Pension sharing after divorce

hadenoughnow wrote: You need to make everything formal so communication should be in writing.

You need to try mediation before you can apply to court. If you are on a low income you may get reduced fees for mediation. In practice this may be only one meeting with the mediator - can be by phone. He would be invited to participate. If he refuses and/or it is clear mediation won't work than the mediator will be able to sign off the paperwork for an application to court.

The form you need for the application is Form A.
The fee is usually £255 but fee remission may apply. Google " divorce courts help with fees".

Once you are in the court process, he is answerable to the courts not you. He will have to provide full financial disclosure by order of the court.

We can provide help and advice here. There are also some low cost services available for litigants in person via this site.

Hadenoughnow

Hi again,

We have just agreed to share the main pension but the mediator is telling me that we need a solicitor to draw up the court order, is this right? And the solicitor I spoke to said that my ex needs his own solicitor to check the document over. Neither of us can afford this. Is there not a way to do this ourselves through the courts?

Many thanks.

Hi, You don't have to get independent legal advice on the settlement but it is wise to do so, especially if you have any concerns. This is a legally binding order and once stamped by the court it cannot be changed (except in exceptional circumstances).

If the judge reviewing the order and supporting statement of information felt the order was not fair they could reject it or ask you to explain in more detail how the agreement was reached.

As far as drafting the order goes, it is important to have this done properly to reflect the agreement you have reached. The order needs to be written in legal language to ensure it is watertight. Badly drafted orders can cause problems further down the line. A pension sharing annex will be part of the order. The pension provider needs to be notified so they can enact the sharing arrangement.

This site offers fixed price services for legal financial consultations that you can use to ensure the agreement is fair (but as I said, you don't have to). It also offers a Consent Order drafting and submission service that is generally lower cost than a high street solicitor. Have a look at the services page or give the helpline a call.

Hadenoughnow