Solicitor or Not

My wife & I are just starting to separate/divorce and she wants to keep it amicable (as do I) and she doesn''t see the point in using Solicitors when we can do most of it ourselves.

She''s committed adultery yet she wants ME to leave the marital home as quickly as possible.

I don''t want to leave as quickly as poss as I have to find somewhere else to live and move etc., plus I have some major job uncertainties at the moment.

Should I get a solicitor involved right from the beginning or try and do it ourselves?

Cheers

Cliff

Hi Cliff,

Welcome to wiki!

Solicitors can charge from £200 per hour, cost can escalate quickly if you have one represent you. I read a wiki here went through court and between her and her ex they spent £50k!!!

Or

You can negotiate/discuss things between you, go to mediation, use this site and the fantastic resources and experienced wikis - we have legals here too - giving free advice! you can do some paperwork/admin yourself and just use a solicitor ad hoc if you want - anything to keep the costs down.

There''s little point moving out if you have no-where to go, although it can be difficult living with the person you are divorcing

Take care

WR

Thanks for that...
I can''t afford the current house on my own but the wife says she can.

Do you know if I can ask/demand that she leaves, but maintains mortgage payments until the house is sold?

Thanks

Cliff

No, if you are joint owners (both on title deeds) then neither can legally get the other to move out.

The usual advice is to stay put until financial matters are resolved.

You may both need to grit your teeth and bear it for a few months more. I found some agreed ''Ground Rules'' worked when I was in the same position with my ex. We managed to work it so that I went out to visit friends when he was in and I stayed home when he was out, so we were rarely in the house at the same time. When we were, we kept out of each others way - I moved into the spare room which was smaller and had no TV, so I used that and the lounge and he had the bigger main bedroom which had a TV, so he stayed there. We staggered using the kitchen and bathroom and it wasn''t great, but we made it work until we got things sorted.

WR

Thanks for that...

I suppose it''s grin and bear it

I know this is all going to really hurt and I''m so not looking forward to it...

Cliff