Divorce or separation

It depends what money/property you have together. You need to see a solicitor as there is a way of protecting your finances whilst seperated but I didn't need to use it as we didn't have a house or savings.

You really need to seek the advice of a good solicitor as any property or monies involved can be sorted you can usually get the first half of advice free and that is in most cases just long enough to get some kind of idea which way to go,personally if you are thinking going down the separation route then maybe things can be put back on track and the relationship can be mended in someway.

One important thing I discovered during my investigations was regarding pensions. I think this is relevant because of our age group although you may think it is a bit morbid. If you are divorced and your husband who is in receipt of a pension dies, then the pension will stop and you will get nothing. If you are separated, even legally, then you will still be entitled to half. This was very important to me as I do not have a private pension of my own and if my H died then I would be left with only my share of the house and savings. This stopped me from divorcing him.
As far as solicitors goes, mine thought it best to go for a separation and his thought it best to go for divorce and fight for every penny he could get in spite of my H stating that he wanted me to have the lions share.
So, think very carefully. Impartial advice is difficult to get. I wish you luck and if you find out any more information I will be pleased to hear it.

When I divorced 26 years ago - things may have changed - my husband had, during our marriage, paid the married man's NI contributions, so, when I retired, I was entitled to the proportion of the pension earned during our marriage which makes my state pension quite healthy as I had also paid my own contributions. Have you had accurate information on benefits, dancing? You would, in the absence of any other income, have an entitlement to a minimum guaranteed pension - ie pension credits - (currently £142.70 per week) even if you had insufficient NI contributions in your own right. Anyone receiving PCs is also eligible to claim council tax benefit and, if renting property, housing benefit.
Solicitors do tend to make divorce unnecessarily adversarial - and I speak from experience! Good luck!

Trisha - perhaps you could let us know a little more about your circumstances?

Sorry, Trisha, I looked up your posts and I see you have already given us a good deal of information.