Glynis Wright

Family Solicitor & Mediator

			Financial Settlements

Financial ORDERS on Divorce and Dissolution of Civil Partnerships

When dealing with financial matters in a divorce both parties are required to provide full and frank financial disclosure of their financial positions. The duty of disclosure is an ongoing obligation and includes the duty to disclose any material changes in a parties’ financial situation after initial disclosure has been given.

The court makes a range of orders including lump sum payments, transfers of capital assets, maintenance provision or pension sharing. The financial arrangements can be settled on a “Clean Break Basis” which means once a settlement has been agreed and implemented the parties can make no further financial claim against each other.

The court has a wide discretion and therefore it can be better to agree your own financial arrangements to avoid the costs, delay and uncertainty of a court hearing.

Many people are able to agree on a financial settlement after having taken independent legal advice from a divorce solicitor on what constitutes a fair division of the matrimonial assets and income. In particular, you should try to find a divorce solicitor who is a member of Resolution. Divorce Solicitors who are members of Resolution apply the ethos of the organisation which is to resolve matters relating to divorce or relationship breakdown in a non aggressive and constructive manner avoiding if at all possible litigation through the courts. Glynis is a Resolution member as well as a Resolution trained family mediator.

Family Mediators can help couples reach a financial settlement. However a solicitor will always be required to advise on the implications of any agreement reached and to draft the agreement into a legal and enforceable Court Order.

The court process:

To issue an application for a financial order (which was until recently called an application for ancillary relief) a document know as a ‘Form A’ must be filed with the court. A court fee is payable, at present this is the sum of £240.00. On that form, you will be asked to confirm whether you have attended a Mediation and Information Assessment Meeting to consider mediation as an option prior to court proceedings being issued. This is enshrined within the pre-action protocol for mediation which comes into force on 6 April 2011.

Upon the court issuing the application you will receive a timetable for your case making directions for exchange of financial disclosure in a format known as a ‘Form E’ and the court will fix a date for the First Appointment.

At the First Appointment the District Judge will identify the issues between you and your partner and make directions – for example formal valuations of assets to be carried out.

The court will then list the matter for what is known as a ‘Financial Dispute Resolution’ (FDR) Appointment.

Both parties will be required to attend court together with their solicitors in the hope that a financial settlement can be negotiated with the assistance of a District Judge.

The Judge may give guidance to assist you in reaching an agreement, often indicating what he/she thinks would be a reasonable settlement in the circumstances of your particular case. If it is not possible to settle, there will be a Final Hearing listed at a later date to be heard before an independent District Judge.

Any time before the Final Hearing it is possible to reach an agreement voluntarily after which the parties’ solicitors submit a draft of the proposed Order (called a Consent Order) to the District Judge for his/her approval.

Factors to be taken into account:

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 set out the factors to be considered in deciding what is fair.

The factors to be considered are as follows:

Welfare of any children of the family
Income, earning capacity, property and resources of each party now and in the foreseeable future
Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities of each person now and in the foreseeable future
Standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage or partnership
Age of each person and the duration of the marriage or partnership
Contribution made by each person to the welfare of the family, including looking after the home and bringing up children

Conduct of each person, but only if it is so bad that it would be unfair to disregard it

Physical or mental disability
Any benefit lost because of the divorce or dissolution (in practise this is restricted to loss of pension benefits)

If you have any queries you can send Glynis an email or if you prefer you can telephone Glynis on 0844 225 2790. Glynis will welcome the opportunity of speaking with you personally.

Family Law

Tel: 0844 225 2790

E-mail: Glynis Wright

Last updated:

This Firm is regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority firm no. 558581

(see www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct.page).