Getting a divorce has far-reaching consequences. If you have children you need to decide what arrangements will work best for you and them after separation. Financially, the wealth you have as a family, such as your home and other property, savings and investments, pensions and any business assets, needs to be shared fairly so that you can plan for the future with confidence.
These can be complex issues and getting advice from an experienced family law solicitor can make all the difference. Paying for expert legal advice is a sound investment, but what if all of the bank accounts and other assets are in your ex’s name and you don’t have any income of your own? In most cases, they will understand that the best way to get things resolved quickly and cost-effectively is for you both to use the family money whilst you’re negotiating a financial settlement so that you can not only meet your living costs but also pay for independent legal advice. The problem comes when they are being difficult and you’re being denied access to the funds you need for a lawyer. Without your own income, credit card or bank borrowing is almost certainly out, but if you find yourself in this position there are various options that you can consider.
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Borrowing from family or friends. The main advantages of this are that it’s likely to be fairly easy to arrange and you probably won’t have to pay any interest on the loan. The disadvantages can include concerns about troubling those closest to you (and perhaps feeling that their involvement compromises your independence) and the real possibility that, even with a formal loan agreement in place, the debt will be considered “soft”, ie a court might think that in reality it won’t have to be repaid and therefore doesn’t treat it as a genuine liability when dividing up the assets.
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Litigation funding. This is commercial borrowing which is repaid from your divorce settlement when you receive it. Your solicitors will usually have access to a few different providers to enable you to choose the one that suits your situation best. You will pay a commercial rate of interest, but there will be no argument about the fact that the debt has to be repaid and it means you can get legal advice and representation independently as and when you need it. As long as it’s clear that there will be assets available to repay the loan at the end of the day, funding is often available for children as well as financial proceedings and for cohabitation as well as divorce claims.
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A court order requiring your ex to fund your legal costs. The court has the power make an order requiring your ex to fund your legal costs. This is effectively the last resort when you’ve exhausted all other avenues. You will need to show that you’ve applied to commercial lenders and have been turned down and the court will require a budget for the costs you’re applying for based on a clear scoping of the work to be covered. This means these orders can be more restrictive than commercial borrowing. There’s also the issue about how you pay for the legal work for the application itself, but there are ways of dealing with this and often the threat of making an application to the court will lead to an agreement so you don’t actually have to go ahead with a contested hearing.
If your ex holds all the financial cards, can afford a lawyer and is denying you the means to get your own legal representation, that simply isn’t fair. You have options and help is at end. Get in touch here and we will do everything we can to put you on an equal footing.