Legal advice needed please, and advice on DIY?

Please can someone help my mum of 70 years?

Bit of background, mum is 70 and remarried for 5 years. Dad died back in 2000, very happy marriage.

Husband at the moment announced back in the summer he was off to see a solicitor because he didnt want them to be together anymore. So divorce has started.
They attended two mediation sessions, one a joint one where they met with deadlock and he then cancelled and doesnt want to attend anymore.

Mum has been receiving legal assistance with divorce, but yesterday he solicitor told her she has used up all her legal time on the case so far and mum now dreading how much money she will owe her solicitor as she is only on state pension. So after divorce completed mum has no solicitor!

Finances have yet to be sorted and husband is not prepared to talk to her or discuss anything other than through his solicitor.

Mum now really scared because she has no solicitor for next stage, cant afford one, looks like she doesnt qualify for legal aid cos she has no outgoings, ie she doenst pay rent etc

They still live under same roof, but very difficult circumstances.

Mum's name is on the deads although she put no money into house as she was living in a secured tenancy property prior to this marriage.

Can mum (with lots of help) represent herself?

Is she at a dissadvantage if he is in court with solicitor and she represents herself???

Anyone been in similar situation and represnted themselves?

Thanks

has mum checked whether she can apply for higher levels of legal aid? It sounds as though she has had Leal Help, but this does not cover representation at court.

She may be entitled to full public funding - this acts liek a loan, rather than being completely free,but she would not have to pay it back until she received her share of the assets, and the rates are much lower than priavate work.

If she is not eligable then another option to explore would be to find out whether the olicitor can provide advice witrhout going 'on the record' as your mum's solicitor - in effect, your mum would be representing herself but would be able to take advice from the solicitor for any specific issues she needed. Again, this would reduce costs as she would not be paying for the solicitor to deal with routine corresspondence.


If she were to represent herself then it would also mbe possible for her to instruct a solicitor or bbarrister to represent her at a specific hearing - if she wanted to do this, it is sensible to book it, and to submit your instructions in good time, so that there is time to deal with any questions orr requests for extra information which may be raised.

It is possible to represent oneself but it isn't ideal.

In your mum's case, her husband may argue that as she put no money in, she should get little out. She would need to be able to make clear representations abotu the fact that she gave up a secure tenancy (which is a valuable 'asset' she has lost as a result) and about the fact that they put the property into their joint names, presumably with the intention, at the time, that they would have eul rights in it.

She will also need to b e able to show wheth her finacial needs are so will need to be clear about her housing needs and what the cost of re-housing will be.

It may well be worth while for her to pay for some advice once she and her husband have each provided full finacial diclsoure, to provide some guidance about potential settlements or likely outcomes,even if she isn't able to afford to have a solicitor all the way through the process

It has been suggested that my mum applies for an occupation order as her husband has become very unreasonable at home and she is afraid of his outbursts/temper.
Can anyone help with advice on this?
and
Are there any dissadvantages in obtaining one of these?

Can he contest this request and what proof is needed?
Thank You