Do I need a solicitor when getting a divorce?

[QuiGon]

Bit of background information, my husband is an alcoholic and after 5 years of living through this nightmare, I can’t see any hope. He’s not been working for over a year and our finances is in a terrible state. we had some savings which together with my salary we managed to run the house.
Savings are all gone now and with my salary, I cannot manage the mortgage. We’ve been granted a 3 month mortgage holiday and interest only payment after that.

I have filed for divorce in March and everybody says I need to get a solicitor. Ive spoken to a few people who said their bills were over £10k.
I’ve looked online and there seems to be fixed fee packages for divorce settlement but not when children are involved (I have 2 under 10).

Any advice about people’s own experiences - how to keep the legal fees as low as possible? Is mediation cheaper for sorting out finances? Emails from .gov website suggest attending a mediation information assessment meeting costing about £120 and then I presume we need to book some sessions with a meditator to agree finances and then need a solicitor for finalisation?

Alternatively is it even possible to agree finances between us and for it to be “legalised” by a solicitor?

I don’t think I would qualify for legal aid. Bearing in mind that I’m unlikely to get any maintenance, I am worried about having a big legal debt.

Any advice much appreciated. Thank you.

You do not need a solicitor for the actual divorce. You do need a solicitor to draw up a consent order to agree the finances- one solicitor can draw it up for you both if you agree but they cannot provide advice to you separately.

I paid £500 for the consent order if that helps

Just going through this. Im nearly at the end. I applied online £600 gov website last May. Then it goes through the motions. It will prompt you along the way with emails.

you need a solicitor for financial order, youll need to sell the house and childcare agreement. Just so thats all set in stone.

i havent got a house to sell (already did this). Were fairly split and tbh (im also divorcing an alcoholic) time and gently discussing has really helped my discussions with husband

like i say, im nearly at the end, id say im estimated to have spent £2000 total by the end on solicitors plus £600 divorce application. Just be aware all correspondence/questions are charged for 🫤

do it tho. If your unhappy, make a change xx

You don't need a solicitor for the divorce itself - you can do it online, it's just under £600.

If you and ex can agree childcare arrangements and finances, you don't need mediation. Just a financial order which a solicitor can draw up. If you download and complete Form E yourselves it'll be cheaper (I didn't do this, racked up around £300 just in emails to and fro between me and the ex, then another few hundred typing up our responses. Every email was £25!).

Thank you all.
Just to clarify I have completed the first form and paid the £600.
I’ll download the form E and get that going.
We do have a house to sell and I’m getting this process started next week.
It feels so overwhelming sometimes. Thank you all.