Divorce lawyers – Do I really need one for my divorce?
They can be costly and a common perception is that seeing one risks ‘stirring up problems’. We always offer a free initial enquiry so you can ‘try before you buy’ and we find that a large percentage of those initial meetings are with people who want reassurance that they don’t need a lawyer in their divorce because they have agreed everything.
But the reality is that you probably need a lawyer more when you have an agreement than when you haven’t. If you can’t reach agreement either of you can ask the court to make a decision. You have to issue divorce proceedings first and you will have to attend mediation at least once, but ultimately a Judge will decide for you.
If, however, as the majority of couples do, you have agreed what happens to the house, how to divide other assets and whether one of you will help support the other then you must have this in a written consent order and have it approved by a Judge. This is the only way to ensure it is legally binding on you both and, more importantly, so that there is no ‘come back’.
People often assume if they are divorcing, and they have divided any joint assets then they don’t need to worry about having anything in writing or approved by the court but it is not the case. Divorce simply ends the contract of marriage; it does not deal with any financial issues.
The ability of the court to make financial orders against an ex-spouse remains indefinitely and so perhaps the most important part of any agreement is to have an order terminating any future claims against you.
Without this order, if your ex-spouse can show a financial need, then the court can order you to support him/her, even if you have been divorced for many years and they have been self-sufficient up to that point. The only way to avoid this is to obtain a financial order at the time you divorce. Imagine winning the lottery and being forced to share it with your ex!
The financial order will be drafted by your lawyer and sent to the court for approval once your divorce has reached conditional order (decree nisi) stage. You don’t need to attend court and most lawyers will prepare the order and necessary documentation for a fixed price so there are no unexpected costs involved.
