Advice please, preparing for final hearing

Hi, this may be a bit of a long and convoluted post so apologies in advance.
THe FDR was 3 weeks ago. My position was that stbx should receive no share of FMH due to an agreement we made regarding child maintenance, which was that he would pay reduced Child Maintenance on the understanding that the underpayment would be reimbursed from the sale of the FMH. We have been separated 8 years, married for 25 years before that. We had 2 children under 18 living with me at the time - now both over 18.
Stbx convinced me that he was in financial difficulties and couldn't afford the the full Child Maintenance rate, he convinced me that he would not pursue any claim in the FMH and even asked me to remove his name from the mortgage at one point (I couldn't do this because my income is too low, the bank would not agree). He also left me with joint debts that i paid.
Judge said that he should pay 50% of the debts and that if what I said was true that this would be relevant as it would be regarded as financial misconduct. Judge ordered us to put in statements explaining the agreement and why this had been agreed. Stbx confirms the arrangement but disputes the amount agreed. Stating that we agreed a fixed amount at less than half of the Child Maintenance Calculator amount. I didn't agree to this and have written a statement which I must submit tomorrow. Total amount of underpayment using Child Maintenance Calculator is more than 50% of the equity in FMH.

Question - would my statement carry more weight if it was a sworn statement (Affidavit)?

Also I am now disabled and have been dismissed from work on ill health grounds (notice period ends 30th August) the judge at the FDR didn't seem very interested in this fact and that my income would massively reduce - stbx already earning 2.5 times my salary anyway ( i didn't realise until mediation that he had such a large salary as he had claimed he was struggling financially), so huge disparity in income. It was inferred that the fact that I'm now co-habiting meant that this wouldn't be taken into consideration (my partner is also disabled and has reduced capacity for work)

Is this correct?

I had previously been told by my solicitor (when I had one) and the mediator that this would not impact the settlement!

Judge also said that it was unlikely that stbx would get nothing at all.

Does anyone know if this has ever happened?

Stbx is offering 65-35 split in my favour.
Also not taken into consideration was that he paid nothing towards the mortgage, house maintenance or repairs, anyone had a different experience?

Last question - I'm considering getting a barrister for final hearing, any tips on how to go about this?

Sorry for lots of questions....

Also forgot to mention - I have talked about the arrangement with a few people over the years. These are obviously close friends and family (i wouldn't be talking about personal things to all and sundry), including my parents and my partner - would witness statements from those people be useful?

Hi

You will need to prepare a section 25 statement for the final hearing. This will set out all of your needs and your arguments about the way things should be divided as well as any financial conduct matters. It would be accompanied by a summary of what you believe is a fair settlement.

You would also need to file an updating schedule showing any changes since form E. Bear in mind that if the children are over 18 and not in uni, your strict need would be for a 1-2 bed property.

Cohabitation is only relevant in that living costs are shared.

Are there any pensions to consider?

A direct access barrister may well be a good idea. I would suggest you call the helpline to discuss what help you need.

Hadenoughnow

Thanks for that. The statement I've been told to submit is purely about the financial arrangements agreement we made with respect to Child Maintenance and the FMH. I guess I will need to prepare the s25 statement nearer to the final hearing - no date has been set yet.
Pensions are roughly equal so not seeking any pension sharing order.
I will ring the helpline for more advice and guidance.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed about the final hearing, although I think the FDR went reasonably ok with me self repping, not sure how I would manage the final hearing.
Thanks again