Sarah lives close to me and found my business via a Google search. She wanted to get an understanding of what financial life may look like post divorce compared to at present. During our initial free 30 minute consultation she explained the background behind the ‘marital disharmony’. She also explained that she and her husband have a disabled daughter and they both wanted to put her needs first and foremost in any discussions. Accepting that marriage break-up is sometimes sadly a fact of life, they both wanted to deal with matters amicably avoiding confrontation in a mediative manner and avoiding unnecessary legal costs.
I then met Sarah at her parents’ home with her parents present as she felt more comfortable with them there. Everyone discussed their concerns and priorities, both financial and regarding childcaring arrangements from the divorce. Her lovely daughter popped in to show me a bangle she had made at school earlier in the day which she was immensely proud of. I methodically documented the information on my client fact find and had a good understanding of;
1. The Family Situation; names, addresses, employment situation, childcare arrangements.
2. The Financial Arrangements; property value, mortgage, savings and investments, pension arrangements for both past and present employments.
3. Desire and needs. This was key as it help to set the initial framework for Sarah’s subsequent discussion with her husband.
Over the next couple of days, I collated all this information in a document, the ‘Divorce Preparation Pack’, which enables my clients to make a more informed decision. After receiving this, Sarah’s asked if I would be happy to meet her and her husband to establish whether mediation was likely to be successful. I explained that I could not act as the mediator as I was working on her behalf, but that I was happy to facilitate an intermediate discussion to establish if mediation would be a suitable route for the couple.
This meeting went very well as both parties behaved maturely and amicably, appreciating each other’s views, opinions and concerns. This enabled the framework for a financial solution to be suggested by Sarah. Following this initial discussion between the couple, further conversations held in private enabled them to agree a future course of action by way of a financial agreement.
I referred Sarah to a trusted family lawyer, who is now acting on her behalf to apply for the divorce and preparing a Consent Order to achieve a clean financial break thereby dismissing any future financial claims.
Everything has been achieved efficiently, without confrontation and has avoided unnecessary legal costs. The average cost in the UK for a divorce is around £14,561. For Sarah, the cost will amount to less than £4,000.
Sarah's Review:
DK Divorce Consultant services have really expedited understanding and mediative conversations around the financial detail relating to divorce. David’s kind and professional style was a welcome calming influence. He is highly communicative, flexible and sensitive around appropriate meeting scheduling and has fast turnaround times for work up and reports. I would highly recommend David to anyone who wants to discuss and have a professional appraisal prior to engaging with the divorce process formally, as in my experience it has saved on both time and money.
*Names changed for anonymity*