Just over a year ago now I left my wife after she finally admitted to cheating on me after years of denial (3 times that I now know about). Shortly after this I filed for divorce on the 6th May 2022 which was granted on the 7th Feb 2023.
Mediation failed last year due false accusations of financial abuse from her. I was the only one working for the last 10 year and covered everything from our joint bank and savings account - which she had full access to but states I had been syphoning funds to the point where I had £50k stashed away... I don't, I wish I did. Either way I gave her and her solicitor access to all my financial details going back as far as possible and there was nothing raised about it again.
I then attempted to reach out after mediation via my own solicitor requesting that we both fill out FORM E's but she just ignored the request, so at the start of this year I sent an financial offer valid for 30 days before we took it to court... which is where we are now.
We have just exchanged FORM E's, although a week late due to her solicitor and part of it states that I was abusive during the relationship and that she should be awarded the house due to that.
These are all false allegations and couldn't be further from the truth. How can they be allowed to make such statements without any evidence or substance to the allegations?
What do I need to do in preparation for court? My solicitor hasn't been very helpful with advice around this and feels like i'm just being fobbed off - i'm assuming because we can't do anything while they're just allegations?
There is a helpful guide to divorce and finances on the advicenow.org.uk website. My view is that the court will give priority to housing for the children (are there any?) and allegations of abuse won't influence the decision on this. Nowadays its no fault divorce so any abuse shouldn't be relevant.
yes, I have two children and they have been residing with the mother.
I understand that the court will look to ensure the children are housed and expect for my ex-wife to remain in the house. This isn’t something I’ve ever contested - although I do want to be released from the mortgage as she is terrible with money.
im just more concerned about the accusations and how they’re stated without any actual details.
The allegations sound like a red herring and aimed to muddy the waters. Try to stay focused on the main issues you want to address and not get side tracked. You may it hard to get released from the mortgage if her income isn't enough to pay it
@champagne they're exactly that, so we're going to make a request as part of the FORM E's to stop doing so or to actually make a formal complaint.
Likelihood is that i'll remain on the mortgage until our youngest leaves school (about 10 years) as she isn't planning on returning to work anytime soon and is using the children's autism diagnosis as reason for doing so - even though they don't need that level of care.