not sure if Sol acting in my best interest..HELP

I'm beginning to feel that my sol may be pushing me to accept a 50/50 split on house and Assets just to avoid legal fees that going to court will create.he states that several judges could make several decisions for or against me financially because of our age.it's almost as if he's trying to scare me off going to court.Also i thought the health and welfare issues i.e ME unable to work,deteriorating health and mobility and no earning capacity were taken into consideration when it came to making decisions on settlement of finances but the fact that housing will cost me more than my sx2b doesn't appear to be a consideration.any advice?PLEASE!!he reckons it should be a Clean Break??

Sorry, topaz, I've got a slightly different ' take ' on this.

In the first place, I do not know nearly enough about your situation to advise you as to whether 50% is a fair settlement or not. Your solicitor has the facts at his fingertips, I don't and neither does anyone on this site.

You see, the cost of a full contested hearing can be considerable. English divorce law is so flexible ( in my view, TOO flexible, but I'm not in the House of Lords ) that it is not always easy even for professionals to give you an accurate idea of the likely outcome. And it may depend on which judge tries your case.

You must always balance what you want to achieve against the likely costs of achieving it. It is plain daft to spend £20,000 when the sum at issue is only £10,000.

In other words, what you have is the bird in the hand against the two in the bush. You're the client ; you have the right to make the choice. But you also have to pay the bill. Your solicitor will get paid more if you have a fight in Court going as far as a full hearing. So in advising you to settle, he is trying to limit your costs and frankly, I applaud him for that. Some solicitors would be quite happy for a fight going the full twelve rounds.

Makes a change on this websiite for someone to say something nice about a solicitor, but credit where it is due.

Mike 100468

Well Mike100468, I accept what you're saying.So far I have had a great respect for my sol and how he had dealt with difficult issues.However there is an aspect to this case that my sol is not sure about( which he did say) and he is basing what I wrote earlier on this aspect.It is rather a complicated issue re pensions and other things.I'm trying desperately to speak to the agencies involved for some written clarification so that my sol is aware of the facts rather than assuming a claim can be made against my future income when I have in fact been told by the appropriate agency verbally months ago that it cannot be used in a divorce settlement of financial issues as protected by seperate statute and nontransferable.I just feel my sol should be find out these facts himself so he knows whats what.I need it in writing now so that he knows the facts and can then make an informed decision on where to go re advising me of a settlement.When he has all necessary and relevent facts then I would certainly consider his advice very seriously.

Never assume your solicitor understands complex issues especially pensions. Put the question that bothers you directly to your solicitor and get their answer. I got into a hell of a mess with pensions by assuming my solicitor's silence meant it was all in hand/under control.

thanks Maggie,you're absolutely correct.pensions and matters interelated are a total nightmare and when you know your sol cant possibly know everything about everything,and I wouldn't expect him to then it pays to be cautious about lifechanging decisions if they are not based on the full and correct information.I would have expected him to find out though (as extremely pertinent to the possible settlement) before suggesting to me options to settle.
Once I've got the relevent facts on Monday I will be in touch with him.As you say never take anything for granted in this game.it's too late once the papers are signed.once again thanks for the warning.