Separation Agreement vs Divorce - pro's and con's please?

[52andblue]

This year I will have been married for 20 years.
I have two children aged 16 and 13 both have Autism and Dyslexia.
4.5 years ago I moved out of the family home in agreement with H, to move to the next county (1 hour drive / 50miles away) for a better educational fit for our two kids who were struggling badly at school. Both receive DLA and both require a lot more input than most kids their age and although I have tried to work both full and part time their needs are such that is impossible to work outwith the house. We are changing schools this summer and when they are settled I want to start a small business from home but realistically the £125 p/w I am allowed to earn in addition to Carer's allowance of £68 is going to be 'it' for me, certainly until the youngest is 18, possibly longer.

H still lives in our house. He has not paid a penny of maintenance since I left as he says he is paying 'my half' of the mortgage. This is true. The mortgage is low (£300 p/m) but it is interest only and the outstanding amount is high. It is due repayment in 8 years and I currently have no method of paying it so will probably have to sell at that point.
The children and I want to move back this summer. It would now give them a better education and more financial stability. H says he doesn't want to live with us all again ('too tiring') and will move out and rent a flat locally. He doesnt have enough £ to buy me out of the house and I don't have enough to buy him out. The mortgage company won't take either of our names off either. I cannot continue with my rental situation unless the house is sold and I think that would give the kids less financial stability than moving back there and trying to pay a low mortgage for the 8 years I have left until the mort is due.
We have had the house valued recently and there is no equity in it.
(old crumbly prone to floods) H has allowed it to become run down.

H says he is willing to 'give me the house' & sign a Scottish Separation agreement to that effect. I don't know if this would be better / cheaper / quicker than a Divorce at this stage? (neither of us has been involved in another rship since and neither forsees getting marreid again)

Sorry if this was an essay (didnt' want to drip feed)
Any thoughts?

(hope it makes sense posting as is as School have just called for me to fetch Dd - again...)

I think you need legal advice now. Your situation is complicated by your children’s SN and theres lots of missing info about your husbands income and your marital assets, such as equity in the house, savings and pensions.

@I0NA
thank you for replying.

There is no equity in the house unfortunately.
There are no other financial marital assets or savings.
H earns around 28K per year.
He has a pension (he's been a bus driver for 20 years) but it won't be much.

My thinking is that a SSA is quicker and cheaper than a divorce?
And as I don't wish to re-marry that might be best?
Neither of us has any money. I am on benefits and although he earns a wage it is not a large one and he has 8K of debt. He suggests that I live in the house (& pay mortgage) until it is next due for renewal in 8 years. At that point, if it was sold any equity would be mine (unlikely to be much, it's run down, poorly positioned and in an area with v low value housing - we've owned it for 14 years and it has not gained any value in that time according to 3 local agents and solicitors). Or I'd have the option of continuing the mortgage if I could get a lender to do so (with H's consent to stay on the mortgage)
I'd be happy with that, as my other option is a rental which is hard to get as a benefits tenant and offers little security to kids for next 8 years.

Normally you would have a Minute of Separation drawn up as a prelude to a divorce as under Scots law. You need to have the finances and child arrangements sorted prior to divorce, to demonstrate to the court that no court order will be necessary as you still have a child under 16.

Of course you do not then need to file for divorce once you have the separation agreement. You still do need lawyers though, as it will need to be drawn up, and lodged at court. He will need to sign the house over to you thereafter. I don’t think these are documents you can draw up yourself, but I don’t know (I would not advise it).

Normally the marital assets and debts would be split 50:50 with everything valued from the date of separation (so when you separated, not when you have the agreement lodged at court). So basically the marital home valued at the date of separation, his debts and his pension (normally he should also get a valuation of his pension done and you would be entitled to a share of that commensurate with 20 years marriage).

You should be entitled to Legal Aid given your income status, I think, so I would find a family lawyer who does legal aid and take proper advice.

Rogue grammar in my first paragraph, sorry.

Link for legal aid to see what support you can get:
www.lawscot.org.uk/for-the-public/what-a-solicitor-can-do-for-you/legal-aid/

You should definitely see a lawyer.

If you remain married there are other implications, such as inheritance law, of which you should be aware.

See a solicitor ASAP.

Your separation agreement can deal with inheritance. It is a final financial settlement. Hence the need for legal advice.

You can end up in a situation where there are no legal implications whatsoever for being married, but you are not divorced.