Help with DIY divorce please!

BargainHunterCat

I am going to be divorcing my hubby of nearly 4 years ASAP but as we have no children & no assets to split whatsoever (we've been seperated for over a year and we've already shared out our meagre possessions!) I am keen to avoid solicitors costs which I can't really afford.
A friend of mine organised her own divorce a few years ago but she went for a 2 year mutually agreed divorce whereas I am going to use different grounds (unreasonable behaviour) which only requires 3 months separation. I'm a bit nervous of how to correctly word everything. In my previous life as a motor claims negotiator, I became familiar with issuing small claims court summonses etc so I'm reasonably confident I can do most of it myself.
Does anybody know of a cheap way I can get some solicitor help which wont be too costly? I don't think the CAB will necessarily be able to help me because I have done most of the research myself; I just need help with the wording.
Any ideas?

Thanks, BHC :A

LJM

Are there no online sites that could help you if you googled it?

celyn90

My partner is in the same position in that he wants to go down the unreasonable behaviour route and there are also no assests or children. He will be filing his papers next week.

He printed the forms of the court website, called CAB and asked them for a list of solicitors that offer a free initial consultation. He booked a consultation and took a draft of the forms with him, the solicitor was lovely and just changed it a little bit for him (she made changes to he bit where you have to state what the unreasonable behaviour is/was). She also explained all of the costs in the process (the fee for filing etc) and did the whole lot within the free consultation.

The forms look scary at first, but actually are okay - if you don't have assests/kids many of the sections don't get filled in.

OH's ex-wife doesn't want a divorce, but the solicitor said that it would be highly unlikely she could have any grounds to defend.

Hope everything goes well for you, cel x

Bettyboop

Think I will be keeping a close eye on your thread. I saw I Solicitor yesterday and will also be going for Unreasonable Behaviour. Have been seperated 5 months now and we have one daughter.

Because I'm on my own and earn a part time salary from working I qualify for help under the Legal Services Commission. I take onboard what you have said about Solicitors but if you have already sorted everything else out it shouldn't cost you anything. Try and get a free appointment and see how it goes. By next Thursday I also have to have everything organised and the wording is definitely not easy.

Wishing you all the best.

Becles

Make sure you get a Financial Consent (Clean Break) Order as well as the divorce.

It's a seperate legal document that means the husband and wife can never claim on each others finances ever again.

If you don't get one, and some years down the line you come into money through inheritance, lottery win, etc., the ex legally has a claim on the money you recieve. Getting the order will prevent this from happening.

BargainHunterCat

I found one!! Finally!!

Divorce kit online from £65 - they will even fill out the papers for you.
I'll be giving it a whirl & I'll be sure to let you all know if it's good value for money!

https://www.divorce-online.co.uk

Also just signed up to: https://www.wikivorce.com online community with lots of useful help!

I hope this helps some of you :A

Becles

You can get the forms from court for free and fill them in yourself, to save £65

loftus

https://www.ondivorce.co.uk is a very useful site with good forums to seek advice and support.

BargainHunterCat

Becles wrote: »

You can get the forms from court for free and fill them in yourself, to save £65

I already have the form from the court which I downloaded but I'm a bit scared of the legal wording. Despite being experienced in handling small claims court proceedings in my line of work (insurance), most of the language still goes over my head. I want to make sure I get it right incase husband turns nasty & tries to dispute something because I've written it out wrong or forgotten something...but thanks anyway.

Shambler

Online divorce kits can be a waste of time, since the court may want you to fill in their own forms so that the information is presented in a standard way.

I certainly found that after telephoning the court they were able to send me the forms and a guide to how to fill them in.

It was all pretty easy to do, so I would say save your money and just phone your local civil court!

Ystrad_Lad

Becles wrote: »

Make sure you get a Financial Consent (Clean Break) Order as well as the divorce.

It's a seperate legal document that means the husband and wife can never claim on each others finances ever again.

I would whole heartedly agree with this advice. A court approved Financial Consent Order is more important than the divorce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't get that sorted out the Ex will one day come back for more, just when things are starting to look up again.