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Hi all. Newbie here, looking for a second opinion on this one.
My now ex-wife and I divorced last year, after our relationship broke down due to irreconcilable differences. She initiated the divorce proceedings so was the petitioner, I was the respondent. We informally agreed early on that she would stay at the family home (I moved out), and buy me out of my share of the house and contents.
We went to family mediation and hashed out an agreed settlement figure that we were mostly happy with. A lump sum for the house and contents, plus she would give me the money to pay off several loans for goods on hire purchase that remained in the house, as the debts were solely in my name at the time, and I had been paying them off since the divorce.
I did not contest the divorce on any point, except she wanted me to pay the court costs of the divorce (£850) since she blamed me for the breakdown of the marriage. I objected to this on the financial paperwork, stating that I was not the petitioner, plus the cause of the breakdown of the marriage were not due to adultery or domestic abuse.
The financial court ruled against me, meaning the £850 would be deducted from the final settlement figure. I was looking to appeal against this decision which would have delayed the proceedings by several months, however since we were both keen to get this wrapped up as soon as possible I was able to make an agreement with her solicitors to split the court costs 50:50, so we would in fact be paying £425 each. They sent this offer in a letter headed "Without Prejudice", stating that if I was agreeable, they would submit an amended financial order to the courts with the amounts amended so I would only be paying £425 instead of £850 towards the costs. I responded to this in writing and signed the form they sent me, initialling where the amount was changed on the financial order.
This is where it gets a bit tricky. They then resubmitted the ORIGINAL financial order to the family court with the £850 deduction still on it and promptly stopped responding to my calls and emails. My ex wife has now paid the settlement figure, with the £850 deducted rather than the agreed upon £425. It's a bit of an odd situation as my ex paid me basically exactly what it says on the court form, even though I made a different agreement with her solicitors. I feel they've been dishonest in this case, whether intentionally or not but it's still left me over £400 out of pocket.
My question basically is this? Do I have any legal recourse options available to me against the solicitor? Does the fact that they headed the offer letter "Without Prejudice" mean that they can basically go back against their word and not honour an agreement that was made in good faith? I've been doing my own research into this subject and it's a bit of a minefield, but I'm wondering whether I've got grounds for a complaint to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, or possibly even pursuing them via the Small Claims Court?
Any thoughts? If you need any more information or need me to clarify any particular points, please let me know.
Thanks in advance
BB24
My now ex-wife and I divorced last year, after our relationship broke down due to irreconcilable differences. She initiated the divorce proceedings so was the petitioner, I was the respondent. We informally agreed early on that she would stay at the family home (I moved out), and buy me out of my share of the house and contents.
We went to family mediation and hashed out an agreed settlement figure that we were mostly happy with. A lump sum for the house and contents, plus she would give me the money to pay off several loans for goods on hire purchase that remained in the house, as the debts were solely in my name at the time, and I had been paying them off since the divorce.
I did not contest the divorce on any point, except she wanted me to pay the court costs of the divorce (£850) since she blamed me for the breakdown of the marriage. I objected to this on the financial paperwork, stating that I was not the petitioner, plus the cause of the breakdown of the marriage were not due to adultery or domestic abuse.
The financial court ruled against me, meaning the £850 would be deducted from the final settlement figure. I was looking to appeal against this decision which would have delayed the proceedings by several months, however since we were both keen to get this wrapped up as soon as possible I was able to make an agreement with her solicitors to split the court costs 50:50, so we would in fact be paying £425 each. They sent this offer in a letter headed "Without Prejudice", stating that if I was agreeable, they would submit an amended financial order to the courts with the amounts amended so I would only be paying £425 instead of £850 towards the costs. I responded to this in writing and signed the form they sent me, initialling where the amount was changed on the financial order.
This is where it gets a bit tricky. They then resubmitted the ORIGINAL financial order to the family court with the £850 deduction still on it and promptly stopped responding to my calls and emails. My ex wife has now paid the settlement figure, with the £850 deducted rather than the agreed upon £425. It's a bit of an odd situation as my ex paid me basically exactly what it says on the court form, even though I made a different agreement with her solicitors. I feel they've been dishonest in this case, whether intentionally or not but it's still left me over £400 out of pocket.
My question basically is this? Do I have any legal recourse options available to me against the solicitor? Does the fact that they headed the offer letter "Without Prejudice" mean that they can basically go back against their word and not honour an agreement that was made in good faith? I've been doing my own research into this subject and it's a bit of a minefield, but I'm wondering whether I've got grounds for a complaint to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, or possibly even pursuing them via the Small Claims Court?
Any thoughts? If you need any more information or need me to clarify any particular points, please let me know.
Thanks in advance
BB24
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