My partner has received a Petition for Divorce from his ex wife, she cheated on him just after 1 year of marriage, so they separated and about 2 years later we moved in together, it is now 5 years since their separation, they had no children. I have 2 children that both myself and my partner support although he isn't their birth dad. Anyway she is still with the guy that she committed adultery with and made it clear she wanted a divorce at no cost to my partner, the petition has come through and it seems like she is going to try and get financial gain from my partner. They already sold the house when separated and the proceeds were split 50/50 as were any items from the house, if anything my partner came away worse off with about £15,000 of debts but the problem was he had the loan through a family member with no legal contract. With that debt and the fact that my partner's self employed business failed last year and he was out of work for a while and had to take a 50% paycut when accepting a full time employed job we are now £35,000 in debt as a couple, unfortunately the legalaid scheme only takes income into account so we don't qualify for help and we don't know what to do as havn't got any money to pay for a solicitor, we really don't want to add to our £35K debt ... we have struggled so much in the last year not to go bankrupt and to keep our house and so far we have succeeded and have been slowly paying back our debts ... its now such a kick in the teeth that this has come up and we don't know what to do. We don't understand what the petition means so any advice on it would be helpful, he is supposed to have it signed and back at the courts by the weekend. The section we are concerned about is the 'Prayer' it states under 'Ancillary Relief' for the petitioner (his ex) - an order for maintenance pending suit - a periodical payments order - a secured provision order - a lump sum order - a property adjustment order - an order under section 24B, 25B or 25C of the Act of 1973 (pension sharing/attachment order) I've been told by others that have had divorces that if she accepted everything had been finalised financially it would be stated in the petition. So is she lying to us in person and does this divorce look like she is looking for money from us?
There was no contract drawn up at time of separation, although I did see a letter after they sold the house from the solicitors saying the proceeds from the sale money had been split in final settlement so I'm praying we can get a copy from the solicitors as I've searched for it and can't locate it (we've moved house since I saw it) They never planned to have children so she worked full time whilst they were married, so just hoping there isn't much she can claim for with those circumstances. Will they take our debts into consideration whilst deciding whether to award her with anything? Surely if its likely to send us bankrupt and leave us & 2 children homeless it wouldn't be in the courts interest to award her anything.
Answer by E&L
Yes, it looks as if his wife is seeking support based on the number of years they have been married. I certainly HOPE he got a legal separation from this woman after the first year since she may be able to file for support based on the fact that they have been married over 6 years. Believe what her attorney has filed in the court papers, no what she has said. I also would be concerned regarding a pending suit for maintenance (alimony) and the fact she is looking at a portion of his pension. You may not qualify for legal aid and don't want to pay for a solicitor, but you must realize that he may be paying for HER for months (or even years) to come. Not to mention her getting some of his retirement money. A solicitor is a wise investment right now. You will end up paying less in the long run.
Answer by humpty dumpty
Yes she is after money and support. I would find some way to scrape up money for a lawyer, sorry a solicitor.
Answer by brwneyedgrl
its hard to tell just on what you've stated here, my best advice to you is to try to find a paralegal clinic, or possibly take it to a clerk of court to have it explained, and to ask how to file the papers yourselves to avoid as much legal cost as possible.. also check into lawyers that do free consoltation.. etc.. remember although they have been seperated they are legally still married.. and she could be asking for alimony, etc.. so seek all avenues of finding legal advice if not counsel before deciding the best route to go with this.. to see exactly what she is asking of the courts.. good luck..
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Orignal From: Help with divorce petition?
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