FINANCIAL SETTLEMENTS ATTRACTED TO DIVORCE & SEPARATION
Financial Settlements- Your Rights.
The legal principles around financial settlements are complicated. A Specialist Family Law & Divorce Solicitor can help you protect your interests. Above all, they will help you fully understand your rights and your legal position.
Spouses and former spouses have a right to make financial claims against the other. They can do this by applying to the Court for Orders. These Orders can be for:
- Maintenance. I.e., the Court can order regular income payments.
- Adjustment of property ownership. For example, the Court will transfer a property owned by both spouses to one spouse. Or the Court will transfer a property owned by one spouse to the other.
- Lump sum. I.e., the Court can order capital payments.
- Pension sharing.
These rights can only be brought to an end in two ways. The first and most usual way is by a Court Order. The second is if you remarry before dealing with financial provision (known as the re-marriage trap).
Are you looking to understand your rights in a divorce?
Financial Settlements – The Approach of the Court.
There are no firm rules about how assets are to be divided or for what maintenance payments, if any, are to be made on divorce. The law is discretionary. The Court decide each case on its own facts.
There is no automatic presumption that jointly owned assets will be shared. Nor that an asset owned by one spouse alone will not. The Court’s aim is to achieve fairness. Often a key factor is the reasonable needs of the parties and any minor children.
Section 25 factors.
The first consideration is always to the welfare of any minor children. Thereafter, before making a financial Order, the Court must consider various factors, including:
- the income, earning capacity (to include any increase where the Court considers it reasonable for a spouse to take steps to generate income or increase their income), property & other financial resources including pensions which each spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
- the financial needs, obligations & responsibilities which each spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.
- the standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage.
- the age of each spouse and the duration of the marriage.
- any physical or mental disability of each spouse.
- the contributions each spouse has made or is likely to make in the foreseeable future to the welfare of the family. This includes any contribution to looking after the home or caring for the family.
- the conduct of each spouse. Case law has set out that only very serious financial misconduct, or violence that affects earning capacity, will be relevant here.
- Where relevant, the value of any benefit which, by reason of the end of the marriage, that spouse would lose the chance of acquiring.
The Court’s discretion.
The Judge will weigh up all the factors. They will then consider whether some have more significance than others as appropriate to each individual case. The Judge has very wide discretion. As such, each case is very different.
Divorce Stories.
You should therefore be careful when listening to the divorce stories of others. This is because their particular circumstances may affect a different outcome from yours. It is for this reason we recommend you obtain tailored advice from a Specialist Divorce Solicitor. This will help you carefully consider your position.
Are you looking for tailored advice about financial settlements?
Getting help from a Specialist Divorce Solicitor.
Often, clients tell us that their biggest worry is how their finances will be resolved on separation. Whether you reach a financial settlement with your spouse by negotiation, mediation, through solicitors or by making an application to the Court, the same principles apply. These legal principles are complicated and are applied to your specific circumstances. Therefore, if you are facing divorce or separation, you will require the experience and expertise of a Specialist Divorce Solicitor to help you understand your position.
Keats Family Law are experts in divorce and financial settlements. We are here to help.
We will guide you through the divorce and financial settlements process. As such, we will help you consider your individual circumstances.
Firstly, we will give honest and realistic advice as to the possible outcome. Then we will help you come up with the best approach for you. Above all, we will help you achieve a financial settlement that is right for you and your family.
If you want to understand your rights and how the Court may consider your circumstances and your financial settlement, please contact us.
In the meantime, have a look at some of our Divorce & Financial Settlement articles…
Unmarried Couples Legal Rights.
If you are married you have legal rights to financial provision from your spouse on divorce. Regrettably, if you are not, the position is not the same. If you want to know more visit our unmarried couples legal rights page or contact us to see how best we can help you.