Pitfalls for the Unrepresented Divorce Litigant

Nowadays many divorcing couples view the use of a solicitor as an unnecessary luxury. Increasingly, those engaged in a divorce and other family related matters choose to act for themselves.

The almost complete abolition of Legal Aid some years ago has, to an extent, fostered this climate of self-determination. The truth of the matter, however, is that a divorce, coupled with resolving a financial dispute, is often far from straightforward.

Many spouses acting for themselves never seek advice because they don't know that they are making mistakes. Common issues in financial cases include:

• Spouses dividing up their assets by agreement, piecemeal and prematurely, without first knowing the value of all the assets. Asset division on divorce should only properly be carried out when the entire marital pot has been valued and its overall worth assessed;
• One of the parties deciding to prematurely secure a Final Order (formerly called a Decree Absolute) dissolving the marriage, before consideration has been given to settling the finances. This should usually be postponed until all money matters are agreed and formally finalised;
• Procedural errors, for e.g. wrongly drafting court paperwork, causing court delays of many months.
• Unrepresented parties may delay proceedings through uncertainty about the procedure or may wrongly insist their legal view of the case is correct
• A spouse believing they can later re-open a financial settlement approved by the court, so as to claim more money from their ex-spouse. The general rule is that there is only one “bite of the cherry”, with any settlement being full and final.

All of the above pitfalls and more can be avoided if a solicitor is engaged to explore opportunities for settlement, which, much of the time, can be achieved without court involvement.

The use of a solicitor does not have to be an expensive exercise. We at Leeds Day offer a comprehensive family law service that includes divorce, financial and children cases. Our family lawyers at Leeds Day include Resolution Accredited solicitors specialising in financial matters on relationship breakdown, including complex financial cases, as well as disputes over children.

The family team comprises Simon Thomas, Lisa Leader, Lee Bailham and Charlene Powell. All are highly experienced solicitors. In addition, Simon Thomas also specialises in collaborative family law.

To find out more, contact the family team at Leeds Day on 0333 577 2250, or send an email to [email protected]. We are able to see clients at either of our offices in Huntingdon and St Neots. Our team is able to offer a full range of dispute resolution options, all of which can be found on our website at www.leedsday.co.uk.

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