Help

Guest101

38 isnt unreasonable tbh.

My main concern is he can just turn up whenever he wants.

arlybarly

Yes thats my concern , but still need to know if im liable or not for costs as he gets away with everything wcott free, i paid thousands for divorce which he held up, he didnt have a solicitor so i ended up with the bill.

sammyjammy

Sounds like you may as well not have bothered with a solicitor yourself to be honest - they didn't exactly protect your interests very well did they?

It'll be up to the judge who pays what costs but its unlikely to get that far, there won't be legal aid for such a case.

lighting_up_the_chalice

Have you contacted your local Womens Aid Network? They are a very useful support/advice service who may be able to either help or point you in the right direction.

http://www.bswaid.org/

terryw

A word of warning here. It is possible that he could apply for and be granted legal aid.
This will probably involve a charge on the jointly owned property, which will have to be paid when the matter is concluded and/or the house sold.

You really need legal advice immediately that you receive any "legal" papers other than his verbal bluster.

arlybarly

Thanks for all the info so far, terry, when you say a charge on house for legal aid, would that come from my share ?

JencParker

terryw wrote: »

A word of warning here. It is possible that he could apply for and be granted legal aid.
This will probably involve a charge on the jointly owned property, which will have to be paid when the matter is concluded and/or the house sold.

You really need legal advice immediately that you receive any "legal" papers other than his verbal bluster.

Just a word of warning but even if the judge awards you costs, if your ex refuses to pay them you will still be liable for them and a charge will be placed on your house is you use legal aid.

Guest101

I thought legal aid has stopped for this kind of case?

zzzLazyDaisy

Guest101 wrote: »

I thought legal aid has stopped for this kind of case?

It has.

OP if your DD is at college, he should be paying maintenance. The fact that she has a pt job is totally irrelevant. As long as you are claiming child benefit, he is liable for maintenance. Even if he is only on JSA he still has to make a contribution. You should contact CSA.

He is no longer living at your house, so you should ensure that he is not on the electoral roll there, and return any mail you receive to the sender marked 'not at this address'.

With regard to the house, no-one on here can advise you. It is incomprehensible that your solicitor did not deal with this as part of the divorce. You should return to the solicitor and get the ancilliary relief part of the divorce proceedings finalised. It is likely that you may be allowed to remain in the house until your youngest has finished full time education (but this doesn't normally include university). So you should start to make plans for what you are going to do when you sell the house. If you force the issue to court you will probably lose, and yes, in those circumstances it is likely that the court will award costs against you, including his solicitors costs. As he has no job, the chances of that happening are fairly remote as most solicitors would want an up front payment from him, and regular installments. However if he did find the money from somewhere, you should think very carefully about going to court on this as his costs and yours would take a huge chunk of the equity that you have in the house.

You really need to see a solicitor.

arlybarly

Thankyou so much for all the advice ive been given, its very much appreciated, im going to contact womens aid and also cab, think my solicitor was a bit rubbish, thanks again to everyone who has taken the time tohelp a total stranger xx.