Great line.

always a Norwood boy, where ever I live.

My ex and I used mediation and it was £120 per 2 hour session and that was 17 years ago. However, I would recommend it.

The basic premise is that the pair of you ultimately agree to all the terms of the separation, rather than leaving it to the solicitors to fight it out and often engender grief where there was none before.

Be warned though, as others have mentioned, what may seem fair to you may not judged as such in the eyes of the law. Basically your spouse is entitled to 50-50 of everything.

If for example you had spent your disposable share of the income on building up, let's say, a collection of vintage clocks, and your wife had spent all hers on clothes and shoes, you would still have to pay her half the value of your collection on separation, unless she was happy to waive that claim. Meanwhile, she would not be in anyway liable to pay you half of her expenditure on her wardrobe as it is not considered an asset whereas your clocks would be.