Do we need two separate solicitors for an amicable divorce?

W

wavejumper

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Myself and my partner have contacted a local solicitor in order to initiate separation and ultimately divorce. The separation is amicable and we have already agreed on all terms. There are no children involved, just the house which we have agreed on.

We thought, seeing as we were agreed on all accounts, that we could just save ourselves the money and go to the same solicitor to draw up the separation agreement needed to initiate the divorce.

The solicitor though insisted we use separate firms, even if in perfect agreement, as there is a risk of one of the parties raising objections after the divorce that they had not clearly understood what they had been asked to agree on, because the solicitor might have taken sides.


This seems a bit ludicrous to me; this solicitor went as far as reccommending a firm 'down the road' for my partner to consult with.

Is this really common practice or is this just a way to either introduce some disagreements between my partner and myself, or worse, just a tacit agreement between two firms to split clients and thus moneis?

Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
 
He is right, he can't act in the best interest of both sides, so you will need a second solicitor. If you are in agreement on the details of the separation, then the extra cost would be minimal.
 
Or you could just save yourself a shed load of money and just do it yourselves! Problem solved - no solicitors involved.

Oh no, wait - you want their expertise, you want their professional indemnity insurance in case it all goes tots up and you want someone to blame.

As a practising family lawyer, I would run very fast away from two clients who wanted to be represented by the same solicitor in order to save costs rather than being properly represented individually in order to properly protect their interests.


mf
 
"or is this just a way to either introduce some disagreements between my partner and myself, or worse, just a tacit agreement between two firms to split clients and thus moneis?"

You asked.

mf
 
mf1 said:
As a practising family lawyer, I would run very fast away from two clients who wanted to be represented by the same solicitor in order to save costs rather than being properly represented individually in order to properly protect their interests.
mf
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There aren't too many solicitors around who would run away from business at the moment methinks!
 
Maggs065 said:
There aren't too many solicitors around who would run away from business at the moment methinks!
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Believe me - the scenario is an absolute non runner. It is professional suicide. You may as well put your hand in boiling oil.

mf
 
There was something on TV a couiple of weeks ago about DIY divorce, as you have both already agreed on it you might want to consider it. Google it and see what you get, think the programme said costs were in the region of a few hundred euros.
 
You will need separate representation (unless you go the diy route). A solicitor can't take both sides of the case as it would be a pure conflict of interests to do so.
 
I agree with pre-posters: it's a conflict of interest if one solicitor represents the two of you. Do some online research and you'll find the same statements on professional websites. Therefore this particular solicitor isn't mad to send one of you to the competition, he's just aware of the fact that he alone can't act in the best interest for the two of you!

mf1 maybe was a bit blunt but I think he/she was just straight to the point. Get that 2nd solicitor on board!
 
You can do it all yourselves - you just purchase the necessary forms/documents from the Gov. stationery office, it used to be around E7.50. Complete them and lodge them at the Court. There are some books around also on this very topic.

You'll find the court clerks very helpful in regards to the documentation needed, but of course they can't give any legal advice.
 
My divorce cost me nothing - ex-hubby and I agreed on everything (we have children and had property). As he wanted the divorce, he got it using his solicitor - I just had to sign a form which stated that I had no claim on anything (especially pension in the future) and that we were agreed on everything in terms of the final split. Methinks a lot of solicitors responded to the original OP ;)
 
thanks for all the replies. I'll see how using one solicitor flies with my partner otherwise I think we'll go and get us two of them, no shortgage of 'em it would appear :) Thank you again.
 
Judging from the OPs post they are not separated long enough to get a divorce, they now want a separation and someone to deal with the property adjustment. Which involves conveyancing and that means a solicitor must be involved. And where one party is signing off an interest in property in favour of another party, they must get independent legal advice before they can do so. This is so that:

1. They get the benefit of independent legal advice about their situation and
2. To protect the party who is receiving the property from them ever coming back in the future trying to claim back an interest in the property on the basis that they did not get that independent advice.
 
thanks Vanilla, that's pretty much the situation and I agree with your view.

While we are at it, while we are indeed not separated long my partner would very much appreciate to get a quick divorce, my understanding is that it takes 4 years of separation before the divorce is granted in this country.

Am I correct in thinkining that if we present outselves as a couple which has lived for the most of the last 4 years as living separately under the same roof this would speed up proceedings?
 
No, you got that right Vanilla, my partner would appreciate a quicker way to get re-married not in the too distant future, make of that what you will. I'd still like to know if presenting our case this way is likely to get things sorted quicker.
 
wavejumper said:
No, you got that right Vanilla, my partner would appreciate a quicker way to get re-married not in the too distant future, make of that what you will. I'd still like to know if presenting our case this way is likely to get things sorted quicker.
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Fair play to you wavejumper for being so facilitative and nice about that. But to claim something that is untrue could put you in a situation of perjury?
 
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