Hannah asks:

My husband’s parents have been separated for 15 years. They are now in their 60s and want to divorce and need to agree the division of assets. They have asked for our help as they do not know where to start.

They have two homes, but the second is in my father in law’s partner’s name. The first has a lot of debt guaranteed against it which was built up by my father in law for his business and it’s these debts that now urgently need to be paid. My mother in law has a small amount of savings which she inherited.

My questions are, is there any guidance on where they should start to try to agree this amicably as they do not have a lot of money for lawyers and, secondly, how do we ensure that everyone is telling the truth about what money they actually have? They have both visited lawyers, but came back with completely different versions of what would be fair.

It is because the law does not provide a formula for the way assets are divided at divorce that legal advice may vary. No solicitor can tell you exactly what a court will do, although they should be able to explain how the court arrives at its decisions and suggest what might be an appropriate outcome based on guidelines that are provided by the law. The fact that advice may vary can make it difficult for people to know what to do.

You might want to suggest to your husband’s parents that they consider mediation. This would involve the two of them sitting down with a neutral third party (the mediator), who would help them reach an agreement. Although the mediator cannot give individual advice, he or she should give the legal information that will enable your husband’s parents to reach a decision. The mediator should also ask each person for documents to confirm their financial situations so that each can be reasonably sure that nothing is left out.

Assuming that an agreement is reached, the mediator will prepare a summary of what’s been decided for the couple to take to their own solicitors to turn into a legal document and act on. You can find details of mediators local to you by visiting the web site of the family law group, Resolution.

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