Advice for legal rights in divorce in the UK

[SilentSignal78]

Hello,

My husband and I have agreed to get a divorce. We have been together for 21 years, married for 16 years. I understand that I can apply for a divorce online. Do we have to have mediation to agree on a financial settlement? Should I contact a mediator as soon as I've applied for the divorce via gov.uk website?

We were married abroad and I have no family here and am at a loss on what to do, where to start etc. He has not made any moves to start divorce proceedings yet and is not expecting me to.

Any advice will be so greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much

Are you legally married here?
Your first step would be to see a solicitor, it will probably cost you but not seing one could cost a lot more

You don't have to go to mediation to make a financial offer you can just make him one.

Make him an offer and then take it from there - see what he says.

Thanks for responding. Yes, apparently our marriage certificate is legal here and we did not need to register it here. I'm not in the same financial position as he is. I'm unable to claim Legal Aid but do you happen to know of any lower cost options please?

Thanks for responding. Yes, apparently our marriage certificate is legal here and we did not need to register it here. I'm not in the same financial position as he is. I'm unable to claim Legal Aid but do you happen to know of any lower cost options please?

Thanks for responding. He will not be happy with any offer I make other than taking half of the proceeds from our house sale and walking away with nothing else. I've been told that is not "fair", legally?

I highly recommend you pay for an hour with a solicitor regarding your specific finances. Mine cost me £200 and was worth every penny as knowing your rights and being able to block your exs demands is very powerful emotionally and mentally. Make sure you take in information regarding wages, savings, investments, expensive hobby equipment, any pensions and what the house equity is (for both of you, not just yours). Go on rightmove to get a rough idea of what your house might be worth or get an EA in when he isn't around. Then stick to the facts so you don't waste precious time venting about why the marriage is over, they won't care.

The cheapest option is to do the admin for the divorce online (no idea how it works if married abroad but it seemed very straightforward for UK). After that there are four options for finances. This is based on future needs and not wants so if one person has the children overnight for 7 nights then they will need more for housing for instance. If it's 50/50 then you might need the same depending on whether salary and pension forecasts are equal too.

The first step is trying for a mutually agreed split of assets, then it's mediation, then it involves solicitors, and finally it's taken to court/judge. You cannot go to court without doing mediation first.

Your priority is to find out as much of the financials first, then book a one off appointment with a solicitor, then speak to H. Good luck!

Thank you so much, that's really helpful! I don't know his financials,

• don't know his salary, savings, pension, investments etc. He's always kept those close to his chest.

What country did you get married in?

Divorce starts at 50/50 each

So that is all money, savings, property, pensions, cars, vehicles, jewellery, art, furniture

You must take legal advice & ensure that you split all your assets fairly

Thanks so much, that will be incredibly helpful, I really appreciate it! I'll drop you an email to arrange. Thanks so much again

Thanks so much, that will be incredibly helpful, I really appreciate it! I'll drop you an email to arrange. Thanks so much again