I don't need a Solicitor, do I?

Divorce can be lengthy, emotionally draining and at times, expensive.  Because of this, we do see scenarios where clients have attempted to undertake some divorce work themselves and in doing so, have either made a bad situation worse or have come to an agreement in respect of financial issues that is not legally possible.

Under the No Fault Procedure, divorce proceedings can now easily be issued by members of the public, without the assistance of a Solicitor.  If clients wish to do this, I encourage it as it is a way of shaving a little money off the legal fees.  However, a wrongly drafted divorce application can have implications in respect of financial issues going forward and the Final Order of Divorce (formerly called Decree Absolute) can ultimately have an impact on the terms of financial settlement you may wish to agree with your ex-spouse.

Upon marriage, you create a financial relationship with your spouse.  Upon separation, you have financial claims against the other, by virtue of your marriage.  The only way to extinguish those financial claims is by way of a Court Order.  Whilst divorce proceedings are relatively straightforward, every case that we deal with will have to have drafted a bespoke Financial Order dealing with the circumstances of their case.  As we are required to follow certain precedents set down by the Family Court, it is very difficult for people to get over this line and file a Financial Order, without the assistance of a Solicitor.

Not only does the Order have to be correctly drafted, using some standard precedents in order to dismiss various financial claims arising from a marriage, but there are also other documents that have to accompany the Order such as a Statement of Information for a Consent Order Form.  These too can be tricky to complete to the satisfaction of the Court.  Even if something is lodged with the Court that “looks like” a correct Order and “looks like” a correct Statement of Information Form, unless the documents are completed correctly, and the terms of the Order are legally possible, a District Judge will always refuse to approve the Order. 

If you wish to avoid agreeing terms of financial settlement with your soon to be ex-spouse that are not legally possible or capable of being ordered by the Court, then you should see a Solicitor at an early stage.  Even if you agree a financial settlement directly with your spouse, invest some time and some money in having that agreement drawn up by a Solicitor and have them submit the documentation to the Court.  By doing this, you could save yourself many weeks, if not many months, of frustration, aggravation and potentially anger as the Order bounces between you and the Court for being non-compliant.

At Harrowells, we can offer bespoke legal advice tailored to your needs and requirements in respect of divorce financial issues so please call one of our experienced Solicitors today!