My son doesn’t have a lawyer and was hoping to reach a property settlement without outlaying exorbitant legal costs. He has 50% shared care and custody of children. His ex-wife has a lawyer and her proposals for settlement have been grossly unfair and she has refused to reach compromise in order to reach a fair and equitable agreement.
Instead, she is seeking a windfall at my son’s expense - wanting a 70%-30% split in her favour, when she has the same level of educational qualifications as my son and similar employment prospects. She has bullied him into agreeing with everything she wants for the parenting plan, despite some things not being in the best interests of the children (e.g., keeping the oldest child in a school where he is consistently being bullied and is emotionally distressed).
He received an initiating application from her lawyer, stating that he must respond within 28 days. Legally, does he have to respond to this and submit an affidavit? Also, what happens if he doesn’t respond within the 28 days stipulated by her lawyer? He can’t afford a lawyer or the fees associated with submitting a response to the initiating application and he believes that, regardless of his response and affidavit, she will get what she’s asking for.
So, if he doesn’t respond, is the consequence that he won’t get to put forward his side of the story and the court will just agree with the amount his ex-wife is seeking? Or, would he be breaching some law by not responding?
I really hope you can guide us here. I’m very worried as this is causing him significant distress and he just wants it all to be over so he can focus on caring for his little ones and have her out of his life.
Thank you in anticipation of a helpful and hopefully quick response. He only has a couple of days left now to submit a response if he’s legally required to do this.
Instead, she is seeking a windfall at my son’s expense - wanting a 70%-30% split in her favour, when she has the same level of educational qualifications as my son and similar employment prospects. She has bullied him into agreeing with everything she wants for the parenting plan, despite some things not being in the best interests of the children (e.g., keeping the oldest child in a school where he is consistently being bullied and is emotionally distressed).
He received an initiating application from her lawyer, stating that he must respond within 28 days. Legally, does he have to respond to this and submit an affidavit? Also, what happens if he doesn’t respond within the 28 days stipulated by her lawyer? He can’t afford a lawyer or the fees associated with submitting a response to the initiating application and he believes that, regardless of his response and affidavit, she will get what she’s asking for.
So, if he doesn’t respond, is the consequence that he won’t get to put forward his side of the story and the court will just agree with the amount his ex-wife is seeking? Or, would he be breaching some law by not responding?
I really hope you can guide us here. I’m very worried as this is causing him significant distress and he just wants it all to be over so he can focus on caring for his little ones and have her out of his life.
Thank you in anticipation of a helpful and hopefully quick response. He only has a couple of days left now to submit a response if he’s legally required to do this.
