Hi
Iam going through an extremely messy costly divorce my solicitor has advised me not to apply for maintenance pending suit as it will be very costly and may not work
I feel there is such a divide on incomes that I want to apply but can’t afford the legal costs
Can I apply myself and do this on my own as I cannot continue to live on the little money I have
If anyone out there has applied themselves then could you let me know how to go about it please?
Iam living on benefits and cannot get legal aid Iam running up a very expensive debt to my solicitor and cannot carry on like this my husband is living a very nice life and using the court system to his advantage
We have no minor children and it was a long marriage Iam 65 and cannot get any financial help
Spousal maintenance is based on need and ability to pay. The cost of action to obtain maintenance does need to be weighed against likely gain. You have to have done what you can to maximise your income yourself so working, claiming benefits etc.
It is perfectly possible to deal with the financial side of things yourself, especially in the early stages, and conserve your funds for later in the process when you may benefit from having a barrister to represent you.
There are various support services offered by this site for litigants in person that you may want to have a look at.
Hi
Thanks for replying I’ve looked at this in much more in detail and please correct me if Iam wrong
If I got maintenance of £400 a month then my benefits would be stopped for the same amount
How does that help someone like me who has to live on exactly that
The system really is geared for the rich who can afford to pay solicitors barristers so much money
I can’t get legal aid because I have a very small house
I can’t get anyone pro Bono to represent me
and in effect Iam in debt to my solicitor for thousands
Leave an abusive relationship we are told help is out there for you
That’s the biggest lie ever no one will help you unless you have money
I now go to food banks and can’t have my heating on because my husband holds all the cards and all the system that just lets him continue to bully me to giving up my home
Please whoever reads this no one will help you must have a plan and most importantly money without that the system screws people like me
I am afraid you are correct. If you receive UC, any spousal maintenance is now deducted £ for & as it counts as unearned income. This does not (at the moment) apply to child maintenance. It is only worth having SM if the amount you get exceeds the benefits you can claim.
You can self represent to reduce costs. We offer a number of low cost services to support litigants in person.
