Court after mediation

Hi

I''m trying to sort out finances with my stbx through our solicitors and we have attended mediation and after my solicitor saw the mediation report, an offer was put to her through solicitors based on what was in the report.

However there are about three items that my solicitor is saying is common practice that she is not agreeing with, and getting on for six months later, we are probably further away than at mediation.

She has, in essence, demanded a sum of money which just doesn''t exist, my solicitor can''t work out how they got to it and they will not justify it.

My solicitor thinks that we will have to go to court, which I don''t really want to do as it will cost more than what is there to be split, but it is costing more and more with nothing being achieved.

So, if it is forced down the court route by my stbx, will I have to do form E as we have already been through mediation? Also, if the court see''s that I have made every effort to resolve it and she hasn''t, what is the likelihood of a costs order?

We went to court after mediation and I had to fill in a form E. I have no idea about the costs, you need one of the experts to answer that. Good luck.

Hi. The court fee to apply for a financial order is £240. You will have to fill in a Form E and submit it a couple of months after you apply. If this is going to cost more than the assets then it really is pointless but I understand the difficult position you are in. Have you considered representing yourself? Filling in the Form E is tedious but not really that difficult and getting a solicitor to do it at a cost of hundreds of pounds just seems pointless to me. It all depends how complicated your case is too. You will find lots of knowledgeable people on this site will be willing to help you.

It''s unlikely your ex would have to pay your costs (or you hers) because there is a general rule that you pay your own unless she was to frustrate the whole process in a pretty blatant way. Not making sensible offers wouldn''t be enough to land her with the costs. It''s worth noting that you have to make offers to each other along the way and prior to FDR. They don''t have to be sensible though.

Good luck.

Thanks for the replies.

My ex told me that she was going to get everything and more, so even though I can see it''s going to be cheaper to avoid court, I''m being dragged that way because my ex won''t negotiate. Some of the things her solicitor says is different to what is on the mediation report, so it''s a bit frustrating!

Self representing has crossed my mind but considering my ex it may be very difficult knowing what has gone on so far. I don''t want to say to much in public as I don''t know if anything could come back to bite me!

It''s amazing how going through a divorce can make you see a completely different side to the person who you thought you knew!