Family, collaborative Law and Mediation

FINANCE PROPERTY AND PENSIONS

Upon Separation or Divorce you will be looking to divide your assets and liabilities. This will include properties, savings, debts, policies, incomes, pensions, possessions and sometimes inheritances.

Full and frank financial disclosure will need to be given by both parties before real negotiations can take place. In the knowledge that everything to be discussed is “on the table.“ an agreement may be reached and then incorporated into either a court order or a separation deed.

The “consent” court order sets out the terms of your agreement and will be submitted to the court for approval. This will take place within the divorce proceedings once the Decree Nisi has been pronounced and usually before the Decree Absolute finally dissolves the marriage

A Separation Deed may be the appropriate route if you are not proposing to divorce immediately. This sets out, formally, the terms of your agreement, signed by both parties.

If a financial settlement cannot be reached, it may be appropriate to apply to the court for a financial order, known as an Ancillary Relief Application. When applying for ancillary relief, the court sets out a timetable for the case. For example when the first hearing, (the First Appointment) is to be heard. It is usual to set the date within 12 to 16 weeks of the issuing of the application. Both husband and wife will be required to file a financial statement (known as a Form E), by a date set by the court but usually 35 days prior to the First Appointment.

There may be up to three hearings, the First Appointment. Either the judge treats the appointment as a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing or he will give directions to ensure any outstanding matters are addressed in readiness for the next meeting. The Financial Dispute Resolution hearing is usually the next stage. This is where a Judge will give an indication of the likely outcome of the case if it were to proceed to Final Hearing and is intended to encourage parties to settle. If it proves impossible to settle, then a date will be set for a Final Hearing. Many cases will settle, as the court encourages negotiations. However, if there is no agreement then the court will make a final decision on the division of all the assets and liabilities. Final hearings are rare and are expensive for all parties.

Costs, usually each party will have to meet their own. We provide details of how much the costs will usually be. This enables you to cater for these within your budgeting.

After an order is made, either by agreement or otherwise, it will need to be put into effect. These matters do take some time to complete. For example, ownership of the home may need to be transferred from one party to the other, the mortgage may need to be changed, pensions sharing may need to be put into effect, policies may be surrendered or assigned. It is therefore important for everyone to be aware of the particular time scales when planning there future after the divorce.

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