First Moves in divorce proceedings

Each case has to be considered individually. If you believe your partner is siphoning off funds, offshore or otherwise to avoid having to pay you, then you will need to del with this as a matter of urgency to preserve the matrimonial assets.

If you want to try and preserve some civility then your solicitor will write to your partner advising them that although action has been taken it should not be seen as a hostile act but a sensible precaution to take to make sure both parties have equal access to the assets in the event it reaches court.

Feel free to ask your solicitor to let you have drafts of any letters before they go out , in order to ensure you are happy with the content and tone. The first letter so often sets the the general tone of the case and it is extremely important that your partner knows from the very outset that you wish the matter to be conducted in as amicable way as possible. Venomous letters may give you satisfaction in the short term , but in the long run they will do nothing but you and your partner appear to be bitter and unreasonable and they should be avoided.

In your heart, because because you may be so upset and angry, you do not want to appear or behave in a reasonable way because you want revenge. But be guided by your solicitor, for whatever you may feel inside, letters through solicitors are not the right conduit for your anger. remember that if the case is not settled and ends up in court, the letters may end up in a bundle of documents for the judge to read.

If the matter goes to court, you will want to appear to be reasonable at all times in order to gain the sympathy of the court. Do not interpret this as appearing weak or that you have to accept whatever happens. There are ways and means of achieving what you want and threats and aggression are never the answer.

Your solicitor should be quite happy to copy all correspondence to you and many do this as a matter of course. if you feel to low or fragile to cope with unexpected letters from your partner's solicitor, let your solicitor know. Rather than being afraid to open the post, you can often go through the letters and documents with your solicitor.

It may be necessary to to carry out one preliminary enquiries into your partner's financial circumstances. The more information you can get, early, the better . try to ascertain what companies, banks and building society accounts exist. Any information about savings, investments, policies, shares etc can also be helpful. If you can find any information about pension schemes get it at this stage as valuations can take some time.

If you have any endowment policies or life assurance, then these will also have to be valued. We do not recommend that you apply for a Surrender Value, but obtain a valuation of what the policies would be worth if they were sold.

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Information on this page is current and last updated: 12/03/2008

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