Financial Settlements

It may be that you do not wish to divorce, and in those circumstances we can consider legal separation. You can legally separate by entering into what is known as a Separation Agreement, which is a contract between you and your spouse which will include the terms upon which you agree. The Agreement can deal with financial matters and in relation to any children of the relationship. Frequently the agreements refer to divorce at some time in the future. A Separation Agreement is, however, reliant upon both parties agreeing to terms. If an agreement is unlikely to be reached then an application to the Court will probably be needed in either divorce or dissolution proceedings, or proceedings for judicial separation.

Judicial Separation is rarely used, although we do offer full advice in this regard should you require it.

Where there are divorce proceedings, parties can reach agreement with the help of mediation and / or solicitors’ advice and in those circumstances the agreement can be drawn up into what is known as a Consent Order, which will then be considered by a District Judge.

In some circumstances, the parties cannot reach an agreement and the District Judge will therefore assist the parties in producing the necessary financial disclosure to the Court in trying to explore the possibilities of negotiation and, if necessary, hearing oral evidence from both parties and thereafter making a Court Order.

How do you know what is fair? What will the Court take into account?

We strongly recommend that you seek legal advice in relation to financial matters. This forms part of our specialist approach here at Cunningtons. Both you and your spouse may have financial claims over the income, pension and assets of the other and your claims remain open unless you are a Respondent to divorce proceedings and you remarry, or your claims are formally dismissed by the Court. It is therefore very important that these matters are addressed.

The matters to which the Court must have consideration are as follows:-

The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources that each party has;

Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities now and in the future of each party;

The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage;

The age of each party and the length of the marriage;

Any physical or mental disability of either party;

The contributions which each party has made to the marriage;

The conduct of each of the parties if inequitable to disregard it;

Any benefit which may be lost to either party by dissolving the marriage.

To advise you we will need full information as to both you and your spouse’s financial circumstances. Do not worry. We would not expect you to have all of this information at your first appointment with us. This is a matter that we will help you with during the divorce and the ancillary relief proceedings. However, we will be able to advise you considering the factors referred to above and previous case-law so that you will have an outcome tailored to your circumstances and needs.