreements etc are in the document. This is best done by the solicitor.

As other posters have said see if you can get free 30 mins advice from a solicitor and see the CAB

If you can agree between yourselves the main part if it. It will be cheaper from legal fees pov.

Also whatever the solicitor quotes double it. Otherwise it is a shock.

You can represent yourself as far as I know in child contact orders.

Much of the advice on what is a fair settlement is available online.

First question is how long has the marriage lasted? Short marriages tend to be settled but looking at the assets at the time of marriage and then what has been accumulated since whereas longer marriages are generally assumed to start at a 50/50 split

Secondly you look at your personal circumstances eg if you have small children, are a carer, have disabilities, have given up your career to support your dh.

If it's a complex case you probably will need a solicitor, but assuming you can agree on a split then generally the judge will agree if its equitable. We have agreed on 60/40 in my favour, I could fight for more but it's a case of better to be amicable and fair (he did support me for 20 years!)

Op I went to two different solicitors and paid for an hour’s advice with each.

I took an a4 sheet of paper with information on

• how long we had cohabited (this is added to how long you’ve been married)
• how long we were married
• salary details of exh
• length I’d been sahm and the fact I’d contributed a flat sale (not considered relevant after 20 years)
• info on pensions and savings and investments
• info on mortgage
• age of dcs
• my earning potential
• info on dcs SEN and private schools
• Numbers of days dc will stay with me

Anyway both solicitors gave me similar information on what I could expect - the only issue was pensions as you can get an expert to value them.

We haven’t yet started the divorce but stbexh seems to be in agreement with how we will separate the funds so we’ll get a mediator to draw up an agreement to reflect that. So far stbexh is being very reasonable and acknowledges my contribution so I hope things don’t turn nasty.