Self representing- questionnaire help

Hi, I was married for 16 months, cohabitting for 2.5 years, I have 2 children from prev relationship, he has 3 from a previous who he sees twice a month. I have recently swapped form E with him and I am in the process of writing the questionnaire for his solicitor. (I am self representing) His solicitor is keen to cancel the first hearing and go straight I to the FDR which I am happy to do due to wanting this over with. He has wrote what he is currently spending his money on and from his bank statements there are lots of lies about what he is currently paying out (I. E he said he's paying his mom £300 rent but she transfers him £200 every month/ he said he pays his credit card 80pm but pays 40). In the last 6 months alone he has spent £9111 on gambling which is a habit he had when we were together and one of the reasons we split. I paid 15k of the deposit and he paid 1k (agreed a 50/50 split based on not knowing about his gambling habit and DV behaviour) His mom's house is in his name. My goal is to get his name off the mortgage and pay him as little as possible. Has anyone got any similar experiences as I'm so anxious over what I will have to pay him. Am I able to mention his gambling in the questionnaire? If so, what would I say? Would a judge take this into consideration? Thank you

Financial settlement is about needs first. You need a home for yourself and your children, assuming they are under 18 or 21 if at university.
If he has property in his name that will count as an asset on his side of the balance sheet.
On a questionnaire you can ask about regular payments to and from the same person or organisation. Individual payments of more than £500 can also be queried.

So e. g. 2.3 In respect of the xx bank name xx account ending in *xxxx, please would you explain the regular payment of xxxx from yyyy? What is the purpose of these payments?

Same applies to payments to gambling organisations.

If there is a discrepancy between claimed income needs and his bank statements, this can be highlighted. In practice small discrepancies won't be seen as a big deal.

If there are debts, you can ask for an explanation of how they were accrued. If appropriate you can ask for confirmation that they are non matrimonial so his sole responsibility.

To get him off the mortgage you will have to show you can borrow enough to take it on.

You may want to ask him to confirm his initial capital contribution to the property. Be ready to provide documentation to prove yours. Bear in mind that this may carry less weight if he has contributed more to mortgage repayments. If you have paid more in than him that may strengthen your argument.

Are there any pensions built up during the relationship? If he has some and you don't, you could use this to argue for a greater share of the equity.

Make sure you have all the paperwork that should have been provided. If anything is missing ask for it in the questionnaire.

Hadenoughnow

Thank you so much for the advice. We have agreed on a directions and in that it states to send each other particulars. He currently lives in a 3 bed house which he owns with his brother (he lives elsewhere.) Originally his parents lived there and now he does too. He has 3 children (all under 18) who come and stay overnight 2 times in a month and he has stated he needs £180,000 house for him and his children. What kind of particulars should I send based on this? Would I be able to raise the fact he wouldn't be able to secure a mortgage based on his bank statements showing his gambling addiction? Thank you x

If he part owns the property he's living in it should be declared as an asset. Has it been signed over to him or has he bought into it??

He should be providing an assessment of his mortgage capacity as should you.

It sounds like his need is at least a 3 bed house. Are your children both boys/girls? Ideally you should have a bedroom for each but it may be considered necessary for them to share.

Make sure the properties you provide are in places you would be happy for your children to stay. It is worth going to see them if you can.

Also make sure you view any properties he proposes for you. That way you can explain why they aren't suitable if they aren't.

If you need some support with all this you may want to look at our divorce consultant service.

Hadenoughnow