Financial Court Orders
It has been widely reported that after many years of campaigning that the law in respect of the procedural part of divorce changed in April 2022.
This was a welcome change because it introduced a no fault regime and so eliminated the requirements (in certain circumstances) to refer to unreasonable behaviour or adultery of the other party as the basis for the divorce.
The process in relation to being divorced has also been simplified and can be dealt with online. As such many people choose to deal with that aspect of matters themselves rather than to instruct a solicitor.
When a couple divorce there are, however, usually some financial matters to be addressed and if there are children then the arrangements in respect of them need to be considered. If the parties cannot reach an agreement in relation to either then they might wish to instruct solicitors and/or engage in mediation as a means of this being dealt with.
It is, however, sometimes the case that the couple concerned manage to reach an agreement direct with each other that they are each comfortable with. They might feel, therefore, that they don't need to involve solicitors.
This can, however, lead to an unfair outcome. One such example of this is that in a marriage it is common for one party to have more pension provision than the other. It is essential that pensions are, therefore, considered as part of any financial settlement and yet sometimes these can be missed as the parties concentrate on more tangible assets such as a house or savings.
Even if the parties have addressed all financial issues between them it is still important for legal advice to be taken not least so that a Court Order can be made in full and final settlement of the financial issues. This is often termed a 'clean break' Court Order.
In the absence of such a Court Order being made then one party could find that the other makes financial claims against them in
the future which could be many years after they have divorced.
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Philip Elliott is a solicitor who has specialised in Family Law for more than 25 years and is on the Advanced Tier of the Law Society Family Law Panel and is an Accredited Specialist with Resolution (a body that oversees Family Law). He is also a family mediator and is accredited with the Family Mediation Council.
If you consider that you need either legal advice or mediation in respect of separating from your spouse then please do not hesitate to contact him as follows:
Telephone: 01234 303030
Email: