Can anyone give me some advice. Im presntly using a solicitor but im starting to lose faith. I first separated from my husband july 06, as he said he wanted space and to be on his own, i rented accomodation for me and my daughter(shes from a previous relationship but has my husbands surname)In december he asked me to come home i did for him to go again in january, this happened another 5 times all in all , in between this i found out he was having an affair he promised everytime it was over but he never ended it, in november o7 i decided i couldnt take anymore and moved in with a friend until a could rent a property. I met someone else then my husband said he realised hed made the biggest mistake in his life and has begged me back since although he is still seeing this woman he had an affair with

The house is in my husbands name only, he has a net income off £1700per month plus(commision aswell) plus a car allowance of £650 per month and shares of £10,000,his car was £35k in oct 06, he kept all the furniture and i had to start from scratch with nothing he has offered me 40% of the house and maybe the car which he says is reasonable even though i paid half of all the mortgage and bills and bought all the food and supported my daughter myself. Im struggling to pay the solicitors as they want the money as we go along (i intially thought it was paid upon settlement)

My solicitor requested he filled in the finacial statement with 12months bank statements, 3 months later when he returned it, i was charged for letters they sent me to say he hadnt replied, surely they should be writing to him not me! He hadnt sent bank statements in, he valued the house 12k less, he didnt declare his car allowance or any furniture over £500 and said he owed 19k on the car yet he has paid 13k off and used his old car as a deposit for 14/15k so to me that doesnt leave 19k to pay.

My solicitor never picked any of this up, i had to ring and tell them and they requested more info which is costing me more again and they havent asked for the settlement figur on the car.

I feel like i am going to get a bad deal as my husband said if i didnt accept he would rather spen 15k at court then let me get any more of his money, as he believes its all his because his names on the mortgage,but i just dont no where i stand and im getting no advice from my solicitor either.

...start by confirming how long you were married for?

together for 14 years married for nearly 7 years.

Hi you didnt mention how long you were married for.
if it is a long marriage then you are en­title­d to a min 50% of all assets this includes his shares and pension.
are you working? as this will be taken into account
just because the house is in his name it wont make any difference, i would put a restriction on it to make sure he doesnt either re-mortgage or sell it without your knowledge or approval.
is he offering 40% of everything including pension, shares etc
if he is only offering 40% of the house as a final settlement then again if it was a long marriage he is short changing you but we need more details on
how long married
both your incomes
both your assets including pension, shares etc
this way we can give you a more in depth reply
as regards your solicitor, you like I am most other people have made the same mistake, it was put to me by my barrister that the solicitor is more like a personal secretary, you have to tell them what, when and how you want matters to go forward and you will have to check all documents to work out the figures and you will have to supply them with all the relevant information so that they like a good secretary will type it out in the proper format and give it to you for your approval.
they will remind you of replies not answered unless you tell them not to.
it is usually best to use the solicitors on an ad hoc basis as most will create more work so they get paid more.
hope this helps
kind regards
dawn

We married for nearly 7 years , we have been together for 14 but he lived with me for 6 years before we were married.

I work full time and nearly always have. He is offering 40% of car and house only, he said he was old to offer me 30%, although from what ive noticed already he has already tried to hide 20k plus, but he keeps saying come back and we will not have to go through all this, When we were married he was earning 50k a year and i still paid half of the wedding and everything else althoug i only earned around 12k and my daughter to support, although she just turned 17 now its been a slog, and he has never ever washed up or made a meal or done anything in the house i feel hes one of these lucky people who walk away scot free and i will be left to try and make a life again. i didnt want anymore than 50% of anything i though 50% was fair but he said i wasnt getting more than 40 of the house and car to start a fresh with someone else!

Yours is not a short-term marriage; so 50% would not be unrealistic. If however; like my ex he makes the proceedings protratced; then it could take a further 18 months to resolve, and many, many thousands of pounds in fees.

Thats what bothers me, i dont have any savings, and im using a legal executive while my husband has a senior partner, i just dont whether to change to a better solicitors or if it will make no difference, i know i couldnt afford to go to court if i have to pay as we go along but my ex can so i feel he has me over a barrell!